We'd talked for a few more minutes before Chris had left, after I'd assured him that I'd had a good night even though I'd been so damn nervous around him. Scarlet had tried to call me few times throughout the night, but I'd had my phone on silent the entire time I was with Chris, and then after he'd left the apartment I hadn't wanted to deal with her.
"Yes Alex, I'll come in again tonight. I know it's my vacation week but it's fine. You owe me..." I trailed off as my boss laughed on the other end of the line, as he thanked me over and over again for saving his ass the second time this week "See you tonight!" I hung up my phone, tossing it onto my coffee table and groaning under my breath as I sat up from where I'd fallen asleep on the couch, my phone instantly buzzing from where I'd put it, and it was Scarlet's ringtone, again.
"Please don't hang up this time Nat... I really want to explain what happened the other night..." I continued walking to my room, loudly rummaging through my messy closet as she continued to speak "I saw Spencer there." My heart instantly felt like it was going to jump out of my throat... Spencer was her ex, and things had not ended well at all between them, after she'd caught him cheating "I panicked Nat. He was there with that girl. The one he..." she trailed off, and then remained silent for a moment and I could tell she was trying to hide the fact that she'd been crying.
"Jesus you should have said something about this earlier Scarlet... I wouldn't have been such a bitch to you. Are you alright?" I set my phone down on the bathroom counter after turning the speaker on, and I turned the water on in the bathtub, testing the temperature with my right hand as I waited for Scarlet to answer me "Scarlet?"
"I'm not fine Nat. Seeing him that night, with her... it brought up all those old memories and I shut down... I just left... as fast as I could I left that club and got a cab home..."
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Scarlet had agreed to come hang out at the bar while I was working, and Alex had even given his ok, surprisingly, maybe because I'd reminded him he owed me... and I'd also explained to him why she shouldn't be alone...
"On the house..." I winked at Scarlet as I poured her a second glass of her favorite Irish whiskey and then returned to my normal closing time tasks. It had been fairly quiet tonight, save for the few usual rowdy groups of younger guys, so when I heard the front door open, I ignored it, concentrating instead on the highball glass I was holding in my hand.
"Natalie?" I slowly looked up from the glass I had been mindlessly wiping clean to find Chris leaning against the bar, his eyes immediately seeming to light up when they locked with mine "It's really nice to see you..." I felt my face getting warm, and I looked away from him, towards Scarlet, who was giving me the most curious look...
"Same..." It came out as barely a mumble, my nervousness returning with a vengeance, all the comfort I had felt with him last night, gone. Chris sighed as he took the seat right next to Scarlet, resting both of his arms on top of the bar, his fingers fidgeting with the edge of the napkin I'd just put down in front of him "Can I get you anything?" He gave me the smallest smile, after asking for a beer, his hand just barely brushing against mine as I sat the cold bottle down in front of him.
"So you two... you know each other?" Scarlet's depressed mood had lightened up tremendously after Chris sat down, and I gave her the slightest nod, opening my mouth to answer her "Because that's pretty fucking awesome..." The laugh that Chris let out as Scarlet herself sat there with a huge grin on her face, winking at me, was enough to make my heart jump up into my throat, my cheeks again beginning to feel warm and I looked away from the both of them, distracting myself by walking around the end of the bar and heading towards the back to ask Alex if I was good to leave a little early. I got almost all the way down the hallway before I felt a light tap on my shoulder, and I turned around to find Chris standing there, his right hand running through his hair before he opened his mouth to speak.
"You alright?" I leaned against the wall, my hands nervously fidgeting with the bottom of my shirt, finally shaking my head no at him before looking up.
"I'm just trying to figure out why someone like you seems so interested in me... I'm not trying to push you away I just... maybe I am. I don't even know anymore...because you're... perfect... and I'm. I'm not..." I trailed off, surprised at how much I'd just let slip out, moving my hand up to wipe a few tears away that had inevitably escaped. All I could hear in the now oddly quiet space was his shallow breathing mingling with my more rapid, nervous breaths, and then, I was aware of how close he was to me, his strong arms softly wrapping around me, his left hand moving up to the back of my head, gently holding me against his chest. I could hear his heart beat, and the way it slightly quickened when I adjusted my grip on him...
"This is going to sound so cliche but just bear with me..." His words were muffled as he spoke into my shoulder, still holding tightly to me, as if he knew I needed the comfort "I was immediately drawn to something about you... and I've been wracking my brain trying to figure it out..." I pulled away from him, mindlessly fixing my hair before leaning back against the wall right next to Alex's office door "And for the life of me... I can't figure it out. Maybe I will someday. And I hope you'll give me the chance to do that..."
YOU ARE READING
Call Me Yours
Fiksi Penggemar"There is nothing in this world that makes me feel the way I do when you kiss me..." •I mostly use song titles from The Brevet for my chapters. They are an absolutely wonderful, insanely talented band!
