Private Finished At First Sight

Another night of work, but at least it wasn't the weekend, not yet. Olive arrived to a mostly-empty bar, slipping through to the back to clock in and put on her apron. She went straight to work, checking on the customers that were already there and tending to a couple of tables that had yet to be cleared. Once she made sure everyone was happy, she stood at the end of the bar and rolled silverware into napkins.

Life had been settled for Olive for quite some time now. Since she was eighteen and her parents passed, things had been a little lonely, but she filled that emptiness as best as she could, mostly with working. Tending to other people helped her feel cheerful, even on her off days.

The door opened and she looked up as someone entered, putting down her work to go and seat them. "Welcome! Just you this evening?" She picked up a menu from behind the hostess stand and smiled at her next customer with all the warmth in the world.

Tags;; @Kyros​

She didn't get much of a response from him, but she'd taken his noise as confirmation and tilted her head at him. He was...tall, that was the first thing she noticed about him. Immediately after, she'd taken note of the scar running down his face. He looked like he'd been through something, but she wasn't about to ask. He seemed hard, like he didn't want to socialize.

The too-thin blonde gestured to the mostly-empty area around them, "Please, take a seat wherever you like." She waited for him to get settled, following at a respectful distance behind him and sliding the small menu next to him once he'd found a seat.

"I'm Olive, I'll be taking care of you this evening. Do you need a few minutes, or do you know what you'd like?"​

Olive was perfectly patient, even as he stared away from her. She shifted her weight silently from one foot to the other and waited for him to respond. She was about to tell him she'd give him a couple of minutes when he finally answered.

"Good choice; that's one of my favorites," she smiled and turned to head behind the bar and fix his drink for him. They only really had it in stock because Olive requested for it to be, and the owner liked her a little too much to say no. Sure, this wasn't the classiest bar, but everyone treated her well enough here, so she wasn't going to complain.

She dropped his drink off at his table with a gentle "Enjoy~" before going to tend to other tables, but she couldn't help but glance at him every so often. She was intrigued by his appearance, perhaps a little attracted to him physically. He wasn't the typical customer, and so he was interesting to her.

Olive stood by the edge of the bar again, sneaking glances at the stranger in the booth while she wrapped utensils into napkins once again.​

His voice cut straight through her, making her stomach wobble uncontrollably for a brief second. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention and she jerked her eyes up from her work to look at him. The way he looked at her made her want to roll over and submit to him, his presence was just so suddenly commanding.

"Olivia," she replied, as though the word was pulled from her lips. "But I go by Olive. Do you need something?" Her head tilted a little to one side as she looked him over once before letting her eyes bounce back to his.​

She had the urge to go and sit with him at the table, but she held her ground. "Uhm. Well during the weekends it can get pretty busy. But as of right now it's only Tuesday. We're pretty slow during the week." She could have asked if he usually went out drinking on Tuesday nights, but that could possibly be insulting to him, so she kept the question to herself.

Olive watched a couple of middle-aged men rise from their table, leaving cash, and waved to them as they headed out. Now it was just her and this man. She went to stow the cash in the register and busied herself with clearing the table.

With nothing else to do, she finally sat down across from him. "So what brings you to this part of town on a Tuesday evening?"​

He seemed a little taken aback by her friendliness. Perhaps he just hadn't been expecting it; this man carried himself with an air of hardness, obviously a tough nut to crack open, but she liked to think that everyone, even the ones with hard shells, had a soft side to them, or something good in them despite their hardness or apparent intensity. Olive was a patient woman, she'd been like that her whole life...patient and grateful for the things she had.

So he'd been thinking. She wondered what could be on such a man's mind? Doubtful that he would tell her, even if she asked. Olive pondered this for a bit until he asked her about herself and she smiled a little, tilting her head. "I've worked here for...almost nine years now." Had it really been that long since her parents' deaths? Her smile faded a little as she contemplated that, but it returned after a moment. No need to dwell on the past, those things couldn't be changed. "What about you? What do you do?"​

A teacher. He was the interesting sort to be a teacher, with his intense, unapproachable kind of air. She wondered if his students feared him because of it. It didn't scare her so much as it made her pay attention to every word that fell from his lips. He had a command to his voice that told her to listen to him carefully and respond as appropriately as possible. She couldn't put a finger on what it was, but she would find out eventually if she spent enough time around him.

She'd never been to the academy. Olive was home-schooled, most of her studies had been self-taught. She was more street-smart than book-smart, but that didn't mean she wasn't educated at all. She read when she had the time, kept as up to date as she could on current events.

"I..." she tilted her head and chewed on her bottom lip for a moment as she considered. "I would like to go to school and find my calling, but I haven't had the time. I suppose you could say I'm a little stuck; I have bills to pay and debts to relieve. It's not easy," she hummed and set her chin in her hand, looking at him thoughtfully. "I made do with what I have," her smile reached all the way up to her bright blue eyes.​

They sort of stared at each other for a few moments before he dropped his gaze, and she could have cried out for the loss of his eyes on hers, but all she did was follow his eyes to the menu. The change in subject had jarred her a little, so she had to think about it for a moment.

"Uhm. Hmm. If you mean drinks, you're drinking it. As far as food goes...?" She tapped the menu, "The cheesecake is my own creation, and it's pretty solid. If you're not into sweets, the sliders are also a popular choice, though they're honestly a little too greasy for my tastes."

She shrugged and pulled her hand away, propping her chin in it again and glancing up at him from under her lashes.​

"Three as in three whole cakes, or three slices?" she asked with a smile, mostly joking (because who would order three whole cheesecakes) and rising from her seat and heading to the bar to pour him another drink in a fresh glass.

Returning to the table, she slid the drink towards him, then started to head towards the back to fetch what he'd asked for.​

Olive hummed to herself as she washed her hands before plating the three slices of cheesecake he'd asked for, then moved about the kitchen to slice some strawberries to top them with. If she had the materials, she'd cook for herself like this, but she could hardly afford to, so she ended up living off of ramen and peanut butter sandwiches most of the time.

She returned from the kitchen and snagged a rolled-up napkin with silverware in it from the end of the bar before making her way back to the table to set the items she carried down in front of him.

"So, have you been on the island long?" she asked, tilting her head at him as she returned to her seat across the booth from him.​