Ascension

Chapter Eleven

I stared at the sun-kissed model and swallowed harshly. His jet black suit and prominent red tie matched the flush in my cheeks. Abel wasn't the only attractive male in my shop today. He tilts his head. "Poor thing. You seem agitated."

"Yeah. Well, you can blame Chance for that." I clenched my eyes shut and rested my forehead against the counter. It has been too long of a day to deal with this again. Then it hit me. I glared at him once again. "Wait. What are you doing here? Did my dad send you here?"

"Calm down, Shorty. I told him I was going to leave work early." He shoved his hands in his slack pockets. "He just happened to need help with you. It was on the way home, it was convenient. I didn't throw myself at him for the offer."

"Right." I removed my eyes from him.

He gestured to the door. "So, can we hurry this up? I need to eat."

"Yeah, just give me a minute." I began to shut down all of the machines and the rest of the equipment in the back. I made sure the back door was locked and the lights were turned off. I couldn't help but take a moment and recollect the last time he was here.

He waited patiently for me at the front door as I collected the rest of my belongings. I approached him and he stood straight. "Hey, I uh..." I started to mutter. "I wanted to thank you for everything. For installing my security system. For helping me out. And I wanted to apologize."

"You have nothing to thank me for."

"I believe I do." I interject quickly. "It was very generous. And the party was not that bad. It was actually kind of fun."

He hums and rubs his lips together. "I would say it was one of the very few parties I've enjoyed..." There was a moment of silence. "I'm not used to being thanked, so I don't know how to respond to you. That's all. But all is welcome. Don't worry about the whole arm thing, though. Seriously. I told you I'm okay."

I nod and pull my belongings closer to my chest.

"Let's go, it's getting dark." He was changing the subject before it got awkward, it wasn't hard to tell. So I kept my lips tightly shut. I swore up and down that I wouldn't put myself around him again. Here I was breaking all the morals that I knew. I couldn't help but have a conversation with him. And here I was finding myself staring at him longer than I needed to.

For the many years that I've known Emma, I had no problem avoiding him. I didn't even know of his existence. How come it wasn't that easy now?

I locked up the shop and engaged the security alarm. It was a short walk to find Gavin's car, parked just at the end of the block. He opened up the trunk of his car and I placed all of my belongings back there.

He adjusted the collar of his tie and then leaned against the car. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

Well, I was confused until he reached back for an unmarked package of cigarettes. I couldn't tell what they were until he brought one to his lips, lighting the twisted end. "I didn't know you smoked." I took a few steps back up on the sidewalk.

He breathed in and then out, a large cloud of white smoke filling the air. He cleared his throat and then took a sip of his water sitting in the back of the car. "I have been for a while. It's sort of a habit when you're stressed out."

"I would appreciate it if you didn't bring it around me. It also isn't good for you."

He took another puff, pulling at it several times before finally exhaling. He looked down at me and his lips fell straight. He threw it down into the sewer.

He gave me a half hearted smile.

"Now you don't have to do all of that."

"You said it made you uncomfortable."