The New Rival

6

Ally

    "Ally? Hello? Ally?"

    "What?" My head snapped to attention at the sound of fingers clapping in front of me to get my attention. "Sorry, I zoned out for a second."

    "Yeah I could tell." Ricki pushed 4 beers towards me over the counter at the bar I was briefly leaning on. "Take these drinks to table four please."

    "Yeah, right. On it."

    It was getting close to the end of my shift and my head was spiraling. All day I had been thinking about that stranger from two nights ago, Chris, and the look on his face when he heard me say Rivals. And that guy, that weird tall guy from yesterday who told me I shouldn't let men talk to me the way I had. The nerve he had to say that-

    "Ally?!"

    "Sorry, did I zone out again?"

    Ricki shook his head and put a bottle of water in front of me. "What's going on with you? You're all over the place today."

    I grabbed the water and started sipping it. "Just have a lot of things on my mind I guess."

    "Ally!" Before he could respond, Jane, another one of our servers, walked up to me. "Could you do me a huge favor and close tonight?"

    "Aren't you on that shift?" I scoffed at her. Jane always has an annoying excuse to leave early.

    "Yea, but I'm not feeling great and my parents are coming into town and- please?"

    I looked over my shoulder at Ricki who was rolling his eyes for me.

    "Sure, but you have to take my 8-12 shift next Saturday."

    "Deal." She smiled childishly and walked away.

    Ricki laughed as he looked down and shook his head. "Always the hero Al."

    "What was I supposed to do? If I said no, she would bitch about it for a month. Besides, I need a break next week."

    He looked up and parted his lips like he was about to say something, but stopped himself as soon as his eyes locked behind me. He was looking directly above me only by a few inches and waited a second before looking back at me and raising his eyebrows as a warning.

    That was all I needed to feel the presence behind me. It was warm. Tall.

    I turned around slowly and locked eyes with the same stranger I hoped I wouldn't have to meet again.

    I hesitated only for a moment, looking at him as he did me, trying to read something in his hazel eyes. I cleared my throat and managed to speak. "Can I help you, Sir?"

He didn't smile. Or frown. Or anything. His face stayed perfectly neutral as he backed up a step. "I need to speak with you." He looked behind me at Ricki, who was staring at him with practically a look of murder. "Alone."

"Do I know you?" My voice shifted from server to normal curious person without me even noticing.

He smiled that time, the strange man. Boy, actually. He was a boy, my age probably. He couldn't have been too much older. But he looked mature, attractive too. I hated myself for thinking that, but I would lying if I said I thought he wasn't.

"You will," he said, the words rolling of his tongue in that deep voice.

I looked back at Ricki who was shaking his head at me like I was insane for even considering what he knew I was considering.

I looked back at the boy in front of me and took a breath. He watched me, stared at me, as my shoulders lifted up and down with my lungs.

"If you come here in three hours, after everyone has left, I will speak with you. But if you pull any shit, I'll have my friends kick your ass." I don't even have friends that care enough to kick his ass, but he doesn't know that.

His subtle smile grew wider as he nodded and turned to start walking away. "Deal," he whispered under his breath. He walked about ten feet to the other side of the bar and took a seat. "I'll take a beer," he gestured at Ricki, who was in no way amused.

"You can't be serious?" Ricki whispered to me.

I looked at the boy at the end of the bar and then back at Ricki. "He's harmless."

"You literally have had two conversations with him, each lasting less than two minutes."

"Exactly." I smiled. "And when's the last time that happened?"

    Ricki shook his head and grabbed a beer from behind the bar, sliding it down to the stranger's hand. I really need to learn his name.

    "There you are!" A woman came marching across the room and sat at the bar next to the guy, the no-name guy.

    She was beautiful, beyond beautiful. The woman was stunning in every way a woman could be. She had blonde hair that was so perfectly styled down her icy skin and black dress that outlined her perfect body.

    She punched No-Name in the shoulder and shook her head at him. "I seriously can't believe you made me park. You're such a girl!"

    I've never seen or met this girl in my life and already I think I like her.

    "Yo! Can we get some shots please!" She hollered politely at Ricki as No-Name shook his head and laughed at her. They were clearly friends.

    As entertaining as it had quickly become to watch whatever was happening, the girls face turned from beautiful to devilish the moment her eyes fell on me. She gestured towards me with her head and asked No-Name something, to which he nodded back a yes.

    I left the bar and tried to make myself busy from as far away as possible from them.

    I'm starting to think agreeing to talking to him was a bad idea.