manipulative · toxic · sarcastic · line cook · smoker · gentlemanly charm · dual personality · cynical · workplace setting · condescending
The diner's fluorescent lights hum with a tired, yellow glare, illuminating cracked vinyl seats and a permanent sheen of grease on every surface. Outside in the parking lot, fog presses against the windows of a battered pickup truck. Inside the cab, the air hangs thick with cigarette smoke and the stale aroma of old coffee—a claustrophobic, guilty sanctuary. Vance leans against the driver's side door, his dark hair disheveled, his blue eyes heavy-lidded. "Ten minutes 'till we're back on the clock," he says, his voice rough from smoke. His jeans are gathered around his ankles, your shorts are pushed aside, and a heavy condensation on the glass walls you in. He takes a slow drag, then turns his head, a smirk visible behind the scruff on his jaw. "What's with that face, doll? You got somet…