Piercing Hatred | ✔️

41

~Flora's POV~

Something I hadn't considered in regards to Gabriela staying with Knox for the time being was how often he and I would see each other now, or more so, how little.

It wasn't like I wanted to go over to Knox's apartment while Gabriela was there with him, yet Knox had also told me that he wasn't comfortable with leaving her alone in his apartment for long periods of time. I wasn't exactly sure what he thought she would do, but I didn't press it. If he wasn't comfortable with it, then I wouldn't ask him.

Regardless of that, I was beginning to get a little bit antsy when he and I saw one another at work over the next few days, which was really the only time we got to spend together in person. At night, we often spent time with one another on the phone, talking until one of us eventually fell asleep first. Most times, it was me.

But being around someone in person was different from being on the phone with them, and I was missing having those moments.

"Flo?" Odette called my name as I stood in front of a shelf, just absentmindedly staring up at the stock of clothes on it. I blinked and turned, a frown on my face. "Sorry, what?" I said. "I was lost in thought." I told her honestly, not having heard her at all.

She smiled slightly and shook her head. "I was saying that I want you to come out here and sweep the floor." She replied, and I gave her a nod in affirmation. "Good." She smiled at my compliance before she turned and left.

I went and grabbed the broom and dust pan from the supply closet, wandering out of the stock room that I had spent most of my time in. Sweeping the floors had become a rather regular part of my job here, as Odette didn't seem to be very good at it. The first time I saw her attempting to sweep, she was struggling to get anything in the pan and ended up using her foot to push the dirt and dust around so it was no longer visible. It was safe to say that sweeping very quickly became my job after that, and of my own accord too.

When I exited the stock room, I bumped directly into Knox's chest as the door swung shut behind me, a noise of surprise leaving me. "Easy there, doll." He chuckled, gripping gently onto my waist to steady me.

A heat crept up my neck at his proximity and the handsome smirk that tugged onto his lips as he gauged the look on my face, amusement glinting in his eyes. I cleared my throat and stepped away, wondering how he still was able to affect me so easily.

"Excuse me." I said briskly, embarrassment laced in my voice. I slipped past him with the broom and began sweeping, casting a glance at Knox's broad back just before he entered the stock room. "Hey." Odette scolded out of nowhere, bumping my arm. I snapped my head over to her, eyes wide at having been caught. "Stop checking him out and get to work." She said, grinning teasingly.

"I wasn't checking him out." I grumbled at her, but continued sweeping like she had said to. She snickered and wandered off, leaving me to keep sweeping.

As I was sweeping, I noticed Knox kept traveling back and forth from the stock room, each time carrying different items of clothing that he was restocking the shelves with or hanging up where they needed to be. Restocking items was something which usually fell on both Knox and I rather than just him, however most of the things that he was restocking were in places too high for me to reach, so I was admittedly glad that he was taking care of it himself.

Once I finished sweeping and had dumped everything in the trash, I put the broom back in the supply closet and huffed out a breath as I shut the closet door. I brushed my hair back when it fell into my face, looking up at the sound of the door opening.

Knox entered, no longer in as much of a hurry as he had been the other times he'd come back here, and ran a hand through his messy hair. I couldn't help but smile to myself when I noticed the visible relief that crossed his face when he spotted me, not bothering to move from my spot by the supply closet. "Tired?" I teased as he approached, and he groaned with a stretch of his long arms over his head, clasping his hands together. I tried not to look when I saw the bottom of his shirt lift with the action. "That's an understatement." He responded in a mutter, dropping his arms to his sides again.

Smiling empathetically up at him, I pushed up on my toes to press a quick kiss against his lips. "You should try to sleep early tonight." I suggested, wrapping my arm around him. He hugged me closer, hands slipping dangerously low down my back. "But what about our phone call?" He asked in response, almost sulkily.

Amused, I let out a giggle and shook my head, smiling stupidly. "We've had them every night for the past five nights." I reminded, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure it won't hurt if we skip a night so you can actually get some sleep."

Though I was sure that he knew I was right, he still pouted slightly, and the unusual sight was so cute that I grinned wider. Seeing him be cute, especially so blatantly, was something that happened so rarely that I couldn't help the way I reacted. "Fine." He agreed reluctantly, not seeming to notice the fact that I was internally gushing about his cuteness. Perhaps that was better for me, though. If he knew, he'd probably go out of his way to not do it again.

He gave another kiss, this one lasting longer than the one I had initiated, and then pulled away with a low hum that warmed my insides.

We got back to work shortly after, though we both kept sharing little glances at one another or giving playful smacks to the other's butt throughout the day.