The pub was unusually quiet. Ally assumed that most were at home nursing their hangovers from yesterday. She wasn't going to complain, the quiet gave her an excuse to let her thoughts consume her. Not a moment of time passed during the day when Dylan wasn't playing on her mind. He had become her obsession, one she was only to please to devour herself in.
Vince had pulled himself up a bar stool and was typing at his laptop. As there was no customers for her to serve, Ally leaned against the bar, close to where he was sitting, sipping a coke through a straw and studied him at work. Watching a man of his size, working on his small laptop was comical. He looked so out of place, he was a man meant for a more laboured job and she often wondered what he had been like in the army. One thing was for sure, if she had seen him coming towards her with a gun she would definitely be running in the opposite direction. Anyone who took Vince on in a fight couldn't be right in the head. They would have to be a down right idiot. But beneath his tough exterior he was a teddy bear, she had been one of the few privileged enough to see, the thought made her smile and she let out a small chuckle which caught his attention.
"Ally, I want to make you a manager." He told her casually before averting his gaze back to his screen. A sip of coke caught in her throat and she spluttered away the choke.
"What?" She gasped in shock. "Why?"
He looked up at her in wonder. She was amazing at her job, she must know that, and there was no one else he would honour with this promotion. "Because I trust you." He said simply. He had always intended on having two managers for his pub, but the only one who he had entrusted with the position was his brother, Billy. That was until Ally came along.
"Are you shitting me?"
He let out a low laugh and replied, "no, not shitting you. The jobs yours." He would share part of his life with her. He respected her enough to know that she would respect his family business. It had been an easy decision to make.
Setting her coke on the counter, she ran around the bar and flung her arms around Vince's neck and squealed in delight, whilst expressing her gratitude. "Thank you." She gushed. He chuckled into her neck and knew he had made the right decision. Ally was becoming part of his and Billy's family as well.
"I can't believe it." She told Vince for the billionth time and he smiled at her. She guessed it was official. She would be moving back home permanently. Her life in London was officially over. She clapped her hands in excitement and pulled out her phone. She didn't know if Megan was still at the hospital but to stay on the safe side she text Dylan rather than rang him.
I've got exciting news. Ring me ASAP.
She had no doubt that he would be excited for her. Hell, he had given her a key to his house. That was a pretty serious step. He obviously wanted to her to stick around and now she had the perfect excuse. Not that he wasn't a perfect excuse to begin with, but now she had extra benefits of having a stable job. She just couldn't wait for her life back home to begin.
When her shift ended she made her way back home and told her mum the news and she let out a sigh of relief when she was told she was welcome to move back home permanently. It gave her time to save up for a place of her own. She rang up Ollie and Sarah and despite the string of insults; they were upset she wouldn't be moving back to London, they were glad for her. She had been so much happier recently and they agreed the permanent move was definitely the right choice for her. They would visit her as often as they could.
Pulling out her keys from her pocket she placed them on the table in front of them. She stared at them hard. She had yet to hear from Dylan and wondered whether she should use the key he had given her to go and visit him. He had said he wanted to her to come round whenever she wanted and damn it she wanted to see him. Picking up the keys, she flung on her coat. She wanted to go round now. Arriving at his house ten minutes later, her hand shook in excitement from using the key for the first time. She felt like this was a big step in their relationship. She also felt a little foolish; she was a twenty-eight year old women getting excited over a front door key. That made her a little sad. As she turned the key, the sound of the blaring TV filled her ears. She found Dylan asleep on the sofa, the TV forgotten. She tiptoed around him not wanting to wake him, placed a soft kiss to his forehead and made her way to Megan's room. Megan was asleep too, so she made her way to Dylan's bedroom and climbed into his bed. He would join her when he woke.
