Forever Enigmatic

Chapter 9

WHEN THE LAST CUSTOMER exited, Sierra was able to breathe like a normal person. Her shoulders hunched over as her fake customer service smile slowly disappeared. The café was left to her alone after the evening rush hour. Her body was tired from doing the same twelve hour shift every day, but she managed to drag her almost lifeless body around.

How she wasn't dead was beyond her.

She stopped in the middle of the café looking at every turned wooden chair on top of the sleek white, round tables. Every single piece of furniture was scrubbed clean of the day's grime by her hands.

With a sigh, she stretched her back, closing her eyes. She let out a small groan when she heard a small crack, liberating some of the tension she was withholding inside.

"Aw, you can't be turning old already."

Sierra turned around, shocked to see Kyle standing in front of her.

"We're closed," was her comment, to which he proceeded to laugh at.

"I'm not here for coffee," he said. "I'm here for you. When are you done?"

She stood frozen for a minute too long before she remembered he asked a question. She bit the inside of her cheek as she looked down at her watch.

"Five more minutes."

He nodded, so she turned around to go the back. She knew everything was sorted, she had cleaned, organized, and done the till. But her feelings were definitely not sorted. She wished to have Isabela get her out of that uncomfortable situation or maybe tease her to take her attention off of how cute Kyle was being.

She wasn't used to this amount of attention, especially her trainer and work out buddy. She guessed the buddy part was a segue into becoming an actual friend.

Yeah, that's what they were. Friends. He took her out for ice cream last week, worked out with her almost every night, and sent her messages every other day to make sure she was fine.

He was a great friend. She appreciated him for his true friendly efforts, but she couldn't help but think about him as more.

The thought made her flush instantly. She bit the inside of her cheek staring at the inventory in vain. There was no escaping that wild thought.

Kyle was present in her life almost as much as Scarlet. He saw her every single day. If she wasn't going to the gym, he'd go visit her at the café. If for some reason he didn't show up to either place, he'd call her at night to see how her day was. It was almost like a routine. A wonderful routine. It was the light in the darkness that threatened to consume her.

"It's been six minutes," he called out.

Sierra shook her head and stared at her watch seeing that he was correct. She took a deep breath and went to clock out, getting ready to close the café for the night. After turning off the light in the back and making sure the refrigerators were working, she walked out holding her bag and keys, mentally preparing herself to go work out.

"So I have a plan," Kyle said as she locked the front door. "Today has to be special."

"A plan? Should I be scared?"

"No and yes. Knowing you, you'll fight me about all the money."

"Uh uh, we are not going out. It's our last night working out together. Next week you start training me again, remember?"

Kyle rolled his eyes. Sierra shook her head as they walked to his car.

"Yes, I know, but you've been working out every day. Your body needs to rest, especially since we're gonna start real training." His eyes sparkled with excitement under the lights of the lampposts. It made it hard to say no. She wanted to work out, liberate the day's tension, but it seemed like her plans were going to be altered by her own trainer.