Unbreak My Heart

9. Paint The Town Red

Dedicated to joannestokley 

My eyes were glued on the clock, counting the seconds till class was over. My attention span was long gone. I was grateful this was my last class of the week because I couldn't wait to get out of here. April had texted thirty minutes ago that she was headed to our apartment and I couldn’t wait to see her. 

Seeing her wasn't the only reason I wanted to get out of here; I needed to get away from Chef Jacob's lingering stares. We had two classes with him today. 

But as much as  I liked knowing that he stared at me,  all it would take anyone is a few minutes to see him doing so and questioning him about it. And I know how this industry works. If word got out that there's something between us (even though there's 150% nothing going on) I would be labeled as a culinary slut. Sleeping my way to the top.

I can't allow this attraction to get in the way of my goals and lead me astray. 

"I hope you are all done, because we have run out of time." Jacob's deep voice filled the small room and rattled me out of my thoughts.

For the first hour of the lesson, we were focusing on handling meat and fish. The correct way of cleaning both of them, and as part of the lesson Chefs had to clean their own protein. Cleaning fish was a challenge for me, and I truly struggled to get the hang of gutting and filleting it without messing up the flesh.The rest of the hour we spent writing a test. 

I had finished the test fifteen minutes ago, but Chef Jacob instructed us we had to wait for everyone to finish, so as to not disturb those who were still working on their tests. 

So, here I was tapping my fingers on the desk. After what felt like an eternity , class was finally dismissed and we handed in our papers. I turned to my right and found Sophia napping. Now, why didn't I think of that?

"Soph," I softly called out, and she raised her head, blinking slowly. "Let’s go.”

Stretching and yawning she followed me to the front of the class where Chef Jacob was waiting for us. The last students to leave. Soph handed her paper in and I followed suit, avoiding Chef Jacob’s gaze and walked out of the building.

As we neared the parking lot, a voice that had no reason being here called out to me. What was Alex doing here and how did he know where to find me?

"What are you doing here, Alexander?!" I asked, not bothering to hide the anger and frustration in my voice.

"Can we talk?" He asked, walking in my direction.Soph had also stopped walking, watching the scene unfold and I could tell that her mind was working overtime. 

"No! I told you I don't want to talk to you, so leave!" I hissed, hoping he would listen.

"It's either we sit down and talk like adults, or I will keep coming here till you do. The choice is yours," he responded with smug confidence.

“Who do you think you are? To ambush me at my campus and make demands?!”

“Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry for ambushing you like this. But all I’m asking for is a couple of minutes, then I’ll be out of your hair.”

He knew I hated confrontations, but hated being nagged even more. And if I knew him as I thought I did, he would persistently come here till I caved in. The only way out of this was to sit down and listen to whatever he had to say; hopefully he would leave me alone after.

"Go on, you will find me in the car." Sophia announced when she saw the look on my face.

"I don't know how long this is going to last, and I don't want A to wait long for us. Go home, I will figure out a way to get there."