pointed stare. Her soft, golden locks sway, fluttering the middle of her white camisole as she nods again.
The edginess disappears from his tense stare. He runs a hand over his lightly scruffy cheek, ending the rub on his dark buzzed hair. He tells her something, crossing his arms over his chest, causing his curved bicep to bloat proudly. He moves his black jean and heavy boot-clad leg to rest on the foot ring of one of the stools and speaks again to the spectacle of delicate prettiness before him. Her lips twist, and her eyes downcast in response. I’m too far to precisely zero in on her eyes, but from where I sit they seem to have turned glossy. A bolt of alarm crosses his face and he inches to envelope her in his arms. Her petite figure is swallowed in his embrace. He crouches for his chin to rest on the crown of her head and closes his eyes. Something streaks through me, a sudden jolt of jealousy which at first I can’t make any sense of. I take a sip of my water and look at them out of the corner of my eyes. At second glance I realize where the envy came from, it’s the sense of protectiveness and care his hug emits that causes my heart to tug. I’d do anything to feel secured again, to allow someone to make me feel this way.
But I know it’s not in the stars for me. I gave up on that. Nothing can take away the pain I’ve been harboring, and the rooted guilt I nurture. I inhale deeply, shake away the thoughts that cloud my mind, and signal to the bartender for another drink. Scotch this time.
I place the bulky goblet on the table I left earlier, returning the smiles that greet my return. Luckily my persistent suitor found another victim with whom he now occupies the dance floor and I get a chance to enjoy a light conversation with J.D. and Paul.
Chapter 7
Reeves
I run by a 7-Eleven for eggs and a gallon of O.J., before getting to the new apartment to wait for the movers, knowing full well how in about an hour my stomach will cause riots if I don’t eat a sufficient amount of food. I maintain my body like the oiled machine that it is. I treat sport like a religion, training 6 days a week. Healthy food is a subsidiary creed. Keeping in shape is a prerequisite in my line of work, together with alertness and strength. I can’t let myself slip in either of them.
Having about twenty minutes before the moving bedlam starts, I turn to make breakfast. While the six egg omelet sizzles in a pan, I down half a gallon of O.J. and read the news online. The little talk I had with Katie yesterday intrudes my news skimming. I halt and look out the window. It feels like a rock the size of the moon has been lifted off my chest after ironing out our misunderstanding. I was so glad she agreed with my resolve on the subject that we could never have anything physical between us. She swore it was a one-time mistake on her part and she’d never pull something like that again. Even if hell froze over I wouldn’t look at Katie any other way but as family, a little sister. I don’t know what came over her the other day, but I sure hope it would never happen again.
My thoughts wander to the keen spectator we had last night.
Nia.
She didn’t notice me observing her for a while after Katie and her friends hit the dance floor. I was leaning on the wall behind the bar, behind my laboring colleagues, watching her. There’s something about her eyes, I couldn’t get my eyes off her. My lips twitch at the corner remembering Dan’s smirk when I poured myself a finger of Talisker once I’d decided I was done working for the night. He shook his head at me with a shit eating grin.
“You don’t want to pull any crap with me tonight,” I told him above the rim of the glass.
“That I know,” he said. “I saw you talking to Katie…”
I narrowed my eyes at him, stressing the fact that he shouldn’t even imply anything about Katie and me.
He just sighed in surrender and murmured, “I just wish that for once you weren’t as
The edginess disappears from his tense stare. He runs a hand over his lightly scruffy cheek, ending the rub on his dark buzzed hair. He tells her something, crossing his arms over his chest, causing his curved bicep to bloat proudly. He moves his black jean and heavy boot-clad leg to rest on the foot ring of one of the stools and speaks again to the spectacle of delicate prettiness before him. Her lips twist, and her eyes downcast in response. I’m too far to precisely zero in on her eyes, but from where I sit they seem to have turned glossy. A bolt of alarm crosses his face and he inches to envelope her in his arms. Her petite figure is swallowed in his embrace. He crouches for his chin to rest on the crown of her head and closes his eyes. Something streaks through me, a sudden jolt of jealousy which at first I can’t make any sense of. I take a sip of my water and look at them out of the corner of my eyes. At second glance I realize where the envy came from, it’s the sense of protectiveness and care his hug emits that causes my heart to tug. I’d do anything to feel secured again, to allow someone to make me feel this way.
But I know it’s not in the stars for me. I gave up on that. Nothing can take away the pain I’ve been harboring, and the rooted guilt I nurture. I inhale deeply, shake away the thoughts that cloud my mind, and signal to the bartender for another drink. Scotch this time.
I place the bulky goblet on the table I left earlier, returning the smiles that greet my return. Luckily my persistent suitor found another victim with whom he now occupies the dance floor and I get a chance to enjoy a light conversation with J.D. and Paul.
Chapter 7
Reeves
I run by a 7-Eleven for eggs and a gallon of O.J., before getting to the new apartment to wait for the movers, knowing full well how in about an hour my stomach will cause riots if I don’t eat a sufficient amount of food. I maintain my body like the oiled machine that it is. I treat sport like a religion, training 6 days a week. Healthy food is a subsidiary creed. Keeping in shape is a prerequisite in my line of work, together with alertness and strength. I can’t let myself slip in either of them.
Having about twenty minutes before the moving bedlam starts, I turn to make breakfast. While the six egg omelet sizzles in a pan, I down half a gallon of O.J. and read the news online. The little talk I had with Katie yesterday intrudes my news skimming. I halt and look out the window. It feels like a rock the size of the moon has been lifted off my chest after ironing out our misunderstanding. I was so glad she agreed with my resolve on the subject that we could never have anything physical between us. She swore it was a one-time mistake on her part and she’d never pull something like that again. Even if hell froze over I wouldn’t look at Katie any other way but as family, a little sister. I don’t know what came over her the other day, but I sure hope it would never happen again.
My thoughts wander to the keen spectator we had last night.
Nia.
She didn’t notice me observing her for a while after Katie and her friends hit the dance floor. I was leaning on the wall behind the bar, behind my laboring colleagues, watching her. There’s something about her eyes, I couldn’t get my eyes off her. My lips twitch at the corner remembering Dan’s smirk when I poured myself a finger of Talisker once I’d decided I was done working for the night. He shook his head at me with a shit eating grin.
“You don’t want to pull any crap with me tonight,” I told him above the rim of the glass.
“That I know,” he said. “I saw you talking to Katie…”
I narrowed my eyes at him, stressing the fact that he shouldn’t even imply anything about Katie and me.
He just sighed in surrender and murmured, “I just wish that for once you weren’t as
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