Addicted

43

"McIntosh" I called out as I placed the coffee on the counter.

 I smiled at the dark haired man who came to pick it up.

 This job wasn't too bad. I didn't have to be very social, just smile and take orders.

 Sometimes you had the customers come in that wanted to be all chatty but I could usually just nod and smile.

 I had been working here at Nordstrom for a week now. It was an upper class cafe, and most of the customers were filthy stinking rich.

 I mean, you could smell the money on them as soon as they walked in. Prada, Gucci, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and every other brand of clothing that I could only dream of wearing came through those doors.

We were slow right now, with it being late afternoon, so I went to wipe off the tables, and check to see if anything needed to be refilled.

 I was doing better, feeling better, the more the days past. Kat was always checking on me, and making sure that she spent plenty of time with me. She did, usually, but she was at Sam's a lot too.

 It was Sam's place. I refused to think of the other name, even though it had been two weeks since the...incident.

I hadn't seen or heard from him since that night. Katrina hadn't mentioned him anymore either.

That was fine. As long as I kept him locked away in the back corner of my mind, and never opened the door, I'd be fine.

 "Chloe, customer!"

I knocked over the little vase of flowers that were sitting on the table. Whoops.

"Be right there!" I yelled back, wiping up the water that had spilled out.

 When I turned towards the counter, I dropped the empty vase, letting it slip right through my fingers.

I heard the shattering of glass against the ceramic tile, but nothing was getting to me. Not when I was locked in that ice blue gaze.

Colby stood there, looking unsure.

My breath was snatched from my body as I stared at him. He broke the eye contact, looking down at the floor. I took the opportunity to let my eyes travel down the rest of his body, taking it in. I had honestly missed seeing him.

 Black sunglasses perched on the top of his head, fitted black t-shirt, the front tucked into his black bondage pants with the chains. My eyes rested on his Gucci belt again and I couldn't help but smile. Guess he fit in here too.

My eyes traveled back up to his face, to find him staring at me again.

"Hey," He said softly.

This timid, soft looking guy didn't even remind me of the Colby that I knew.

"Hey." I replied, unsure of what to do.

 He glanced down to my feet, and pointed. "Um, do you want some help cleaning that?"

I looked down, and saw all of the glass from the vase surrounding my feet, in a puddle of water. "Damn it." I said, sighing and dropping my rag onto the floor. "I'll get it in a minute." I grabbed the wet floor sign and set it over the mess, then went behind the counter.

 I turned to face him again, wiping my sweaty palms over the black skirt of my uniform. What in the hell was he doing here? I could feel my heart beating faster, my mouth was going dry. Guess he still had the same effect on me. Great. Time for detox again.

"Wha-what can I get you?" I stammered out, not meeting his gaze.

 "Chloe," The way he said my name had my skin tingling, remembering things that I shouldn't be.

 Like the kiss at the golf course, and the way he held my hand in his room.

I looked up on instinct and his eyes trapped me again. Those things should really be illegal. It wasn't fair.

 He reached one hand behind his head, and scratched, holding my gaze.

 "Um...I'll take an um Americano, I guess." He looked up at the menu. "Yeah, that'll work." He didn't look like he had any idea what he was talking about.

"Okay, is that all?"

His shoulders slumped, and he looked back down at the counter. What in the hell? I didn't know how to take this stuttering, unsure Colby.

 I didn't know what to say, or where to put my hands. They felt weird, just hanging by my sides.

"Yeah.."

I turned to make the coffee for him. I was disappointed that he didn't say anything else.

I don't know what I expected from him. An apology maybe...no, I didn't expect an apology from him. I expected a smart ass mouth, with a glint to his silver blue eyes. A hardness that I wasn't finding on his face. It was unnerving.

 "Actually," His voice startled me, making my hand jerk.

 "Ah, fuck" I exclaimed, as the hot liquid splashed onto my skin, scalding me.

I set the cup down, and jerked again when I felt someone's cool hands take my burning one. I looked up and saw Colby standing in front of me, very very close to me. He had my burning hand in his, looking at it with concern. How the hell did he get behind the counter so fast?

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, as his eyes met mine again.

I watched his pupils dilate and the silver ring contract as I stared back at him. "Huyeah," came out of my mouth.

What the fuck is a 'huyeah?' I was an idiot. He almost smiled, his lips curving up just a bit at the corners.

"It doesn't look too bad but there might be a blister." He bent his head over my hand and I felt his cool breath caress the burning skin.

 Oh my God, that felt so good...and it was making me feel things I didn't want to feel. My brain and my body were at war with one another again. He always made me feel that way.

 I gently pulled my hand away from him.

 "Um, thanks." I replied.

"Where's your first aid kit?"

 I pointed to a cabinet. He grabbed it, and came back over to me, pulling out several different things.

 "I'm sorry for what I said about your parents, Chloe. I didn't know. That doesn't excuse anything else I did or said. Just know that I'm sorry."