Flames Between Us (bxb) | ✔

Chapter Thirty Five

And yet, still no eye-contact. I sigh silently and listen to George as Micah walks away. Giving us a chance to talk, try our wine and decide what we're going to order for dinner.

That's when I realised I didn't have the mental capacity to do this today, seeing Micah put so many things into perspective for me and I couldn't bear another second not talking to him.

It had been weeks since I last saw him. I respected his space and refused to bombard his phone with calls and texts like a desperate idiot. As much as I wanted to, as much as I wanted to call him so many times that he had no other choice but to answer. I knew deep down that if we had even one percent chance of getting back together, he would remember how disrespectful I was to him whilst demanding he answered me. I knew he would never want to see me ever again if I did that.

Soon he comes back over to take our orders for dinner, this time barely giving any of us any eye-contact at all. You could tell how much this was affecting him, even in his voice as he got gradually quieter.

The rest of the night was torture and I sat here feeling guilty as hell whilst he waited on our asses like a bunch of snobs, drinking a £140 bottle of wine. Fuck, I hated myself. This is everything he hates. But for the first time, he looked like he didn't care. Like nothing or no one could bother him.

Micah comes by to place down our plates, then to take them away again and then brings us a new bottle of wine. I couldn't wait for George and Will to shut up so I could at least attempt to speak to Micah at a good time.

I could tell the both of them were slowly becoming intoxicated, their words started to slur and their laughter got louder. In my mind I realised how unimpressed and uninterested I looked but George and Will didn't seem to mind, they got a free meal and free alcohol out of this. What did they have to complain about?

Micah places the bill down on our table later in the night and he retrieves the card machine. George and Will talk loudly as I punch in my pin and make sure to leave a generous but unpatronising tip.

George stands to pull on his coat and Will follows. "Oh thanks so much for such a great night Weston," Will says as I continue to hold the card machine in my hand.

"That's alright guys, I'm glad you both had a good time. I'll be sure to email you both tomorrow, summarising what we discussed." I smile. If only I could remember what they discussed.

Will holds out his hand and I give it a firm shake before doing the same to George. "Our Uber is here," he nods and I smile back.

"Go, don't miss it." I respond as they wave and walk towards the front door.

The receipt prints out from the machine and I finally turn my attention back to Micah who was standing awkwardly at the end of the table. His gaze was directed at the floor as I hand over the machine.

Opening my mouth but finding myself tongue tied, I instantly shake this off and inhale slowly. "I didn't know you'd be working here," I say to grasp his attention. Anything to finally get him to look at me.

Micah pauses as he glances down at the machine and pulls out my card with the receipt, he places it down on the table beside my elbow. "I didn't have any other choice," he sighs as he glances up at me.

When our eyes meet my core clenches and I just wanted to wrap my arms around him, hold him tightly and wish that things could somehow change. We were acting like strangers and yet he knows more about me than anyone in the world.

"What?" My voice comes out desperate. "You did have a choice, Micah. The fact you'd rather work here than for me is crushing me."

His eyes flick between mine slowly and his throat clenches tightly. He pushes his glasses further up his nose with his finger and glances away for a second. "I still need to pay my bills and rent. This is just temporary whilst I find something else." He clears his throat.