Allie's War Season One Read Online Free

suit. A bright red silk tie contrasted the blue of his jacket, setting off the auburn highlights in his long hair. His light brown eyes studied mine, crinkling at the edges in a smile.
    When he cleared his throat politely, my gaze drifted down to his hand, where he held out several twenty dollar bills.
    “Can I use paper currency here?” the man said.
    He spoke like someone who’d already asked the same question several times. I blinked, then looked down at his hand. Christ. He was a customer. I’d probably waited on him; that’s why he looked familiar.
    Where had my head been?
    I glanced down the bar counter at Jon and Cass, a little bewildered that I wasn’t standing next to them anymore. I stood by the cash register instead. Jon and Cass didn’t seem to have noticed that I had apparently teleported to the opposite end of the bar.
    Cass laughed while I watched, leaning closer to Jon’s ear to answer something he’d said.
    Feeling the man in front of me waiting, I jerked my eyes back to his.
    “Yeah,” I told him. “Yeah, sure. Of course. Sorry.”
    His smile widened. “No apology necessary, my dear. I am the one who is sorry...to have interrupted your thoughts just then.”
    I smiled back noncommittally, hitting through keys on the old fashioned register.
    “You looked very deep in thought right then, Alyson.”
    I hesitated, glancing up at him.
    I wasn’t wearing a name tag. Maybe I’d told him my name when I waited on him earlier. Shrugging it off, I gestured towards his arm. When he bared it to the elbow, I summoned the bill by scanning his barcode.
    “Were you?” he said politely. “...Deep in thought?”
    I smiled. “Yeah. Well. Even waitresses think about things, I guess.”
    The man returned my smile, his gaze flickering over the rest of me.
    Ignoring his appraisal, I met his gaze. “Do you want the change in hard currency, too?” I said. “Or just on your account?”
    “Hard is fine.” His smile widened, even as his amber-colored eyes grew more serious. “What are you doing after work? Can I buy you a drink, Alyson?”
    Counting out the coins, I handed him his change. I kept my smile polite. “I can’t date customers, sorry.”
    “No? You won’t make an exception?”
    I smiled again. “Sorry.”
    The man met my gaze. When he did, I paused, in spite of myself.
    For the first time, I really looked at him.
    His eyes were riveting, difficult to look away from. That amber color nearly glowed, such a light color they seemed to have an internal fire. I found myself lost there, wondering why I’d been so quick to turn him away.
    I could have one drink with the guy, sure. Why not? He was age appropriate, more or less, and while I didn’t usually date suits, he was cute. Nick the bartender, the guy I'd been seeing casually for the past few weeks, probably wouldn’t like it, but we weren’t exactly a couple.
    My attention got pulled off him when the door to the diner opened with a bang.
    I looked up, blinking in confusion.
    Once I did, I found myself staring at the black-haired man. He stood there, looking angry, his athletic frame looming over the guy in the blue.
    For the first time, he looked directly at me.
    His colorless eyes grew utterly motionless, like a held breath.
    Immediately, my head started to clear. I was still standing there, my hands poised over the cash register, when the man with the amber eyes turned, staring up at the black-haired man along with me. Neither of them spoke.
    Even so, the man with the amber eyes smiled.
    Looking away from the taller man, he brought his gaze back to rest on mine. He made a strange, soft clicking noise with his tongue, giving me a regretful smile.
    “Ah. I see that you’re already taken,” he said. “Perhaps another time, my dear.”
    “Sure,” I said, only half-hearing him. “Whatever.”
    I was still looking at the man with the black hair.
    The guy in the blue suit turned from the counter, heading for the door.
    The black-haired man