~13~ the look of love

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“Armand! Stop. You’re choking him,” I place my hand lightly on his arm. Navarro freezes up. The muscles in his forearm becomes tense at my touch. There’s a certain wildness in his eyes. He seems to forget about Mr Z — we both do — and his gaze shifts to my curious one.

If I could bottle this moment up, I would. My eyes trace the subtle contours of his face. I could sink into the warm brown depths of his eyes. Is he softening towards me? No — I must have imagined it…  We’re not saying anything yet I feel as if we share a special affinity with each other. He’s damn sexy — I want to gobble him up. That sounds so shallow to you. But don't lie. When you’ve seen a hot guy, you’ve probably had dirtier thoughts, eh? 

“Are you sure?” He says at last. There’s a slight quaver in his voice.

I make him nervous? NO—

“Yeah…” My voice has an uncertain edge to it — Mr Z is nodding his head vigorously. I don’t really want to but—argh!—whatever… “Yes.”

Without taking his eyes off me, Navarro abruptly lets go of Mr Z. We’re so involved with each other not even Mr Zeepler’s grunts can disrupt us. 

This must be what they call “The look of love”…

Passing a hand through his hair, the banker releases a long series of gasps. He straightens up his clothes. I can feel his eyes glaring daggers at my back. Mr Z still thinks he’s a single man… 

A bell rings insistently. Fvck! “A touching display, I’m sure, but this is a hardware store,” Golden Erik’s silky voice interrupts us — yet again. He’s one to talk.

Navarro sizes him up. The banker involuntarily takes a step back and then in a moment of bravado, steps forward. Oh no…

“You’re still here?” There’s a dangerous glint in Armand’s eye.

Not another confrontation — please, God! (although, I’m certainly not complaining!). The banker just pales in comparison to Navarro though. No contest.

Mr Z merely shrugs. Golden Erik decides he's above taking part in a brawl… “I’ll see you later, Amelie,” He says possessively. 

If looks could kill… 

Navarro gives me a long, questioning look — sh!t! Now he thinks me and Mr Z are an item — yuck! I swear, one day I’ll get my revenge on that b@stard…

Mr Zeepler turns on his heel. Smiling, Dad stops him as he’s about to make his way to the till. 

“Did Amelie serve you well, Erik?” He says.

Oh no… The banker’s eyes gleam. He’s going to get me in trouble — I just know it.

“She did well but seemed… distracted, Gilles.” Mr Zeepler’s eyes slowly turn towards me then Navarro. A look of distaste is etched on his face.  

Frowning, Dad follows Mr Zeepler’s gaze to me. “Ah,” He gives Golden Erik a knowing look. Dad thinks Mr Z’s done him a great favour by pointing out my customer service “flaws”. My heart sinks. This means I’m going to get a long lecture afterwards… 

I watch as a smirking Mr Z makes his way out of the store, whistling a tune. B@stard.

Dad steps behind the till. “Mr Zeepler didn’t seem his usual self. I’ll take over now.”

“But Dad—” I protest. Navarro leans against the counter, observing us. This is so embarrassing — Dad’s basically treating me like a child in front of him. I’m losing any mystique… 

Any sexiness.

“No, no! I always serve first-time customers, Amelie—and what’s this? Ah! Earphones,”  He yanks the cord away from my jeans pocket. “You’ve been listening to music again—” 

“No, I—” I snatch the earphones back.

Dad wags his finger at me. “What have I told you? I blame football. She gets all sorts of wild ideas in her head.”

I sigh deeply. I just want to bury myself in a dark hole. 

“Oh yes?” Navarro’s tone is casual. I know he’s laughing inside. 

“Football practice is a bad influence on her. Girls shouldn’t even be playing football in the first place. Don’t you agree, mister?” Dad’s mindlessly ranting as he scans the coach’s items. 

Navarro thinks for a moment before allowing a smirk to linger on his kissable lips. “Some girls shouldn’t play football, that’s true…”

“Exactly!”

I give up on men. They’re all horrible. I’ve officially become a man-hater. As I’m about to turn around to go back to my slave duties, Navarro pauses to throw a comment over his shoulder as he’s making his way to to door.

“I’ll see you next Thursday, Van Hoff,” He winks at me. 

My mouth drops a little — why did he just do that — B@stard is trying to get me in trouble! His warm, rich laughter leaves me seething with annoyance. Now I have to face Dad’s wrath. 

“Who is he?” Horrified, Dad’s staring after Navarro.

“My coach, Dad.”

Dad looks ready to explode…

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

My (non-existent) social life is officially over. Looks like I’ll be given Sunday shifts too — all thanks to two odious men. 

A/N: Please VOTE, COMMENT and SHARE! Thanks! :) You think Amelie's right to become a man-hater or no?? :D Also, what u think of the new cover?? :D Dmitri

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