The Bet

Chapter 14 - When You Assume You Make an Ass out of You and Me

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Chapter 14

Amy practically ran out of the cafe when she saw her car in the parking lot with Chris leaning against it.

                He was typing away at his phone but when she sped up her pace towards him, he looked up and greeted her with a smile, “Hey Amy,” he said, “How was work?” Chris pocketed his phone and slipped into her the passenger’s seat of her car.

                She ran her hand through her hair as she undid the ponytail, her mouth clearly set in a line of despair. She needed to get out of this place. The last hour at work had been torture. Amy had to talk to customers like nothing had happened, smile, and get their food without checking under the tables too much for Michael.

                “Um, fine,” she stuttered, unable to look Chris in the eyes because she knew she probably looked crazed. He would notice all of a sudden that something was off.

                Amy backed up in her car quickly, panicked, and drove off already pushing the speed limit. Her hands clenched on her steering wheel and her face was practically smashed against the front window in concentration. All she knew is that they had to go.

                “Amy?” he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder. This seemed to comfort her a little. The warmth from his hand seeped through her black shirt and she relaxed a little bit. Chris would protect her from Michael if she really needed it. Amy tried to sit back normally in her seat, her foot loosening up on the gas pedal, “Amy, are you alright?”

                By now, they were on her street and she was turning into her drive way safely. Michael didn’t know where she lived and Amy guessed that he didn’t care enough about her to go look up her last name, so she was safe here.

                She slammed her head down on the steering wheel and closed her eyes, panting. “I’m super. Just super,” she repeated, trying to calm down although she couldn’t keep the hint of sarcasm out of her voice. Amy looked up at him and met his eyes that were staring back at her filled with concern. “Sorry Chris, but yeah – I’m fine.”

                But did that ever really mean that she was actually fine? The answer was no. But Chris didn’t catch on and instead he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to face him.

                “If you need anything, anything at all, come talk to me,” he said, searching her eyes to make sure that she understood. Amy nodded, feeling small and delicate.

                Chris got out of the car and then walked around to wait for Amy to get out of the car too. He was such a gentleman, Amy thought carelessly. Yes, these thoughts contradicted the bet but maybe there was some way to get out of it?

                When Michael had come in, Amy had realized that she liked Chris. She could feel it down to her core that she was crushing on him. Sure, it was nothing serious. But now that she had such a disadvantage in their bet, well, it didn’t make sense to continue with it. When you lost your sight after you entered a dart competition, did it really make sense to keep playing when you knew that you were going to lose?

                Maybe her case wasn’t that extreme but the simile still applied. She didn’t want to play the game is she was going to lose.