Chapter 17
*Aaron*
I slowly wipe down the counter as I wait for a customer to come in and give me something else to do. I'm lucky to have been hired here with my time restrictions, but this is the slowest café I've ever seen. On a weekend in New York, this place should be filled. The good thing is I'm being paid whether customers are here or not.
The bell above the door dings and I look up and greet the customer with a smile. It quickly fades at the sight of Donovan with Colton not far behind him. Just seeing Colton's face annoys me. It doesn't help that Vicky rejected me last night because she still stuck on him.
"Hey working man." Donovan greets me with a smile. "I thought this place would have a line out the door on a cold day like this. Your face must be frightening the customers away."
"Shut up." I say. "What do you want? I'm trying to work."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are we holding up the line?" He fakes a worried face before cracking a smile. "We were already in the area and I wanted to know what time you get off today." He says, finally getting to the point. "Me, Colton and a couple of the guys wanted to go to the bar tonight for some drinks. Maybe go to a club or two."
"Can't." I quickly respond. "I'm busy."
"Busy with what? The semester is over, and I thought Sophie is with her mom this weekend."
Normally I'm jumping at any opportunity to hang out with my friends. It's a break from the long week of classes, work, and taking care of Sophie. I would agree to go tonight if Colton wasn't going to be there. The entire night would ne ruined if he were there, and I'm sure he could say the same about me.
"House cleaning." I blurt, unable to think of a better excuse. Donovan raises a brow, clearly not believing me. "If you saw my place you'd understand."
"Hm." Donovan replies. "Well if you change your mind, let me know. But since we're here, I'll take a medium coffee. Two cream, one sugar. Colton, you want anything? I'm buying."
"Sure, thanks. I'll just have the same thing." I take their order and Donovan pays before heading to the bathroom. Colton and I stand in silence for a moment before he breaks it.
"How is she?" He asks as he leans against the counter. I glance at him but don't respond. "Is she happy? Is she moving on?"
I crack a smile at the last question. What he's really asking is if she's moving on with me. It would kill him if I said she was. His worst nightmare would become true. But as much as I love to see his reaction, I couldn't keep up a lie like that.
"You claim to know her so well, what do you think?"
"Well obviously she hasn't taken you back. Otherwise you'd be throwing that in my face right now. So that leaves the question whether she's happy or not."
"It's Victoria. She can put on a happy face when needed, but you can always see the small cracks of sadness peeking through."
His jaw clenches as he stands up straight and shifts his weight. He runs a quick hand through his hair.
"I know I'm going to sound like an idiot for asking you this." He says, his eyes shifting to the floor before landing back on me. "Can you convince her to talk to me?"
I laugh at the question. Either he has a lot of nerve or no shame asking me that. Despite what I want, Vicky is my friend. Why would I put her through the pain of seeing him? She asked for space, and he made it seem like he understood.
YOU ARE READING
My Perfect Soulmate
Teen Fiction(Sequel to 'My Perfect Mistake') It's been two years since Victoria and Aaron have seen each other. Victoria has moved on and found someone who she feels she can spend the rest of her life with, while Aaron has never stopped thinking about Victoria...
