Dusk & Dawn

Part XI

By the time it was five in the afternoon, Kira was exhausted, but she had to keep going as her shift only ended at six. Her phone was in the office space at the back, and at this point, she was sitting by the counter. She was on duty with two other waitresses, one of which was a college student who also was working at the cafe part time, and the other an older woman who'd been working there since the inception of the cafe, and she was there full time.

Lately, since the economy took a downturn, there had been a slow down of people coming into the cafe, and this held true for the strip club as well. This meant that the amount of money in terms of tips was drastically reducing. It's a part of why Kira went from working three days and three nights per week at the cafe and the club respectively, to five days at the cafe. Her nights at the club hadn't changed. The only reason why she was able to secure more shifts at the cafe was because the staff had consisted of mostly students, and lot of them were moving to Downing for work after graduation, the season of which had just passed.

Rachael, the barrister and owner, was sitting on the other side of the counter by Kira. Her eyes swept over the three customers. She sighed, leaning against the counter, prompting Kira to look at her. Kira herself was silently mulling over the sudden uneasy feeling that hit her. Rachael didn't say anything but Kira understood. She was worried because lately they hadn't been making as much income.

"Did you open a social media account yet?" Kira asked, and Rachael glanced over at her before shaking her head.

"It's not that I didn't open one, I just don't know how to get traffic on our account thing." She looked towards the entrance as she spoke. Kira smiled.

"When last did you post something?" Rachael looked at Kira.

"When I opened the account."

"And what was it?"

"Our specials poster."

"I think you need help navigating this social media thing." She smiled as she said this. Rachael briefly glared at her before her eyes left Kira and looked to the entrance, immediately widening in what seemed to be awe before she caught herself, sitting up straighter. Kira frowned and turned around, only to be met with an unwavering gaze full of relief. The intense nerves, longing and pure desire from the early morning came flooding back all at once and her world seemed to hit a pause, her breath hitching in her throat.

Xavier had spent most of his morning working, trying to get his mind off of her. It worked at first, until hours later he realised he'd read over the same report eleven times, his mind constantly wandering back to her.

He thought about how she looked laughing at his stories, and the small glimpses of pain that seemed to unintentionally slip through time to time. He thought of the sound of her voice, and her absolutely intoxicating scent. He thought of how she moved when she entered the room-

It was at that moment he decided he needed to take a walk. He had to constantly remind himself to not push her, so he intentionally avoided moving in the direction of her apartment. He ended up spending the afternoon mulling around the local mall till his feet hurt, mindlessly weaving in and out of stores without thinking.

As the day went, his thoughts gradually shifted from craving to see her, to worrying about her, to having very frightening thoughts about possible accidents or attacks that could've happened to her. He knew he was being irrational, but he couldn't stop himself from spiralling. This resulted in him defaulting to his coping mechanism when he feels as though everything is closing in: running.

He ran having no regard to how he looked or where he was going. That was when he caught her scent, and this time, he couldn't suppress his instincts and followed it.

Kira watched as the man who effortlessly threw her on the deepest ends of vulnerability smile at her, and she was suddenly overcome with the urge to run. She didn't even notice how he looked slightly dishevelled or the thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

Her whole body turned away from him, gripping the counter, and all she could think about was how this was not the time nor place to see him. Did he even remember her? She peaked at Rachael to find that although she had maintained a friendly face whilst facing the door, it had turned red. Kira looked to the counter, squeezing her eyes shut.

From behind she could hear one of the waitresses on the floor help and escort him to a seat, but she couldn't turn around. Rachael's eyes shot to Kira as soon as he was seated, grabbing her arm.

"Who is he?!" She whisper screamed, shaking Kira's arm. Kira slowly looked up, feeling like her stomach was in scrambles, her heart rate through the roof. "Are you okay?" She asked after taking a look at Kira's face. Kira nodded, biting her lip.

"I just-" She released a breath, deflating. She crossed her arms on the counter, burying her face into them. Rachael's eyes glanced in Xaviers direction, only to find him staring directly at Kira with furrowed brows, ignoring the menu in front of him.

"Do you want to go to the offi-"

"No!" She said, almost a little too loud, shooting her head up to look at Rachael with tear-filled wide eyes. Although she felt like running, the longing she felt was greater than that, which left her in a confusing and overwhelmed state. Rachael looked at Kira for a moment before nodding, patting her shoulder.

"Okay okay... Just so you know, he hasn't taken his eyes off of you since he's walked in." Kira resisted the urge to glance back. "If you want to go talk to him, go. We're not having a busy day anyway." She squeezed Kira's shoulder before moving to the kitchen. Kira took in a deep breath, wiping her face before turning to find Xavier looking to her with a concerned gaze.

He sat by the large glass panel at the back, the sunlight hitting his skin making him look more majestic. He look ethereal in her eyes, his jawline highlighted further by the contrast of the shadows, and his plump lips looking more inviting than ever. She smiled weakly at him, just as his waitress came to take his order.

Kira turned back to the counter, releasing a breath. Her head was running faster than she could process, moving rapidly between trying to make sense of the odds of him being here, her intense emotions and whether it was a good idea to engage with him at all. She sat there unmoving for ten minutes until a voice disrupted her reverie.

"Kira?"

"Huh?" She turned to find the waitress that helped Xavier earlier holding a slice of the cream-cheese filled red velvet cake. She held it out her. Kira looked between her and the cake. She nudged her head in Xavier's direction.

"He said it's for you." Kira couldn't help but look over at him, only to see him quickly look outside, taking a sip of his drink. Kira felt her face go hot.

"Okay." She said with a small voice while taking it. She looked down at the cake for a moment before looking at Xavier again, only to find that his gaze hadn't shifted from looking outside. A warm feeling spread from her chest despite herself and her suspicions. She steeled her heart and got up, walking towards him.

A/N: *sigh*... *chuckle*