I could clearly hear the sound of shoes chasing after me but I chose to ignore them and continued down the street to where my car was parked. I was already going to be late for work and had no time to deal with Harry and his little games. I made it to my car, thinking I was in the clear when I felt a hand grab my elbow, turning me around. I expected to see Harry but was surprised when I saw his friend, the blonde one from the restaurant.
Shit, what was his name? Nathan? Neil?
"It's Charlotte, right?" His Irish accent was pleasant and something I didn't hear often.
"It's Charlie."
"Harry calls you Charlotte."
"Yeah well-"
"I just wanted to say hi. I was in the bookstore when I saw you rush out of the diner." He informed me. Little did he know, I didn't care.
"That's nice." I was too focused on getting in my car and getting to work on time. I didn't feel like -or have the time to- small talk with this guy.
"Harry tells me you have a kid?"
"Yep"
"How old is she?"
"I'm not comfortable giving out that-"
"I have a nephew, his name is Theo. He's four. I'm suppose to be watching him tomorrow but I'm nervous as hell. I've never watched the kid alone but I couldn't leave my brother hanging so I told them I'd watch him." He went on about how he didn't know anything about watching a toddler and was scared that he would end up dead by the end of the night.
"Wait," I held my hand up, silencing him. "You want me to come over and help watch him?"
"Not help, just be there in case anything happens. Bring your daughter, they can play. It can be a play date."
"No offense, but I don't know you. You could be some crazy, psychopathic killer who lures women in by telling them some story about your nephew." Does he seriously think I would just come over to his place without even knowing him? He could he the murder for all I knew.
"You know Harry, and Harry knows me. We basically know each other. Harry trusts me enough to-" he stopped mid-sentence.
"To what?"
"He trusts me, that's it. So you should."
"Harry trusting you means nothing to me."
"Don't you trust him though? Aren't you two...together?" He asked.
"What? No. Hell to the no, we are not even close to being together. We aren't even friends."
Me and Harry. Together. I couldn't bring myself to even think of that. Yes he's the most beautiful person I've ever seen in my entire life but his heart is non-existent and he isn't capable of love or even like.
"Oh, it seemed like it. He's always running off, says he's meeting up with you."
"We've only seen each other like, five times, not even that." I assured him.
"Okay, no need to get snappy." He held his hands up in defense.
Snappy? Was I being snappy?
"Well, as fun as this was, I have to go. I'm going to be late to work. It was nice seeing you again Neil." I turned around and sat in the drivers seat. The clock showed it was already five p.m. I was so late.
"It's Niall." He corrected "So is that a yes?"
"A yes?"
"To helping me?" Oh yeah.
Other then not knowing the guy, I had no excuse not to go. I didn't have work since tomorrow is Saturday. "Fine, but you can come to my place. I highly doubt you're place is child friendly." As weary as I was to give him my address, I did it anyways. I would rather have him come to my place, not the other way around. After giving Niall my address and phone number I left for work.
When I got there I was officially twenty three minutes late but being manager had its perks. Meaning I didn't get in trouble for being late. Luckily for me the owner - Mr. Laden, who likes to be called 'just Hank'- doesn't really care if I'm a little late.
Carmen, the seventeen year old waitress who was hired just a month ago, greeted me at the door with a long lists of problems. "...and the guy doesn't even know the difference between medium rare and rare so we had to cook him three different steaks. Now he says he's not going to pay even though the ass should technically pay for three steaks which were all medium rare, like he asked." she was out of breath by the time she has finished and her pale face was now a deep pink.
"Just have him pay for the one steak."
"Yeah but we had to throw two steaks away about he was convinced they were rare and he wanted medium rare, but the steaks were fucking medium rare!" She yelled in the middle of the restaurant. A mother who was sat a few tables away with two young children gave Carmen the evil eye.
"It's fine, Carmen. Make him pay for the one then he will leave and we can forget about this."
I slipped my coat off once I got into the back, hanging it up on the coat rack near the back door. Jed, the bus boy, smiled at me from the front of the kitchen before disappearing into the front of the restaurant. Jed was only fourteen, and Hank's nephew, that's why he works here at such a young age. I secretly think Hank hired him to keep an eye on all of us but I had no way of knowing for sure.
"You have a visitor." Carmen's head poked into the kitchen.
"Me?" She nodded "are you sure?"
"He's asking for you." She assured me.
"What does he look like?"
"He's the guy who was in that fight the other night. He says its urgent."
"I'll be there in a second." I sighed.
.....
The cigarette hung loosely in his fingers as he look a long drag. His lips were a deep pink and his eyes were glossy, either from the cold or he had been crying. It was now dark out, which didn't surprise me. I had to show Carmen how to use the coffee machine for the tenth time and that took a lot longer then I though.
I didn't know how long I was standing there, staring at him but when he looked up I knew my face was pink, and not from the chilly air.
"Hey doll" he said casually, sticking the cigarette back into his mouth.
"Urgent?" I questioned. If it was urgent he wouldn't have been waited over three hours for me.
"I wanted to see you" he shrugged.
"Okay?"
"And apologize, for how I acted at the diner. I'm a dick."
"You're apologizes mean nothing to me. I've heard those words come out of your mouth before. It means nothing." I spat. Maybe I was being bitter for no reason. Maybe I should forgive him. But I didn't want to. I wanted to be angry at him and I had the right to.
"C'mon doll, don't be this way. I'm seriously s-"
"Stop calling me doll. That's not my name."
"Would you prefer babe?" He asked as he rose from the bench. "Baby?" He took a step closer. "Honey?" Another step. "Princess?" And another. "Sugar?"
"Stop!"
"Maybe I'll call you Char, since you hate Charlotte so much."
"Stop Harry."
"Hey, I know. I can call you Angel. Since you're so fucking innocent and sweet. That's perfect isn't it? It fits you so damn well." His smile grew wider but the distance between us grew smaller. He was teasing me.
"I'm not perfect Harry. Stop making it seem like I am."
"But you are perfect, doll. You're perfect in every way. You've never made a mistake. You've never lied or cheated. You don't hurt or cry. You're perfect."
Ever word hit deeper and deeper. He knew exactly what he was saying and what he was doing. That's the problem with him. He always knew. He loses his temper, says things he knows he shouldn't but he says them anyways and then he comes back and apologizes, tries to make things better because that's his game.
Hurt, apologize, hurt again. That's how it goes.
"I have to go back to work." I said, deciding I wasn't playing his game. He would want me to argue, yell, get angry, but I wasn't doing that now.
"Don't you dare walk through that door!" He threatened as I reached for the handle. His large hand turned me around so quick I didn't even realize what was going on before my face was less than an inch away from his. His breath smelled of smoke and mint gum, but his cologne overpowered both smells. "You're going to stay here with me."
"Why? So you can tease me?"
"I like teasing you. You get angry so easily. It's actually really adorable" he smiled. A real, genuine smile.
"I don't like being teased and I don't like you."
"Oh, but I think you do," I felt his cold hand brush my thigh before grabbing it. "I think you want to be around me. I think you desire me. I bet you still remember the taste of my lips, don't you? I remember yours. So sweet and soft."
I wanted to say something back. Anything. But my lips wouldn't open and my throat was blocked. No air was coming in and I felt like someone was standing on my chest.
"I'm right. Aren't I?" Harry looked deep into my eyes, into my soul. He knew he was right, or course he was. I could never forget the taste of his lips or the needy, desperate way he kissed me all those years ago. I hate admitting that I thought about him in that way but it's like all common sense I had disappeared when it came to him.
Without thinking twice, I closed the small space between us, sealing his lips with mine.