Since We're Alone |NH|

Chapter 20

Ophelia's POV

"Hey!" I heard a cheery voice say to me as I bent over the ice container.

I was almost out of ice so I was scraping the bottom of it, so without thinking, I attempted to make myself upright, hitting my head against the bottom of the countertop in the process.

"Ow!" I said, bringing my hand to the back of my head.  Looking up, I saw Niall's face go from cheery to slightly panicked.  "Hey," I said, grimacing.

"Hey," he said back, "Are you okay?"

I looked over at him, he looked good standing there, leaning over the bar slightly.  He was wearing a dark navy blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up.  'Damn,' I thought.

"I'm fine," I said, smiling at him.

"Sorry, I didn't respond earlier.  I thought I had."

"Oh, uh, it's okay," I said, shrugging.  "Was no big deal."

"Looks like it gets pretty busy for this."  He looked around.

"It does.  We have quite a few people who come in strictly for this every week."

"I bet."

"You gonna play?"

"Trivia?  Uh, I guess."

"Okay, well, make sure you get some paper from that guy over there.  His name is Kenneth.  He'll get you set up.  And you have to come up with a team name."

"Oh, uh, okay.  Thanks.  Can I order a drink or should I wait til I can actually sit down here?" He asked, looking at me, the blue in his shirt making his eyes stand out even more.

"You can go on and order.  I promise, that guy right there, my regular from the other night, will be leaving in a minute.  And he always sits there at the end, so you won't have anyone next to you until the other guy moves and your friend can sit there.  That's about the best I can do for you at the moment.  Those four people are waiting on a booth to open up, so that might happen eventually.  Not sure how long the wait is."

"Okay."

"So what would you like?" I asked.

"I think I'll try the Scotch and Tiki with Our Taps Aff, again," he said, with a cheeky little grin on his face.

"Hope you don't mind?"

He laughed, "Not in the slightest.  I think it's hilarious."

Smiling at him, I said, "Good.  I'll get that made for you.  Does your friend want anything?"

We both looked over at the table he was sitting at.  He was talking with Tomi.

"I think he's good for now," Niall said, grin on his face.  "Hey, uh, is she seeing anyone?  I think he's got a bit of a crush on her."

"Tomi?  Oh, um, well, it's sort of complicated for her, at the moment.  Technically, no, she's not seeing anyone.  Can't guarantee she'd say yes if he asked her out, if he's actually interested in her.  Sorry," I said, making an apologetic face.

"All good.  Good to know these things now.  I'll, um, go get the paper."

"Okay.  I got your drink coming up."

He walked off and as he did so, I made sure to note that his ass looked exceptionally good in those jeans.

Turning around, I made my way over to my regular, "Hey, are you about done?" I asked, trying to not sound rushed or like I wanted to get rid of him, while also putting some urgency into my voice.