Page 33 of A Different Form of Oxygen
Twenty-one
Gavin
Leaving Ben’s bed this morning left me feeling disjointed from everything around me. I don’t have to stay at the tattoo shop for long. My brother is so busy with customers today, I barely see him. Drake comes out from the back more than he usually does and isn’t very talkative, not that he is on most days, but he at least usually smiles. Not today. I know he and his ex-wife have had some disagreements and he may have to sell his house soon since both of their names are on it. I think change will be good for him. I tell him bye and he doesn’t even glance up from the paper he’s reading over.
“See you later, Gav; thanks for helping out today.” His voice is coming off stilted.
“Tell my brother I’m heading to my own job now. Hopefully you guys slow down soon.”
My brother’s shop is only ten minutes away from the bar. The sun light covers my bodyas I pull into the parking lot, causing me to squint. The sharp coldness from the bar almost has me jumping back outside. I have deliveries this morning that need to be signed off on. We open at eleven for lunchtime.Rebecca greets me on my way to the back where the deliveries come through.
“Hey there, boss, long night? Are you cheating on your own bar again by drinking somewhere else?”
I don’t want to give the real reason why I’m exhausted this morning, but her smirk tells me she has already guessed it. “Nah, just restless sleeping. Did I miss the delivery truck?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. They are pulling up as we speak. Restless sleeping, huh? I guess that happens when you don’t sleep alone.”
I Ignore her comment, holding in a laugh. “Great, I’ll go meet them outside then. Tell Stanley to come out here and get ready and help unload everything.”
She nods before taking off for the front of the bar. The heat of the sun has me wanting to stand out here the rest of my shift, its melting warmth resting easy on my skin. After getting the delivery inside, I walk to the front with a fading smile. Kyle’s blue eyes beam up at me, his feet tapping against the bar and he squirms in his stool.
“Hey, Gav.”
Growling loud enough for him to hear, my hand loudly meets with the bar, causing Kyle to jump in his seat. “I thought you’d be happy to see me.”
“And why the hell would you assume that? You shouldn’t be here, Kyle. I don’t have anything else of yours.”
He rolls his eyes. “I don’t need anything, Gav, I just need you. I miss you, baby.” He stands from the stool and before I can stop him, his hand is quickly pulling me to his face and pressing his lips to mine. His mouth touches mine for only a few seconds before I shove him away.
“No, I’m not doing this with you again. It’s over, just like you said over a month ago. You need to go.” My blood runs cold and I grimace, wanting to forget his lips ever touched mine.
He pouts, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I need a place to stay, Gav, I have nowhere else to go. I want to come back home.”
“You don’t live there anymore, it’s no longer your home, and I’m sorry but it’s no longer my problem. Go stay with the man you left me for. The man who you said took better care of you.”
I move past him, out the front door. My hands tightly grip the hot railing. The door swings open behind me, his dress shoes moving across the pavement in short strides.
“Please, Gav. Just think about it. I’m sorry I made a mistake. We were good together, weren’t we?”
My jaw clenches, teeth scraping against each other. He can’t seriously think I’m that desperate. I turn around to face him with burning eyes.
“No, we weren’t good together. Nothing about what we had was good other than the sex.” Even that was never fully satisfying for me. “I want…no, I need more than that. I thought you did too. Now you really need to go. Besides, I’ve moved on and you should too.”
His face pales, his throat moving violently as he swallows. “Okay. Just know if you change your mind—”
My words cut sharply into him. “I won’t.”
With anger filled eyes, he storms off toward the parking lot, feet slamming against the gravel. I don’t know why he’s so angry when this is what he wanted. I rush back inside, ice cold air hitting my skin again. This time I’m glad to be in here rather than out there where Kyle still is, standing against the car I bought him, sulking in the parking lot. Rebecca clears her throat behind me. “Having a rough day already?”
I huff out a laugh. “It’s always rough when your ex shows up out of nowhere.”
She nods, appearing sympathetic. “Sorry, I would have warned you if I knew. I’ve never seen that guy before. Were you together long?”
“Yeah, over a year; he just never came here.” This proves even more how wrong he was for me. All he ever cared about was what he needed. I might as well have been in a relationship with myself because that’s how it felt most days.
“Wow, we’ve seen Ben a lot more than that and he’s only been here once. Is he coming to keep you company again today? You are less productive when he’s here, just so you know,” she says with a chuckle. “I’ve never seen you so flustered before.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t you have work to do? Those shelves won’t stock themselves,” I mock.
