Trials Of A Heart | ✔️

26

~Brielle's POV~

On Sunday morning, I rolled out of my bed bright and early, because I had a shift that I had to get to at work today. Bartley's Spoons, which was the name of the ice cream shop that I worked at, was open all days of the week but I usually only worked on the weekends. Still, though, sometimes my days would change depending on my hours. Today, however, I worked from nine AM to five PM, so I woke myself up early at just before eight AM to get ready for work. I didn't want to be late.

First I took a thorough shower and then got out, wrapping myself in a towel afterwards. I decided to blow dry my hair for once instead of just leaving it to dry on its own, the hot air feeling nice on my skin as I used the blow dryer I kept beneath the sink. The air was so hot as it hot my face that it somehow gave me goosebumps. Once I finished up drying my hair, I unplugged the dryer and looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, which was no longer fogged up. My fluffy towel was still wrapped around my body and my hair looked an utter mess now that it had been dried, the long strands yet to be brushed. I really quite liked my hair, as I had naturally long curls, but if I didn't brush it out every day at least once, it'd be a complete pain to fix. Thankfully, though, I was generally pretty good about being sure to brush it, so there wasn't too much hassle with it today.

Next, I headed into my closet and began to look for something to get changed into. It was often cold in the shop, so I usually dressed a little warm or would just bring along a hoodie. I got dressed in a pair of blue jeans and then pulled on a cropped white shirt, throwing on a little green hoodie over the top with my usual white converse on my feet. It was a good thing that I didn't have a uniform for work. Wearing clothes that I didn't necessarily want to wasn't something I liked, but really who did?

I spritzed on a bit of perfume and made sure I had put on my deodorant before I grabbed my phone and left, heading down the sidewalk towards the bus stop. Phoenix had offered to drive me to and from school, sure, but I still had to use the bus to get to and from work. It didn't bother me, of course, since I'd been using the bus as transport for a while now.

After about a fifteen or so minute bus ride, I arrived at work and headed inside, the door slowly shutting behind me as I walked towards the counter to start my shift. I tucked my hair behind my ear and sighed deeply as I looked over the empty shop, which wasn't unusual as it was beginning to ease into the colder months, and it was always far less busy during the colder months. Really, it was practically empty the entire time, which I didn't necessarily mind but I also didn't get tips because of that. I had to rely purely off of my paycheck and, though that wasn't bad or hard for me to do, it was always nice to get tips.

**

It was only about three hours into my shift that, to my great surprise, the front door of the shop pushed open as a customer came in. I perked up and glanced over, my brows shooting up as I recognized the person who had entered the building.

"Phoenix?" I asked, unable to help myself from smiling as I looked at him from behind the counter. He gave me a little smirk and sauntered up to me, standing on the opposite side of the counter with his large hands shoved in his front pockets. "Found you, Ellie." He hummed playfully, a glint of mischief in his soft brown eyes. I wasn't sure what he was here for, as he'd never showed up here before, but I was admittedly glad to see him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him curiously, cocking up a single brown brow at him. His eyes trailed over my features, lingering briefly on my lips. "You told me that business runs really low when it starts to get cold." He told me simply, shrugging his broad shoulders like it was nothing. "So, here I am." He finished. A silly smile grew on my face as I felt the butterflies in my belly batter up inside of me, heat warming my cheeks as it always did around him. "O-Oh." I stammered, biting gently on my bottom lip as I peered up at him from across the counter. "You came here just for that? You didn't have to trouble yourself so much." I said shyly, though I was definitely grateful for it nevertheless. It was nice to have company, especially his company.

His full, pink lips tugged up into a smirk as he peered at me. "Who ever said that I was troubling myself?" He retorted in a hum, giving me a questioning look. "If I didn't want to come here to see you, to keep you company, you can bet your ass that I wouldn't." He assured me. It occurred to me then that he was right, because he'd told me how he was with other women. There was no reason for him to lie to me when he'd told me that already. That meant he really had come here because he wanted to.

Grinning dumbly, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and glanced up at the clock that hung on the wall opposite of me. My shift lasted for another four hours, which wasn't too bad at all. "Do you want anything while you're here?" I asked him, cocking my head to the side curiously. I wasn't sure how long he'd be here. Sure, it was pretty unlikely that he'd be here for the rest of the four hours until I got off of work, but I still wanted to be sure to ask him.

"How about a kiss?" He suggested smoothly, leaning his large body against the counter that separated us. His muscular forearms flexed as he braced them against the surface of the counter, staring at me expectantly. "I'd even pay, if you want me to. But I want my kiss." He hummed, staring at me intently.

My face burned brightly and I found myself glad that he and I were the only ones here, because I would've been absolutely mortified had anyone else been here to hear his words. This man had so little shame that it astonished me sometimes. "A-A kiss?" I stammered, flustered. He smirked, cocking up an oddly perfectly shaped brow of his. "Mm." He hummed with a simple nod of his head. "Just one kiss. Won't bother you too much, if you gimme that." He assured. I hesitated, because I knew that security cameras watched over the building, especially where I worked the counter at. The last thing I wanted was to be seen kissing someone on the cameras, if someone checked over the footage.

I told him this, and Phoenix simply snorted. "I'm yours, and you're mine, Ellie. Nobody's here. What reason is there to check the footage, anyhow? Who do you think will see it?" He responded, causing me to bite my lip nervously. Still, I found myself wanting to kiss him too. After all, I liked him just as much as he liked me. Perhaps I even liked him more, if I thought about it realistically.

"Okay." I said softly, placing my hands on the counter to support my weight as I leaned over to give him a kiss. I'd intended for the kiss to be brief, but Phoenix clearly had other plans aside from a peck on the lips. He grasped me by the back of my neck and kissed me hard, deep enough that I gasped against his mouth, surprised by the force behind it. He was the only man I had kissed before, sure, but I wasn't sure it would ever become normal to me to kiss him this way. His kisses were intoxicating, and they made my head spin wildly.

When he pulled away from the kiss, I breathed heavily as I peered up at him with a heat in my cheeks. He just smirked, stroking his thumb gently along my bottom lip. "I can't stay longer." He whispered. "But just know, I'll be back to do that more often."