CHAPTER 1
I knew what we had wasn't real, but pretending that it was was probably the best part of us being together. I craved her touch when I was lonely, demanded it when I was lost, and desperate to have her when I just needed someone to feel me. At the end when she would leave, it was alway too easy for her and that's because whatever intangible thing I thought was there between us never really was and it never would be. Holding onto the hope that I could fill the void that ate me alive late at night or during the early morning is what kept me waking up everyday. I crave to feel something, to have passion again and to be happy. I don't know why it hurt when she tells me, "We can't do whatever this is anymore. I'm seeing someone" I sigh and rub both my hands through my hair.
"Okay" I say in a gruff voice. I don't know what to say so I really don't say anything.
"...Okay well I'm just gonna grab my stuff and go then." Tori says awkwardly before grabbing her bag and jacket off the table in the kitchen.
"Do you have feelings for this dude or something?" I say and laugh sarcastically, "I mean the Tori I know doesn't do relationships." I remark as I reach for her waist pulling her to my front. I dip my head into the curve of her neck smelling the vague lingering of cigarettes and crushed roses. I nip my teeth playfully at the bend.
"Nate, I'm not fucking around I'm serious." Her eyes burn into mine with such intent and that's how I know she's not fucking around, and certainly not fucking me anymore. She throws her black bag over her shoulder and heads for the front door of my apartment, but I grab her by the arm before she can make contact with the door knob. She just stops and sighs, her eyes never straying too far from the door.
"We're too old for this Nate and you know it. Hell, I know it." She turns around and I see her eyes are soft this time. It scares me. She is alway so hard in the way she looks at people, and that's the way I always liked it. Her cold eyes were something I was so familiar with.
"I found someone who finally makes me feel something, and these feelings are not just temporary. It's time you find someone who makes you feel too." And with that she turns the knob and walks out the door. Her long black hair is the only thing I see fleeting behind her before the mahogany door shuts behind her. The only thing she's left behind is the smell of cigarettes and crushed roses. I hate this smell now.
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The bar is slow tonight, I mean it's wednesday so there isn't much for me to do. The only people that are in the bar are our regular drunks and people that have no one to go home to, I guess that's partly the reason why I work here.
"Nate can I talk to you in my office please" My boss Craig yells from the back room. I stop wiping the countertop and head on over to him. Craig is a tall muscular guy with tattooed sleeves. He looks relatively good for his age. The only thing that hints at the number of years he's been around is his peppered grey hair. When he hears me enter he looks up from the papers at his desk and smiles at me. He looks like a threatening guy but his smiles always takes the harshness of his looks away.
"What's up boss man?" I say casually as I take a seat in one of the worn leather chairs and proceed to pick at the stray strings of the arm.
"Well I'm thinking about taking another employee on at the bar." He sighs, In all my three year of working at The Brew he's never taken on someone new.
"Sounds great we could really use the help on weekends. Me and Jeremy are busting our asses like slaves those days. What his name" In all honesty it would just be great to have a new guy at the bar.
"Her name is Olivia." Her? We have nothing but dudes working here so I was surprised when he says 'her'.
"Oh it's a chick! I mean I guess that's cool. Too many dicks around here anyway if you ask me" I remark casually. Craig laughs at this. Usually people are up my ass about my inappropriate comments but Craig has known me so long it doesn't phase him anymore.
"Yeah I thought we could use a change in here. She came in the bar the other day practically begging for any position here. Something told me she really needed the job so I gave it to her. She starts Friday and she'll be shadowing you." He explains, and i'm furious.
"Friday! Really Craig you gotta be F-ing me. You know on fridays we're hauling drinks out of our asses. It's gonna be hectic!" He gives me an entertained look,
"I figured we'd train her on a tough day. That will make a better employee am I right?" He raises one of his peppered eyebrows at me. I sigh in defeat.
"Whatever boss man. All I know is she better keep up with me." I say standing up to walk out of his office, "And she better be fucking hot too!" I shout to him before closing the office door behind me. I hear Craig's laughter through the door and I smile. I get back to the bar and start pouring shots for customers and making various cocktails. If she's hot maybe I'll take her home for the night. My beds been pretty cold without Tori.
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It's Permanent, Baby (Romance)
Romance"We're too old for this Nate and you know it. Hell, I know it." She turns around and I see her eyes are soft this time. "I found someone who finally makes me feel something, and these feelings are not just temporary. It's time you find someone who m...
