The Worst Love Story Ever (18+)

14. River Monsters Marathon And Popcorn

Ash took me to his favorite place, a weird mix of dive bar and diner, very rough in the edges. It was a spacious building, the wooden tables were long and the windows on the front wall were huge. I thought it was weird at first, that he would bring me to a dive bar to have dinner. But once we got there, I loved everything about it, especially how unpretentious it was. We picked an outdoor table and sat in silence until I started to sing quietly.

"...Oh what's becoming of me."

"Still singing that, huh?" He raised an eyebrow.

I shut my eyes, going much louder. "Ride the tiger! You can see his stripes but you know he's clean. Oh, don't you see what I mean?"

"You done?"

"Gotta get away."

He rolled his eyes and sang the last part with me. "Holly diveeeeeeeeeer!"

He laughed. The sound seemed like it came from his heart. "You're something else, you know that?"

I sat back, relishing in his sweet stare. "Sorry... it's stuck in my head! It's your fault for bringing me to a place called The Holy Diver. Ash... It's a dive bar called Holy Diver."

"Enough with the song!" He laughed.

"So, what have you been up to?"

"Not much. Hanging out with friends and family; traveling from time to time... I'm getting kind of bored, to be honest."

"Bored?"

"Yeah... I should have found a job to keep me busy during this break."

"You can always visit us in California. I'm pretty sure Ethan would have a ton of ideas to keep you busy."

"He's a frantic guy, huh? I heard he's taking good care of you."

"He is. I owe him so much," I said, silently recollecting that awful day at the beach not too long ago.

"Me too. He helped me get on my feet when I first went to Ireland."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We met during auditions. I was broke at the time, and I didn't know my way around Dublin," he said. "So when they called me back, Ethan said I could stay with him."

"He's the best... He's got such a huge heart."

"Yeah... Look, there's something I've been meaning to ask--"

"Lucas?" I cut Ash in, looking past him. My boss was strolling through the tables. He came in our direction when he heard his name.

"Hey! Looks like we go to the same places."

"You come here a lot?" Ash asked.

"Every time I come to the city, yeah."

"Why don't you sit with us?"

"Oh, no. I'm meeting some friends."

"You can wait with us." I pulled a chair for him.

"I don't want to disturb you two. You must have a lot to catch up."

"Please, we insist," Ash said. "At least let me buy you a beer. It's the least I can do for you taking such good care of Val."

He looked at me, still hesitating and I knew exactly why. He thought he was gonna be interrupting. I smiled and nodded so he would know it was okay.

"Alright then." He sat down, but he didn't seem so sure.

"So, my girl here says you're her guard angel." Ash said.