The next time I meet Zavien, is two weeks after our breakfast.
For those fourteen days, I could not stop myself from thinking about him. About his voice. About what he said and well, just him. He was quite the man. And an attractive one. It is Sunday and it has to be one of my best days. The streets were sort of empty, everyone inside their homes with their families or hanging out with their friends. It was rather sweet to think about. Most of the time I would pass kids who were laughing among themselves, some girls getting off the bus and looking dressed up.
I had no friends, no one to-
Oh shit. I could not say that anymore.
I had Madan. Who would have guessed?
We were meant to hang out soon but I just could not find the right place for us to meet up. I was being very self conscious about it and I did not know how to make it go away. Did I even want it to go away?
Would he also come with Zavien? Did I want Zavien to come along with him?
I let out a loud groan and mentally kicked a can. Why could I not just make my mind about this? I needed a drink. I had a little bit of money to spare after all. I just paid my rent, paid my bills and still have enough money to spend on myself tonight. But where do I go? Where can I go?
With a sigh, I made up my mind to walk down the street and just walk into any bar that piques my interest. It would be fun to try something different today. Go on a little adventure. I walked down the street, humming to myself.
Finally, I found somewhere. There was a sign but a beer bottle on it. That was all it was. It was a bungalow that was brightly lit. It had large windows and the lights were glowing gold. I walked up to the door and pushed it open. There were not a lot of people in the bar but once I stepped in, a couple of heads turned to me and I looked down at my feet. As I avoided people's gaze, I made my way to the counter and slipped onto a bar stool.
"So what would it be?" the bartender asked as he walked over to me. It was a menacing man with a bald head. He did not look too happy to see me here. Oh well then.
"Never mind. I'll be on my way." I said and I got up from my seat.
The door to the bar was pushed open and a familiar girl walked in. Rowan. She walked into the room dressed in red leather pants and a see through sheer shirt and a familiar looking leather jacket. Her hair was still cropped low and still blonde. She looked really good.
"Well, look who it is." She said as she walked towards the counter.
The conversations had reduced to a murmur as she walked forward. She wasn't smiling but she was not terribly exuding hatred. It was almost like she was happy to see me.
"I am very happy to see you. My heart has skipped several beats ever since you walked in." I said and I got a little twitch in her lips. When she got close to the counter, the bartender was suddenly across from her and they were talking in a quiet tone. Yeah, I should probably leave right now.
I hurriedly walked out of the bar but paused when I saw the black sports car in front of said bar. I wondered if Rowan drove here, what she was talking to the bartender about, what she was doing in this part of town.
The door to the car was pushed open, startling me just a little. I let out a silent gasp when Zavien walked out. He was not in a suit but this. . . seeing him like this, all dressed down, was causing a lot of internal conflict within me because I. didn't. know. this. man. So why?
Why what, I do not know.
"Nuri. . ." Zavien said as he shut the door to the car. Zavien had on a black large shirt, black cargo pants and black boots. He had rings wrapped around his fingers and a neatly shaved beard. A stubble, rather.
"Good evening." I said as I watched him walk over to me. What was he doing here as well?
"I was not expecting to meet you here." Zavien said as he stared at me.
"Yeah, me neither." I said. "You know, this just gives me many more questions." I added and Zavien hummed. "I wonder if you would give me answers if I asked you some of those questions."
"I do not believe we are close enough for you to even ask the questions, Nuri."
My lips parted in surprise as I stared at him.
"Fu-"
Zavien's brow rose as he stared at me, as if waiting for me to complete my sentence.
"Fudge this. I'm going home."
"No, you're not."
I huffed, trying my best not to roll my eyes at Zavien. I do not think he would appreciate it. "I do not believe we are close enough for you to say that or to even respond to me." I said, smiling sweetly at him before walking away. Ugh. He made me want that drink even more. I walked as fast as I could but all of a sudden there was a weight around my wrist and I was being spun around.
"Have you ever heard the expression, never to run in front of a wolf?" Zavien said and I stared up at him.
"You can not be serious."
"If I have offended you in any way, I wo-"
I let out another huff. "How could I possibly be offended? I do not believe we are close enough for me to be offended by whatever you say to me."
"Would you stop saying those words?"
"Why? You were the one who said them to me first and I think it fits our little. . . situation. Does it not?" I asked, still staring at him. This time, Zavien lets out a laugh. I really liked it when he did that, like he could not hold back the laughter no matter how hard he tried and it came out louder than he intended it to be.
"You are quite. . . "
"Annoying?" I asked and he shook his head. Huh, I was not expecting that.
"Nuri, where are you going?" Zavien asked and I blinked at him. Would he come with me if he knew where I was going? Is it alright to hang out with him? The same man who I knew nothing about but has consumed all of my thoughts?
There was a loud yell from the store I was at and I turned to it, staring with wide eyes. Zavien does not even flinch, like he knew it was probably going to happen. Was Rowan okay? I tried heading back to the bar, just to check but Zavien stopped me.
"We're conducting business."
"What type of business? Rowan is alone in there." I said and Zavien had the guts to chuckle at me. What exactly was funny about this situation?
"He probably screamed because of Rowan."
Almost like we had summoned her, Rowan walks out of the bar with a black bag and blood on her hands. She walks over and when she notices where I was looking, she lets out an irritated groan.
"Think of it as grape juice."
"What kind of grape juice have you been drinking? Because grape juice is not that color." I said, rolling my eyes at her. For the first time since I met her, Rowan finally laughs. It's a quiet little thing but I still preferred Zavien's laugh to it, which he was currently doing as well. I am sure glad he finds everything I say funny as hell.
"Let's go."
Zavien wraps his fingers around my wrist and leads me back to the sports car. I didn't even try to shake him, not that I would have been able to anyway. Instead of going over to the driver's side, he pulled open the passenger door for me and I slipped in.
"Where are we going?" I asked as Zavien got in and began to drive away.
"The castle." Zavien said and I hummed. It would be fun to go back there and if the red haired woman was still there, she would make me awesome drinks. And also they would be free. Who can say no to a little castle exploration and free drinks?
"Alright then but can I get something to eat there?"
"What if you're the meal?" Zavien asked, turning to me with a grin.
I rolled my eyes at the man, really tempted to smack his chest. "Can you stop trying to scare me? I get it, you're dangerous and mysterious."
"I like him. Let's keep him." Rowan adds in from the back.
Zavien says nothing in response to that and just keeps driving. It took a while until we pulled into a familiar stretch of road and there it was. Zavien's castle. I got out of the car at the same time with Rowan and in the silence of the night, my tummy let out a loud rumble.
"Let's get food in him before he tries to eat us." Rowan said and I giggled.
Immediately we got into the castle, Rowan went off somewhere while Zavien grabbed my hand, leading me back to the kitchen. There was a large ass hell arrangement of food on the table and I stared at it with wide eyes.
"Are you trying to feed an army?" I asked as I looked at the food.
"I do live with some important members of my family." He said and I looked at him.
"Why did you say my family like that?"
"Like what?" Zavien asked and I sighed. Hopefully his family is cool with me eating their food. "Take whatever you want and let's go and eat in the tv room. You can choose what you want to watch." Zavien said and I cheered. I grabbed a carton of egg fried rice, spring rolls, orange chicken and shredded beef.
"Do you have any vodka?" I asked, cheering even more loudly when he brandishes a bottle of Ciroc from somewhere. We're gonna drink. We are gonna have fun.
The tv room was a corridor away and it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life. It was a large wall sized tv with plush couches and even the rug was plush and it made my feet warm in the slightly cold room.
Zavien had simply picked a pack of noodles and had taken chopsticks unlike me with my fork. Instead of sitting on one of the chairs, I sink to the ground and Zavien joins me.
"You have a lovely home." I said. "Thank you for bringing me here again and for the food."
"You're welcome, Nuri." he said.
"So, are you now going to tell me what exactly it is you do?" I asked as I pulled open the carton of food. I turned and watched Zavien expertly use the chopsticks to put some noodles in his mouth and it was the hottest thing I have ever seen in my time alive.
"I run a big family business."
"What type of family business?" I asked, then pushed a spoonful of rice into my mouth.
"Drugs, gambling and the lot." Zavien said, looking at me with a close-lipped smile, looking very proud of himself. My lips part in shock but I do not look away from him. I was definitely not expecting that. Then it suddenly dawned on me how he had said family. It dawned on me how people are always owing him and oh my god, I have been mouthing off at a mob boss.
"While you process your thoughts, I have an offer for you, Nuri."
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