Page 97 of Fragile

I was three sheets to the wind as were the boys and we all man-hugged each other and said the usual affectionate shit. The annual lads holiday came up too, something I wasn’t sure I wanted to be part of now. It was usually a fuck fest, everyone being single. And that was the problem right there. I wasn’t single, not in my head. I was as coupled up as Sam, who had now been with his girlfriend for several months.

On the journey home, Leonie was all over me and had I been sober enough and alone with her, I would have taken her in the car.

When we got back to the house, we all had a nightcap before Asher and Mark went to bed. I sat on the sofa with Leonie lying with her head on my lap. I stroked her hair whilst we watched one of the shitter James Bond films. I was itching to start something with her but knew it wouldn’t be fair. Leonie had also sunk a decent amount of booze and the next time we fucked, I wanted to be sure she was fully aware and wanting.

As the rest of the night slowly travelled by, from my inebriated state, I managed to carry Leonie and tucked her up in her own bed. It was the hardest thing ever but I knew I couldn’t put her in mine, the temptation to touch her would have been too much.

It was now the earlier hours where Saturday was turning into Sunday and I needed some sleep before I hit the gym. I decided that when Leonie came back from her shift at Felice’s later that afternoon, I would tell her how I felt and ask her out officially.

I fucked off the shower and sat on my bed, feeling like a hundred hammers were in my head. As I pulled my jeans off, I saw a package.

My vision was blurred I was that tired, so I pushed the package further onto the table and decided to deal with it when I could focus.

I hit the bed like a sack of shit but fell asleep with the biggest smile on my face.

Fourteen

Leonie

I woke up early with a massive hangover and was still fully dressed. I wondered how I’d gotten to bed, the last thing I remembered was watching James Bond.

I checked the time and set off for the shower, hoping to catch Gabriel before I left for work. I’d had so much fun at Max’s party. Everyone had been so welcoming and Gabriel had been all over me, I had loved it. It was the first time I’d seen him laugh twice in a row. I also felt like I was part of a friendship group now, special. I’d also seen that my feelings for Gabriel were reciprocated.

His door was closed when I passed by and so I decided not to wake him.

I was on an early, covering the breakfast shift and then Sunday lunches at Felice’s and I had decided that when I got home, I would tell Gabriel how I felt.

Work was busy during breakfast time but started to even out during the afternoon. Felice’s did offer a Sunday lunch special, but as it was an Italian, it wasn’t your traditional meat, veg type of thing and so it wasn’t as popular that day of the week.

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I was used to the sensation of being watched; I had lived with it for years since puberty, but this time it felt different. Turning from the counter, I pushed one of the tablets we used to take orders under my arm and scanned the restaurant. Maybe I had missed someone?

It didn’t take long before I saw them. In the far corner on the terrace, there was a young couple and they were looking my way with their menus lowered. I felt a surge of relief. That would explain the reason for that feeling. It was just due to paying customers who were waiting to be served and looking for a waitress with a hint of impatience. That I could deal with. Ever since the break-in at the apartment, I’d been slightly on edge.

Tucking a strand of hair which had come free from my ponytail, I turned up the wattage of my smile and sauntered over. As I approached, they both twisted their heads towards me. The guy smiled but the girl remained slouched in her seat with her arms folded, looking like she didn’t want to be there.

The man was incredibly good-looking with dark black hair, olive skin and a boy band-worthy face. His eyes were so dark they were almost black.

“Can I get you guys a drink?” I asked. The man opened the menu again and I noticed both his hands were heavily tattooed. The girl just snorted. Lover’s tiff maybe?

“I’ll have a JD and Coke and Ava here will have a Coke, no ice,” he replied with the hint of an accent, was that Irish?

I continued to smile, not being one to judge a situation unfairly and thumbed in their order.

I found it interesting that he ordered for his girlfriend, if she was his girlfriend, there was a definite age gap or maybe she was his sister? My gaze flickered over her colouring, noting that they looked nothing alike. Yes, she also had dark hair but her skin was extremely pale, you could see the blue veins on her neck

“Are you ready to order food or do you want a minute?” This caused the girl to push up further in her seat and glare openly at the man opposite her. I found it amusing that he glared right back.

“Well, go on Kai. What do I want to eat?” she snapped. The man wasn’t upset by her outburst, if anything he looked faintly amused as he looked up at me with exasperation. Maybe she was his annoying little sister or something, her pout suggested she was probably younger than she looked.

“You’d better give us a minute, whilst I discuss the topic of manners with Ava here.” He leaned back in his seat and flexed his shoulders. He was huge compared to the girl and I felt a moment of concern. Maybe she was there under duress.

Pushing the tablet back under my arm, I glanced down at the girl. She must have noticed as she lifted her eyes to mine. She was incredibly pretty or would have been if she hadn’t been pulling such a face.

“Ava, that’s a pretty name,” I said honestly.

She gave me a slight smile, “Leonie’s is much better. Sweet and unique.”

Her words caused my eyebrows to inch towards my hairline. Did we know each other?

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