by CJ Azevedo
“Uh, yeah we do. Whenever you get a minute; no rush. Thanks.”
I honestly can’t tell by the tone of his voice how he’s reacting to me refusing him my name. Out of the corner of my eye I watch him strut back to his table, where Barbie looks irritated. That’s a bonus.
Chapter Three
Declan
Nobody at my table seems to know her name. It’s driving me crazy. She brought our next round but didn’t look my way once. I wonder what that means… she’s not interested? I kind of doubt that. I can tell by her body language, the way her eyes lose focus when they meet mine and her breathing accelerates as she listens to me talk to her, that I affect her when I’m near her. I’d waited to ask the guys if they knew her name until after she dropped off our drinks in an attempt to avoid being completely obvious, which also helped prevent them from making a big spectacle in front of her. Now, I kind of wish they had made the spectacle—at least then I might know her name.
I’ve been keeping a discreet eye and ear towards the bar to see if I can over hear anything. She’s a hard worker that’s for sure; the bar patrons are chatty with her and she keeps up with them but hasn’t stopped moving once. She laughs wholeheartedly and smiles the entire time, like there’s nowhere else she would rather be. You have to admire that.
Max walks out from the back looking as jolly as he usually does and bellows, “AVA!” as he walks straight up to the beautiful, leggy blonde.
Ava.
She glances up and exchanges a few words, then wipes down the bar one more time before she walks toward the back. I see her go into the ladies’ room in the hallway before you get back to the back office. Without thinking twice, I once again remove Rachel from my lap and walk to the hallway. I set up post leaning against the wall so she sees me as soon as she comes out, but far enough back that nobody can see me standing here like a creeper.
The door opens after just a couple minutes and she comes out looking down at her shoes as she adjusts her shirt. Everything about this girl is driving me wild. She finally looks up just before she runs into me and freezes, a look of surprise on her face. Her green eyes are wide and bright and the faint blush on her cheeks deepens the longer she looks and doesn’t speak. Her next movement is her eyes making the trip down and back up again along my body. That one little movement…well, it’s something I want her to continue, that’s for sure.
“Ava,” I say quietly, a smirk that I can’t seem to control playing on my lips.
She’s seems to have found her ground and regroups. She stands taller and looks less distracted. She smiles widely, which shows off one small dimple low on the right side of her mouth. “Sterling. Ava Sterling. Good for you; didn’t take you so long. Although I have to admit that I kind of thought you’d find out a whole lot quicker than you did.” She shrugs her shoulders and walks past me into a break room.
I turn to follow her and my eyes fall to the delicious curves of her backside. “Oh, I’m pretty sure I could have extracted the information straight from the source if I really tried. On second thought, I doubt I would have had to try all that hard,” I say to her back as I follow her into the room.
She stops abruptly and turns fiercely. “Oh you cocky little—” She’s cut off from finishing that sentence when her phone starts singing JT’s “Sexy Back.” Her eyes go wide again and she searches furiously for her phone in her apron.
I motion to the chair I’m standing next to for permission to sit down and she nods her head yes as she answers the phone.
“Hi.” Her voice is low and she sits down in the chair next to me as she angles her face toward the ground. Probably trying to block me from hearing her conversation. “Yeah, it’s going good. Um, I am actually sitting with…” she looks over to me and raises her eyebrows at me so I say my name, “with a friend,” she says hurriedly, blushing profusely. “Maybe… Ok, yes. Can I call you tomorrow?” She pauses and sighs. “Please don’t do this right now. I’m serious.” She looks like she’s getting frustrated, but she’s not mad. It actually seems like she’s trying not to laugh. “I won’t get home until 2:30 in the morning; you get up too early. I’ll just call you tomorrow morning.” She listens for a minute and then sighs loudly before replying, “Fine, you win, I’ll call you as soon as I get home. Promise.” She listens for just one second before turning her face away and whispering (but I can still hear her), “I know what you’re doing and it’s not funny, so stop. No, I’m not saying that. Stop. Goodnight. Bye.” She slides her phone back into her apron then stands and walks to the counter where she starts to prepare a Cup Noodles. “Sorry about that.” She sucks in her bottom lip and just looks at me.
“Boyfriend? And what the hell are you doing?” I ask, pointing to the noodles. I’m hoping like hell it wasn’t her boyfriend and a little disgusted at her choice of a meal.
“That? No, that is a long story. And I’m making a quick dinner. Don’t judge.” She speaks slowly as she removes her gaze from me and starts pouring hot water into the Styrofoam cup.
“I have time,” I state boldly as I reach my hands behind my head and stretch my legs out.
“But I don’t. Is there a reason you waited to follow me back here, stalker?”
“Stalker? Ouch.”
She just lifts her dainty eyebrow and slightly cocks her head.
“I thought you should know that I found out your name.”
“That’s all?” she asks innocently, clearly not believing a word I said.
“Uh, no. That’s not all.” I rub my hands down my face and lean forward on my elbows. This is going to be my first time asking a girl out on a date ever and it’s not sitting well with me. The situation fits me like last year’s sports coat. In other words, it doesn’t. “Can I take you out, Ava? Maybe for dinner one night next week?”
She smiles softly at me and it lights her face up tremendously; not that she needs any brightening; she’s beautiful. “Thank you for asking, Declan, but I can’t. I appreciate the offer, though.”
“Can I ask why you can’t go to dinner with me?” I’m not really sure how to handle this situation. I never expected to get shot down the one and only time I asked a girl out. I’m not going to take no for an answer, but I don’t know how to proceed without being a pushy prick either.
“I’m sure you’re not used to hearing the word ‘no,’ but I really can’t. I don’t date and dinner is classified as a date in anyone’s book.” She drops her head, folding her hands and twiddling her thumbs.
“I don’t date either, but I want to take you out. Go out with me?” I ask, giving her my well-practiced sexy smirk but not letting go of the skepticism I’m sure is shining brightly from my eyes.
She laughs. I’m tied in knots stressing out over losing this battle between her and I and she’s laughing.
“Oh my! You really haven’t ever been turned down before, have you? I’m sorry for laughing; don’t take it personally. I don’t not date like you don’t date, I really, really don’t date. Ever. I’m extremely busy, Declan. I have more responsibilities than you have ever thought of having. I don’t have time to date.”
“Well, that’s a shame, Ava.” Unable to handle the fact that I can’t convince her, I stand and cross the room to stand directly in front of her. I lift her chin up to look down into her eyes before speaking. I hear her breath catch as our eyes meet and I take extreme caution to keep control of myself. “You need to eat healthier,” I say, borderline embarrassed that those were the words my brain chose to spit out of my mouth. Nevertheless, I continue. “Those noodles aren’t only nasty, but they’re terrible for you. Have you seen how much sodium is in there?”
She doesn’t step away from my close proximity, but stiffens her stance and narrows her eyes just a bit. I swallow hard to fight the urge to kiss away the scowl on her face.
“I’m going to get to you, Sunshine, I promise you that. And when I do, you won’t be able to able to deny me. Not only that, you won’t fucking want to.” I bow my head closer to h
er and her eyes close, undoubtedly of their own accord, and I gently kiss the corner of her eye where her long eyelashes meet and tangle. I don’t say another word before backing out the door and heading back to the table.
Everyone looks at me as I sit down but no one says anything. I’m irritated, that’s for sure, but what Ava doesn’t know is that she just lit a fire under me. I’m not letting her win this battle.
Chapter Four
Ava
Last night after Declan left me in the break room, I ate my “nasty” noodles and allowed myself to fantasize about a future with him. Total fantasy, of course; that’s not a road I can afford to travel, no matter how hot I am for the guy. Feeling him so close to me and smelling his cologne had me a bit dizzy. When I looked up into his eyes, my heartbeat took off and I almost lost control of my breathing, but I managed to not embarrass myself… I think.
When I went back out into the bar, his group was just gathering their things to leave. None of them said anything to me or even looked my way except for Declan. He looked over his shoulder just as he was walking out and made eye contact for just a second before turning his blank expression back around and walking out the door.
I was more than a little annoyed after discovering they didn’t even leave a tip. Not even a five was left on the table. After having to listen to the giggling idiots and dealing with the girl who couldn’t keep her hands off of Declan, they should have left me a killer tip…but nothing? It just pissed me off.
That was last night. Last long night. Now it’s Friday, typically a busy night, and I’m prepping the bar to open…exhausted. I didn’t sleep at all, had class all morning and study group online all afternoon prior to coming here. I’m just finishing cleaning the tables and resetting them when I hear a knock on the door.
Drying off my hands, I unlock the deadbolt before pulling open the heavy door to find a beautiful girl who looks to be about my age. She doesn’t belong here. She’s dressed in a pressed, white, long sleeve blouse tucked into black slacks and pointy black heels. Her long black hair is blowing in the wind and she smiles brightly at me as I come into her view.
“I’m sorry, I haven’t opened yet.” I say kindly, still holding open the heavy door.
“Are you Ava?” the beautiful girl asks, even though I can tell by her bright eyes that she knows exactly who I am.
“Yes, I am.” Now she has me a little nervous. I keep a pretty low profile. If you don’t frequent Max’s, then you don’t know that I work here. I’m not ashamed of my job; it’s just not anyone’s business what I do outside the other areas of my life.
She reaches her hand out to shake mine. “I’m Macie James, Declan’s sister.”
What is she doing here? Declan said he was going to get to me—was this his plan? Sending his sister over to convince me? I snap out of my inner monologue and return her handshake, inviting her inside.
“No, thank you. I’m in a rush. He just asked me to drop something off for you,” she says with a smile as she reaches into her big handbag and pulls out an envelope.
“Oh. Well, thank you, Macie. It was nice to meet you,” I say, taking the envelope from her.
She waves goodbye as she walks up to her little silver convertible Audi. The car definitely suits the girl.
I open the envelope as soon as I lock the door, before curiosity can eat me alive. Inside, I find a $100 bill wrapped in a note.
Ava~
There was a miscommunication between us guys on who was leaving the tip. We all threw in a little extra in hopes you won’t stay pissed at us and spit in our beers next Thursday. Have a great week.
~Dec
I don’t even know what to think. How do I go about responding to this? I know I shouldn’t accept that ridiculous tip, but I’m not sure how to return it either. As I finish prepping for the Friday night crowd, I spend time thinking about this whole Declan situation, coming to the conclusion that I just can’t decide whether or not this is part of him “getting to me” or if it really was just an honest mistake. Nevertheless, it’s a kind gesture and I can’t help but smile.
The next few hours go by with me daydreaming about the guy who just stormed into my life and is now not leaving my mind. I’m annoyed, mostly that I don’t want to do anything about my annoyance because I totally enjoy the feeling I get every time I envision Declan so close to my face. I can still smell his minty breath.
I sweep through the bar, making small talk as little as possible with my regulars. I’m not interested in stopping my stalkerish ways of obsessively thinking about Declan. Declan, whom I’ve only met one time—last night.
My thoughts are interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. I spin around and am surprised to see Greyden standing in front of me with a big beautiful smile on his face.
“Hey, Greyden, you do know it’s Friday, right?” I say teasingly. “Don’t you guys only come in on Thursdays?”
He chuckles and switches a brown bag from his right hand to his left. “Yes, Ava, I know what day it is. I have a delivery for you. Not sure when I turned into a damn delivery boy, but here ya go,” he says gruffly, extending the large brown bag towards me.
“I didn’t order anything,” I protest, eyeing the bag with a confused glance.
“No, you didn’t. And I’ve gotta go, so take this from me,” Greyden says with another happy smile on his face.
I don’t know what he’s playing at, but I have to admit that I’m intrigued. I take the bag from him and smell an intoxicating aroma that makes my stomach instantly want to devour whatever is inside.
“Hey, Greyden!” I call out just before he reaches the door and spins around quickly to make eye contact. “Thanks for the tip from last night. But just so you know, I would never spit in your guys’ beers. It was just too much money, so next Thursday, first round is on me.”
He looks at me like I have two heads and it confuses me, but he doesn’t say anything. Greyden eventually gets a knowing smile on his face and just shakes his head. “Have a good weekend, Ava,” he says before walking out the door and leaving me confused and curious.
I walk towards the back just as Max comes out to relieve me for my break. Setting the bag on the table, I look inside and can’t help but laugh.
Ava~
You said going to dinner was considered a date,
But having dinner delivered, you did not mention.
Please eat it in substitute for your nasty noodles; it’ll make me feel better.
Have a good night, Sunshine.
~Declan
I pull out chicken and broccoli penne pasta with Alfredo sauce, a green salad and garlic bread, placing everything on the table. Are you kidding me?
“Whoa Ava, celebrating something tonight?” Dustin laughs as he enters the break room. “What happened to your noodles?” He pulls up a seat next to me and grabs a piece of bread. He’s really a hot guy in addition to being a great friend. His brown hair needs a good cutting, but it’s styled to not look styled and it works for him. He’s tall and lean just like his mom; the opposite of his dad.
“I honestly don’t understand everyone’s issue with the dang noodles! They’re good and they’re an easy dinner for when I’m at work,” I complain as I finish removing the lids from the different tin pans.
“Everyone?” he asks with a curious eyebrow arched.
“Your whole family and Declan.” I say Declan’s name without thought at first, but halfway through it begins to fade out as I realize it would have been a lot less trouble to just leave his name off the list.
“Declan James? Is that where this food came from?” He looks a little pissed, so I just nod my head a couple times. “Ava, I thought I told you to stay away from him?” Dustin sounds like he’s scolding a child for not listening; I hate when he talks to me that way.
“You did and I did. Or I am, I guess. He came back here last night and asked me to dinner; I told him no. He was disgusted by my noodles and then had his friend deliver this food to me tonight. End of stor
y,” I say dismissively as I dig into the food, which is as delicious as it smells.
“Wait,” Dustin says as he looks intently at my face while I chew.
With anybody else, this kind of scrutiny would make me uncomfortable, but I’ve known Dustin for such a long time he may as well be my brother. So I continue to enjoy myself, slurping up the superior noodles.
“He asked you to dinner? Like a date?”
“Yup,” I answer around a mouthful of bread.
“And you told him no then he left?” Dustin looks like he’s really considering everything I’m saying to him as if this is a life or death matter; it’s not, not at all.
“Sort of. I told him no and he wanted to discuss it.” I laugh a little at the memory of his face. He was trying to be controlled but I could see that it definitely took great concentration to discuss the matter without telling me all of his feelings on the situation. Yet another reason to like Declan James.
“Ava, I’ll admit that it’s interesting that he’s actually making an effort for a date, because that’s not his style.” Dustin pauses and scowls when I narrow my eyes at him. “I mean, it doesn’t surprise me that it’s you he decided to make an effort for, but my opinion still stands. Your life, the way it is, does not need to have him thrown into the mix. He doesn’t know about Harper, right?”
“No,” I grit out through my teeth, “he does not and will not, Dustin. Nothing is going to happen between us, so there’s no need to mention Harper. Understand?” For so many reasons, my blood is boiling. I’m pissed. I’m upset at the cards I’ve been dealt and the fact that even if there was another way, I wouldn’t choose it.
“Yeah, I understand, Ava,” he says desolately. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, really. Life sucks and you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever known. I wouldn’t be able to just sit back and watch him hurt you.” He stands and kisses me on the forehead before walking out to the bar.