Starring Role [ Ziall ]

Chapter 10;

Darla wasn't happy about the fact that I was switching to the club restaurant. She would have prefered seeing me on the golf court. So that I could continue having an eye on Bethy. Who claimed that she wasn't meeting Jace anymore. She had met him for a coffee after he had called her twenty times that afternoon. She had explained to him that she didn't want to be his dirty little secret anymore. He had pleaded and begged, but refused to call her his girlfriend in front of his circle of friends, so she dumbed him. I was proud of her.

It was my day off the next day, and Bethy had already swung by and made sure that our date was still going to happen. Of course! I needed a man. No matter who, the main point was to get Zayn out of my head.

Today Jimmy should show me what I had to do in the restaurant, and therefore I didn't leave his side the whole day. He was attractive, tall, charismatic — and straight. However, none of the club members knew that, because he was shamelessly flirting with the men. And they bought it. Whenever a man whispered something inappropriated into his ear, he winked at me. This man was a playboy, and a good one at that.

When his shift ended, we walked to the staff room and hung up our long black aprons that we had to wear over our working clothes. "You'll do a bang-up job, Niall. The men love you, and the women are impressed by you. No offense, dude, but guys with platinum blond hair like yours usually can't even walk a straight line without giggling."

I gave him a syrupy smile. "Oh yeah? And I do take offense at your comment!"

Jimmy rolled his eyes and patted at my head. "Nah, you don't. You know you're a flaming blond sex bomb!"

"Well, are we already making a pass on the new waiter?" I heard Woods' familiar voice. Jimmy gave him a cocky grin. "You know better. You know of my special taste." He lowered his voice to an erotic whisper and let his glance run down Woods' body.

I looked at Woods, who was still standing at the door, looking a little uneasy by the fact that a heterosexual man was flirting with him, and couldn't help laughing. Jimmy joined in. "Ah, I love doing this!" He whispered into my ear, nudged me with his butt and marched out the door.

Woods rolled his eyes and walked inside the room now that Jimmy was gone.

"Did you have a pleasant day?" He asked politely.

I did indeed. Absolutely. After all, I didn't have to swelter in the heat and neither did I have to bother the whole day with the old lechers at the restaurant. "Yeah. It was great. Thank you for supporting me to be able to work here."

Woods nodded. "You're welcome. Don't you think we should celebrate your promotion with the best mexican food on the coast?"

Once again, he asked me to go out with him. Why not actually? It would certainly distract me. He may not belong to the laboring class that I wanted to look around now, but, hey, who said that I would marry and get kids with him?

Suddenly, Zayn's pained face came to my mind. I just couldn't face dating someone in his circle of acquaintances. If he really meant what he had said then I should keep his world out of my hair. I simply didn't belong to this world.

"Can we maybe postpone this? I didn't sleep well last night and am exhausted."

Woods made a disappointed face, but I knew he would easily find a replacement for me.

"There's a party scheduled at Zayn's tonight once again, but you probably already know that." Woods was watching my reaction closely. I hadn't known about that, but Zayn had never warned me in this regard.

"I've gotten used to it by now. I can sleep, anyway." That was a lie. I wouldn't get a wink of sleep until the very last one had trudged up the stairs.