No princess nor a Cinderella

The following morning, I was busy wiping the table when I saw him with two other men. They sat just a few tables away from where I was.

He was still wearing an expensive-looking suit. I would not know what kind, but the way it fitted his body, I would guess that it was tailor-made and not the kinds of clothes one could find on the racks. I better stopped looking at him before he accused me of annoying him.

"Excuse me." I knew his companion was directing his call at me, but I chose to ignore it, pretending I was busy. Another staff would surely handle their orders. I was still embarrassed by what happened the last time. Thankfully, my co-waiter was passing by, so he quickly went to their table.

There were few moments where I would notice that he was looking in my direction, but I would always look away as fast as I could. I never wanted to be caught again staring at him, but when I did have a chance, I usually glanced in his direction as well.

His hair was usually neatly styled, and his facial hair, cleanly shaved. When he smiled, those beautiful dimples showed up in his cheeks. He was indeed dashing like a prince. From my current location, I could not see his eyes. Although, I still had a vivid recollection of what it looked like from the last time I saw it.

Whenever a customer would ask for assistance, I would pick the tables that were far from where he was. Then, I would make sure not to look in his direction. I knew Andrea was starting to get curious at the way I was avoiding him, but she decided to take charge of his table and the nearby table as well.

"Hey, what's going on?" Andrea finally could not contain her curiosity as she stood beside me behind the counter. "Is that guy bothering you? I noticed you had been avoiding his table. He also kept on staring at you."

"No. It's not like that." Oh! How could I explain it to her without sounding as if I was crazy? "I had an incident with him yesterday. I, sort of, felt embarrassed with the way I acted. I don't want that to happen again." That should be a good enough reason.

"If you say so. Just tell me if you change your mind, and I would gladly show that guy the way to the door." Andrea offered. I was overwhelmed that she would do that for me. She was indeed a big woman who could easily intimidate even a man, but I wonder if she could easily handle a man like him.

I was just glad that he and his companions finally left, and I was allowed to breathe normally again. Why was I acting this way? I did not even know his name. Wait. Am I interested in him? No. Stop that. I scolded myself.

Love, at first sight, was a fictional lie. It was a make-believe fantasy that many young girls were foolish enough to believe. There was no knight in shining armor to protect me from the harsh world. The prince charming would not whisk me away and instantly fall in love with me.

I was not under any delusion that I would find love just by looking at a man's eyes. That was plain nonsense, in my opinion. I was no princess nor a Cinderella. That certainly ended whatever fantasy my mind might conjure.

I quickly went to their table to clean it up when I saw an object on top of the table. That guy must have accidentally left his phone. I recognized it from the time that I saw him using it. I picked it up to bring it to the lost and found section when I suddenly felt a presence beside me.

"I think that's my phone." He said as he stood from behind me. I could not understand it, but his voice just sent goosebumps all over my skin. He just startled me, my logical mind explained.

"I was just about to surrender your phone to the lost and found, but since you're already here, you can have it." Shoving the phone in his direction. At least my voice sounded normal to my ears. I thought.

He took the phone, but with his large hands, he was able to grip my hands as well. The action took me by surprise. "What time does your shift ends?" He casually asked, wearing his charming smile on his face. "I could pick you up later," still holding on to my hand.

That was unexpected. Was this guy asking me out? "I'm sorry, but I don't go out on a date." I pulled my hands away from him with a slight force. That was what I got when he kept on catching me looking at him. He thought I was interested in him.

"You must be joking." He looked at me as if he could not believe that I just turned him down. He remained standing in front of me, still looking down at me disbelievingly. What was he doing? What was he waiting for anyway? I asked myself as he continued to stare at me.

I could see Andrea eyeing the small scene we were creating. I had to end this now before this escalated to something I could not control.

"I am dead serious. Could you leave? You already have your phone." I told him. I went back to cleaning the table and ignored him. No matter how charming he thought he was, I was not interested in him. I was just curious about his eyes. That was all it was, nothing more.

He eventually left, but before he did, he said something that caught my attention. "This is a first." What did he mean by that? He probably thought that every girl who looked at him automatically fell for his charming ways.

Honestly, he was indeed very charming, but his arrogant and self-conceited attitude was a total turn-off. I did not need a man like him in my life. I did not need a man in my life, for now, and I meant it. Life was hard enough to make it more difficult by getting involved in a complicated relationship.