Open Your Eyes

While Alyssa was at home resting after her daily grind, Aimee was still on her feet working at the restaurant. The younger woman hoped her roommate would bring her back some food, because she was absolutely starving. Just as she was about to change into her comfy pajamas, Alyssa heard her cell phone ring.

“Food?” Was what greeted her when she answered the phone. Alyssa laughed at Tomas, wondering if he could read her mind.

“Food,” she agreed, making plans with the Slovakian man.

About half an hour later, Tomas and Marian had picked Alyssa up and were driving through the streets of Chicago. She realized the two men hadn’t asked her what she wanted, so they must have had some kind of plan in mind.

“Where are we going?” Alyssa asked. Marian turned to her and handed her a slip of paper.

“Burish suggested this place,” he informed as Alyssa looked at the address, which was the only thing on the paper. She turned it over, looking for the name, but the other side was blank. Alyssa narrowed her eyes at the address, reality hitting her like a ton of bricks.

They were going to be eating at Aimee’s restaurant.

Tomas Kopecky was going to be eating at Aimee’s restaurant.

Alyssa’s head snapped up, the GPS telling them they were less than a mile away. “You know, I think I know this place. Would it be possible to go somewhere else?” She tried.

“Is the food not good?” Tomas asked, glancing at her in his rearview mirror.

“Oh, the food is fine, it’s just…I’m not in the mood for it. I was thinking something more like, um, Chinese? Does Chinese sound good?”

“We could have stayed home and ordered Chinese,” Tomas groaned. “Besides, we’re already here.” He pulled into the parking lot in the back of the building, and Alyssa shot out of the truck like a flash.

“I’ll go get us a table!” She shouted, running towards the front of the building. She pushed through the entrance hastily, frantically looking for her best friend. A hostess stood in front of her, menus in hand, slightly confused as to what Alyssa was doing.

“Hi, welcome to-”

“I need to speak to Aimee. Right now,” Alyssa requested breathlessly. The cute blonde turned around, scanning the room for the waitress in question.

“Oh there she is,” she informed Lyss. “Waiting for customer drinks at the bar.”

“Thanks,” Alyssa scurried through the maze of tables, avoiding chairs, patrons, and waitresses before getting to the bar and grasping Aimee’s upper arm tightly. Aimee turned her head fiercely, ready to tell off whoever grabbed her, but then she saw it was her best friend.

“Hey,” Aimee laughed. “I almost just decked you in the face, for your information.”

“Listen, there’s a problem,” Alyssa uttered.

“Sal, can I get one more Budweiser?” Aimee addressed the bartender, placing the other drinks he had made her on a large circular tray.

“Aimee,” Alyssa stated seriously. She could clearly see that her friend was busy since the restaurant was packed, but she had to warn the poor girl somehow.

Aimee finally turned to Alyssa, giving her friend her attention as she waited on that last beer. “What’s up?”

Just as Aimee went to lift the tray after setting the last beer on it and winking at Sal, Alyssa spat out, “Tomas is here.” Alyssa gasped as Aimee’s arm buckled, causing the glasses to clink against each other softly. The experienced waitress managed to set the tray back down without spilling a drop, looking at Alyssa with wide eyes.

“What?” Aimee looked up, seeing Marian and Tomas talking to the hostess. She quickly turned around, facing her back toward them and causing Alyssa to shift so that she could keep an eye on the two men as she talked. As far as the boys could tell, Alyssa was just chatting with some random woman.

“Don’t be mad, I had no idea we were coming! They asked if I was hungry, so they picked me up and showed me some scrap of paper with an address saying Burish suggested a place-”

“Oh I am going to fucking kill him.”

“I tried changing the plans but before I knew it we were here and I rushed in ahead of them to warn you,” Alyssa said quickly. Tomas was waving at her so she held up a finger to tell him she’d just be a minute.

“It’s bad enough he teases me for being a waitress. Can you imagine how bad it’s going to get when he finds out I’m a waitress here?”

“Look, maybe we’ll get a table that’s not even in your section, and they won’t even notice you. I just wanted you to be prepared,” Alyssa assured. Aimee nodded, muttering her thanks as Alyssa walked off toward the boys.

Alyssa almost rolled her eyes at the sight of them, noticing that they were paying painstakingly close attention to their surroundings. It’s not like she could blame them, seeing as she’d probably be in heaven if she were a man as well.

“I like it here,” Tomas grinned, nudging Marian. The older man nodded and smiled, being much more discreet than his brunette counterpart. The hostess sat them their table, and Alyssa cursed when she saw it was near Aimee’s section. Thankfully Tomas’s back was to her, so all Alyssa really had to worry about was keeping Marian’s mouth shut if he noticed.

Alyssa also kept an eye on Brandy, the girl she knew would be their waitress, based on the fact that she was serving the tables nearest to them as well. Lyss came in to the restaurant to visit Aimee a lot, so many of the waitresses, including Brandy, knew her by name. Lyss just hoped she wouldn’t say anything to her.

After a couple minutes of Alyssa watching Marian and Tomas pretend to look at the menu while actually continuing to check out waitresses, Alyssa spotted something alarming. Brandy was talking to Aimee, motioning toward her tables. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but by Aimee’s desperate motions she could only guess that Brandy had asked her to take over her last table.

Alyssa, Tomas, and Marian’s table.

Marian followed Alyssa’s gaze, wondering what the brunette was staring at. It was then that his gaze widened. “Isn’t that-” Alyssa suddenly kicked him, causing him to snap his mouth shut. Tomas didn’t notice anyways, as he had finally focused all his attention on the menu to try and decide on something to eat.

Meanwhile, Alyssa couldn’t figure out why Brandy didn’t just start serving them, but then she noticed that the girl’s section was clearing out a little and that it was eight o’clock on the dot. Her shift was probably over, so she asked Aimee to cover that one last table since the raven haired girl would be at work until ten anyways. Aimee nodded in defeat, half heartedly returning the hug Brandy gave her. Alyssa grimaced as her friend made her way to their table, stopping beside Tomas.

“Hi, welcome to Hooters. My name’s Aimee and I’ll be your server.”

Tomas shifted his eyes directly from his menu and to the left, his gaze settling on a pair of tight, short, orange shorts and the long, smooth legs that extended out of them. His eyes suddenly shot straight up, looking at Aimee’s half annoyed, half embarrassed face.

“Can I start you off with some drinks?” Aimee continued, trying to ignore the situation. Tomas wasn’t letting her off that easily, though.

“You work at Hooters?” He smiled mischievously.

“Nope, I just wear the outfit for shits and grins,” she retorted, regretting it almost instantly.

“Do you?” He shot back almost immediately. “Interesting.”

“I’ll have a Miller,” Marian interjected, earning a grateful glance from Aimee.

“Can I get a margarita?” Alyssa requested. All eyes were now on Tomas, who also ordered a beer. “I think we’re ready to order our food too,” Alyssa added, the three of them all telling their waitress what they wanted while Tomas glanced at Aimee’s ample chest that was shoved into the tight white tank top.

“Aren’t you going to write that down?” He asked Aimee, noticing she didn’t have a pen and paper.

“I don’t need to,” Aimee informed, turning to walk away.

“Putting that brain power to good use,” she heard Tomas comment as she made her way to the bar. Tomas’s eyes were on her the whole way, and he turned back toward his companions with a smirk.

“Tomas, seriously, don’t be a dick,” Alyssa warned, staring him straight in the eye.

“You don’t know me at all, do you?” He smiled, making Alyssa give him a dirty look. Moments later, Aimee returned with their drinks, setting them on the paper coasters she had brought with as well. “I figured out how you bought that classic car of yours,” Tomas sang out, deliberately glancing her up and down. “Play your cards right tonight and you’ll earn enough for the repairs.”

Aimee couldn’t even fire back, because just then her boss walked up and threw an arm around her shoulders.

“Well I heard we had some Blackhawks here tonight!” He greeted jovially, shaking everyone’s hand. “Is Aimee here taking good care of you?”

“Very much,” Marian answered before Tomas could even open his mouth.

“Glad to hear it,” her boss smiled. He made small talk with Tomas and Marian for a little bit more before moving along to other tables, Aimee already having left to serve other customers. Tomas couldn’t help but scowl at the men who leered at her, even though he was one of those men.

When Aimee came back to the table with their food, Tomas had a smart ass remark ready and waiting for her. When she leaned down to set the plates on the table however, his train of thought became severely interrupted by her cleavage.

“Can I get you anything else?”

Tomas could think of about a thousand things he wanted to get from her at the moment, and he felt Marian swiftly kick him from under the table. No doubt the older man had been able to read his mind.

“Have you eaten yet?” Alyssa asked her roommate, knowing she had worked an extra long shift that day.

“I had a small lunch, but I haven’t had dinner yet. I’ll probably bring something home,” Aimee shrugged, glancing over at one of her tables of men trying to get her attention. “I’ll be back later,” she sighed, walking away.

---

A couple hours later, Aimee was cashing out as her friends all sat at their table. Alyssa had insisted that they stay and just wait for Aimee to get off of work, seeing as she had no car anyways and had taken public transportation earlier.

“When is your car going to be fixed?” Marian asked her from the front seat. The two girls were situated in the back, Aimee behind Tomas and Alyssa next to her.

“The guy said it should be ready tomorrow afternoon,” Aimee informed, looking out the window. “I wanted to say thanks again to you guys for coming to get us.”

It was the first time since the night of the Halloween party that Aimee had seen the two saviors, even though Alyssa had seen them several time at work. To tell the truth, she’d partially been avoiding contact with them, because she was still embarrassed by the events of that night. Not only had she gotten a lot more drunk than she wanted to, she had gotten a lot more friendly with Adam and Tomas than she wanted to. Plus, her damn car broke down and she was forced to resort to calling the taunting Slovakian for help.

“No problem,” Marian answered, chuckling. “I’m just surprised we found you. You guys were way out there.”

“My fault,” Alyssa said, raising her hand. “I forgot to bring the charger to the GPS.”

“That’s not your fault,” Aimee shook her head. “That was an easy mistake anyone could have made. We just should have turned around sooner and asked Brent for directions before we tried to make it on our own.”

“That part was your idea, no doubt?” Tomas asked from the drivers seat, locking eyes with Aimee in the rearview mirror. She couldn’t even retort, since it was in part her idea. That was twice this night that Tomas had gotten a few comments through that she hadn’t been able to respond to, and she’d be damned if she was going to let it happen a third time.

Once Tomas pulled up to the girls’ apartment, he turned to look at Aimee and asked, “Will you be able to find your way from here? Or should Marian and I escort you?”

“Tomas,” Alyssa mock scolded, Aimee knowing that her friend was amused by the hockey player. “Do you guys want to come up though? You’ve never seen the inside of our apartment.”

Aimee stared wide eyed at her roommate, wondering why on earth she had ever liked the girl to begin with. Tomas, never missing an opportunity to annoy the raven haired waitress, agreed almost instantly.

“Don’t you guys have practice or anything tomorrow?”

“I have optional skate,” Tomas corrected, hopping out of the car and opening Aimee’s door for her. He held out his hand, Aimee only taking it because his truck was so high off the ground and she didn’t want to fall and make an ass of herself. “Which as of right now I’m opting not to do,” he continued, putting his other hand on her waist and setting her on the ground, effectively trapping her between his body and the truck. “Hossa has nothing to do.” He closed her door quickly and pulled away with a smirk, knowing he had dazed her a little.

Marian and Alyssa shared a mischievous and knowing glance, having seen the exchange from the other side of the vehicle. Once all the doors were shut Tomas pressed the button on his key remote, locking the truck before they made their way up to the apartment.

“Do you guys want some coffee?” Alyssa asked, sheepishly looking at Aimee once the men had said yes. The younger woman silently asked the question, causing Aimee to roll her eyes and drop her take home bag of food and her purse on the counter dramatically.

“Sure, I’ll make the coffee,” she said with fake, sarcastic enthusiasm. “It’s not like I’ve been on my feet serving people for the past twelve hours. No big deal.” She clanked around the kitchen, emptying the stale coffee from the morning and rinsing the pot as Alyssa led Tomas and Marian into the living room.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” she motioned to the couch. The two boys flopped down on opposite ends, and Tomas crossed his feet up on top of the table.

“It‘s nice in here,” Marian said, looking around. “It’s very…”

“Homey,” Tomas finished, causing Marian to nod.

“I like it,” Marian added.

“You should ask to see her bedroom,” Tomas told him in Slovakian. Marian glared at him, tossing one of the throw pillows at his head. Tomas caught it easily and threw it at Alyssa, making her shriek.

“Alright, the coffee’s brewing…” Aimee trailed off, seeing the three other adults in the room acting like childish animals. Pillows and cushions were flying through the air at alarming rates, and Aimee was so dumbstruck that she didn’t notice Tomas slowly approaching her like a crouched tiger. By the time she noticed him it was too late, because he grabbed her and hoisted her onto his shoulder. “What the fuck is going on?!” She shouted at his back.

“Teams!” Was his reply as he ran toward the hallway. “Me and Aimee versus Marian and Alyssa!” He asked Aimee where her bedroom was, and she was so befuddled that she pointed to her door. He ran in and set her down, lunging toward her bed and grabbing the pillows. “Go grab Alyssa’s, quick.”

“What is going on?” Aimee demanded. Tomas just groaned and shoved all the pillows he was holding into her hands and raced across the hallway, causing an exasperated Aimee to follow him. “Tomas-”

“Come on,” he motioned, jogging back into the living room.

“Guys,” Aimee whined. “I’m tired, and this is ridiculous-” Tomas suddenly ducked, and the pillow that Alyssa had chucked connected with Aimee’s face.

“Oh my Gosh!” Alyssa exclaimed, standing up from behind the couch that she and Marian were using as a fort. “Sorry Aim! That wasn’t meant for you, it was meant for-” It was Alyssa’s turn to be whacked in the face with a pillow, this one thrown by Aimee. “Oh it’s on now,” Alyssa said, bending down and grabbing the first cushion she could.

Aimee squealed and hid behind a moving Tomas, using him as a shield as the four people showered pillows throughout the room. At one point, a lamp was knocked off one of the side tables, but it was apparent that none of them could be bothered with the broken appliance as they pelted each other some more.

Minutes passed, their battle having raged throughout the entire house, before the quartet had collapsed on the living room floor atop pillows, blankets, and each other. Suddenly the coffeepot beeped, signaling that the brew was ready. Aimee lifted her head off of Tomas’s stomach tiredly, waiting for Alyssa to get off her legs so that she could get up. But Alyssa, who was lying face down, had to wait for Marian to lift his head off of her butt before she could move.

“Cream? Sugar?” Aimee gasped out, still winded.

“Just bring everything in here,” Alyssa mumbled, having collapsed back down onto the floor.

An hour or so later, all the coffee was gone but the exhaustion of the day remained. Aimee and Alyssa washed the dishes in the kitchen, and when they had come back into the living room, Marian and Tomas were passed out on the floor. They had set up the mounds of cushions all around and under them, so the girls could only assume they were comfortable.

They certainly looked good, Aimee and Alyssa noted, with their hair all ruffled and their shirts all ridden up. Tomas was definitely the more lean of the two, his muscles very defined and trimmed, whereas Marian was much more strapping and brawny.

“I suppose we should go to bed…” Alyssa trailed off, looking down at the two men.

“Right. Yeah,” Aimee agreed, neither of them all that motivated to move.

Marian turned over suddenly, sending the two giggling females scampering off into their bedrooms. They both got ready for bed, and Alyssa was so thankful to finally be able to get some rest. She shut the lights off and collapsed onto her bed, groaning when she realized the boys had all the pillows.

Aimee had just discovered the same thing, and had tiptoed out of her room to retrieve some for herself and her roommate. Surely the boys had left some pillows free. She padded softly into the darkened living room, kneeling next to the boys and grabbing some free cushions.

Suddenly her upper arm was grabbed and pulled down, making her chest collide with Tomas’s with a small ‘oof.’ He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked up at her curiously. She had changed into a tank top and shorts, unfortunately much different than the tank and shorts from Hooters that he had tried keeping her in as long as possible.

“I need some pillows,” she said, gathering them back up and trying to move away. His grip tightened momentarily before he let her go, watching her struggle with the large load in her arms.

“Come back when you’re ready for some company too,” he provoked, causing Aimee to pause on her way to the hallway. She looked at all the cushions in her hands, deciding she could spare to lose one as she chucked it at his form. She heard him chuckle as she bustled into Alyssa’s room and tossed some pillows at her.

“Thanks,” Alyssa laughed, looking at her friend’s disgruntled face. “I’m guessing you didn’t get these without a fight?”

“Goodnight,” Aimee grumbled, walking out and shutting the door behind her. Alyssa couldn’t help but laugh at her friend, her thoughts soon drifting to a certain light haired Slovakian that slept only a few feet away in her living room.