[Oliver Wade]

Oliver was taking up the entire booth in the corner, papers spread everywhere as he tried to get his notes and thoughts together. He had a lecture the following morning that he wasn't at all prepared for, and as usual, he found himself in this place. The food at the diner wasn't all that great, but it was close to campus when he needed to get away for a little while. At least he told himself that convenience was what brought him here at lunch most days.

The truth was actually just a few feet away taking orders. Oliver caught himself staring after a moment and quickly ducked his head to the nearly blank page in front of him. By now it should have been full by now with his outline for Freshman Intro to British Writers.

He quickly downed the last cooling dregs of his coffee and pushed the mug to the corner of the table. His thoughts weren't on The English, but on how he was going to use her filling his cup as an excuse to start a conversation...without being creepy. Oliver crossed his arms on the table and glanced up to see if she was on her way over.

[Brooklyn Meyers]

The afternoon hadn't been all that busy, but being the only waitress on duty until 1 o'clock had its pros and cons. She received better tips this way, as she hustled back and forth between each table, never forgetting what each customer wanted whether it was a refill or a fresh bottle of ketchup However, she was not able to linger very long at his table. God he was gorgeous!

Brooklyn's cheeks burned red as the man whose order she was taking cleared her throat. She had been staring at the man in the corner booth. Brooklyn offered the man a sweet smile and returned to his order. "Sorry, did you want french fries or coleslaw with that?" she asked. She marked down his answer and swept off to the kitchen to put in his order. "Order up!" she told the cook who swiftly saluted her before shooing her away with a grin.

She peeked over her shoulder at him and grinned. She glanced back at Eduardo who chuckled waved her away. It wasn't a secret that Brooklyn thought the man was drop dead sexy. Not that she had ever said that out loud, but the way she stared at him was more than suggestive to her coworkers. Brooklyn took a deep breath and grabbed the coffee pot before marching right over to the man in the corner booth.

Brooklyn almost forgot what she was going to say to him as she held the pot at shoulder height and stared at him. "I-I...umm..." she started, trying to say something other than just ogle him. "Can I warm up your coffee for you?" she finally squeaked, her cheeks turning pink all over again. Fuck, he must have thought she was retarded or something! This was not a good start to anything.

[Oliver Wade]

Oliver looked down at his notes. He'd made perhaps one bullet on his outline for class, maybe two? It was pathetic the way he'd missed her for the whole two minutes she'd disappeared behind the serving line. You'd think someone who was halfway to his Doctorate would be smart enough to overcome this schoolboy crush, but it had a hold on him like nothing had since his last relationship had turned cold...probably literally.

Distracted momentarily by those unhappy thoughts, he was startled by the sudden sound of her voice so close by. Looking up sheepishly, he offered the beautiful waitress and smile.

"Yes, please. I'm pretty sure the caffeine is the only thing getting me through all this mess." He shuffled papers about trying to make himself look more organized. "That's not decaf, right?" he laughed awkwardly, while his tongue tried to untangle itself and actually say something clever.

[Brooklyn Meyers]

Brooklyn cracked a smile at the man as he spoke. She had been trying so hard just to form a sentence that she forgot to smile. She watched as he shuffled his papers about and moved them to the side and wondered what he was up to. "Oh, um yes...of course." she chuckled, showing him the black rim of the coffee. "The orange rim means decaf." Brook explained. If he didn't have any more questions about her coffee, she would pour him just enough in case he wanted to add cream or sugar.

She thought about retreating and even placed a foot behind her to do so, but she feared she might miss her chance to talk to him. She glanced sideways at the other customers; none of them were trying to flag her down. "I see you in here often enough. What is it you are up to exactly?" she asked, peeking at his work. "I don't mean to pry, I'm just curious." Brooklyn added quickly in case he didn't want to share.

[Oliver Wade]

Oliver watched her pour fresh, dark liquid into his cup. She had beautiful, pale hands. It seemed strange to believe he could find hands beautiful, but there wasn't anything about her that he didn't find incredibly desirable. He let his gaze follow them up her slender arms to the graceful curve of her neck, and settle briefly on the soft pillows of her mouth.

He tore his gaze away as quickly as he could once he caught himself. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he was some kind of creep.

"Ah, well I work at the campus just up the street," he said, inexplicably happy that she'd struck up a conversation. Secretly he wished he'd had the nerve to do it himself. "So I'm trying to plan a lesson that a Frosh class will not sleep through." He laughed and showed her the mostly empty page. "I'm not doing so great."

"I'm Oliver, by the way," he added, offering a hand to her with a grin that reached all the way to his eyes.

[Brooklyn Meyers]

Brooklyn might have dumped hot coffee into the man's lap instead of just brightly blushing had she noticed his stares any sooner. She wondered if there was something wrong with her face or if she had some stain somewhere that she was oblivious too. Never did she actually think he was checking her out. Luckily, one of the girl's would fill her in on it later after she ran to the restroom to inspect her face.

The girl nodded as all the pieces came together, yet she suddenly felt unworthy to even flirt with the man. He was a professor! He had a college degree while she had just barely scraped by with a high school diploma. She shouldn't have even bothered.

"Oh I'm sure you'll have no trouble keeping them interested." she teased, "At the girls anyway..." she mumbled, more to herself than to him. Her cheeks reddened after she said it, for if he understood correctly, she just implied his hotness. Brooklyn knew that if she was in his class she would be wide awake and maybe even daydreaming some naughty teacher and student action. Brook was hot for teacher.