I carried the coffee down the dock at seven, and my hands still smelled like diesel.
The fuel line held. Nobody asked about it. That was fine. I knew.
Drew caught me around the waist before I reached the table.
Drew: There she is. Breakfast has arrived.
He took a mug off my tray and kissed my temple, quick and warm, like it cost him nothing.
Trent: She's not breakfast, man. She's the waitress.
He said it with a grin, so it was supposed to be funny.
I set the plates down the way I did everything. Even. Straight. Nothing spilled.
My hands were steady. They were always steady. It was the one thing nobody could take from me.
Trent: You know why she runs this yard so hard?
Trent: Not because she's good at it. Because she's scared shitless of losing it.
He said it loud enough for the whole table.
The table laughed. All of them, at once, like I was a story they had all heard before.
And Drew laughed.
Not a polite laugh. A real one. Head back, hand on the table.
Drew: Man. That's cold.
He said it like Trent had gotten him good.
I poured the next cup. My wrist did not shake.
Steam came up off the coffee and my face went hot under it.
Trent: She's got no family here. No money. This yard is all she's got.
Trent: That's not love. That's fear.
He was looking right at me now, giving me the chance to laugh too.
Paige: She's not scared of losing the yard. She's scared of not being needed.
Paige: Big difference.
Paige said it kind, like she was worried about me.
I looked at Drew. He was still smiling.
His arm was still loose behind my chair, easy as a jacket on a hook.
He did not say one word.
Drew: All right, all right. She's the best thing this yard has.
He said it to the table. Not to me. He never looked at me once.
Then he squeezed my hip, and the squeeze was supposed to fix it.
Here is what none of them knew.
I had saved this yard's whole season before their coffee was even hot.
That was mine. They could not laugh that away.
But my chest burned like I'd been slapped.
I wanted him to choose me out loud, and he chose the laugh.
I kept thinking about his mouth on my neck at dawn, and how small it felt now.
I picked up the empty plates and carried them back up the dock.
Behind me, Trent said something else, and Drew laughed again.
I walked faster. My hands were still steady.