Cubicle [h.s. au]

21) Bad Time

Harry

I watched her for a few minutes from across the room. I'd gone for a wee while Caleb went to the bar to buy the next round. We'd been having a good time, the four of us, Caleb and Alice having hit it off right away. I had a feeling they would. Caleb was a good lad, always respectful to women and a little on the quiet side. I was glad to see him enjoying himself.

But at the moment, I only had eyes for Roni. She sat next to Alice at a table, a beer in her hand, her pinky sticking out like she was drinking a proper cup of tea. There had been moments throughout the evening where I felt at peace, like everything was okay between us. She'd laughed at one of my stupid jokes and even poked me in the ribs, her head falling on my shoulder. When our eyes connected, she smiled and bit her bottom lip. When I reached for her hand, however, she pulled away a bit, grabbing her beer.

I smiled as I leant against the wall, shoving my hands in my pockets. I enjoyed watching her, the way the corners of her mouth curled up just before breaking into laughter at something Alice had said. Jesus, I was in love with her. She was everything to me, and whether or not she believed it, I was determined to show her. We were meant to be together, I knew it. This was not just some fling to me, some passing relationship between co-workers that would fizzle out before the rest of the office found out about it. In fact, I wanted everyone to know. She was mine, and I was not about to let her go.

I watched as Caleb brought the new beers to the table, both Roni and Alice grinning up at him. Just as I took a step forward to rejoin them, however, Roni's face quickly fell, like all the joy had suddenly deflated from her body. Her gaze was not on me, but somewhere near the pub's entrance, her eyebrows furrowed, her mouth in a tight line. I saw Alice turn her head to look behind her, where Roni's eyes were glued.

That was when I saw him.

He strolled into the pub in all his cocky glory, heading for the bar. At first, I thought he didn't see me, but the fact that I was stood right in front of him meant that he absolutely saw me but chose to act like he didn't.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" I scowled, causing him to stop in his tracks rather than knock me over.

"Styles," Holcomb smirked, raising a brow. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Not really. This is my neighborhood."

"You don't say."

"I do say. You're a little out of your comfort zone, yeah?"

Holcomb chuckled low, making my blood curdle. "I'm just here for a drink, Styles. It's a bar, you know."

Stepping around me, he patted my shoulder, his condescending fuckery making me flinch and shove his hand away with my arm.

"Easy, mate," he said. "I think your girl's watching. Don't want to cause a scene."

"I don't give a fuck," I snapped. "And I'm not your mate."

"Let's not do this here, Styles. I know you don't like me. But really, I'm just here for a drink. So if you don't mind..." Holcomb turned around, giving Thomas his order. My friend eyed me as he poured, silently requesting that I let it go. So I did. For now.

"What is he doing here?" Roni inquired when I sat down next to her. She looked like she was ready to explode, even more than I was.

"Claims he's just here for a drink," I shrugged.

"The fuck he is," she grumbled.

"I know. Pretty suspicious, seeing as I live next door and I've never run into him here before."