A few days had passed before he invited her out again, in the same awkward fashion as last time.
"I was thinking of taking you to an ice cream shop. It's a town staple, or at least that's what people say," he suggested, staring at the cash register beside her, and she nodded.
"I'm always up for ice cream. What day?"
"We could go tomorrow after work."
Before she could respond, Marina suddenly materialized across from them, clutching her tablet to her chest tightly. She looked between them two and cleared her throat. "Um, Ali, I actually wanted to tell you that you could pick up some extra shifts, if you'd like. I know you asked me about it last week, and I've officially sorted things out for you now."
"Oh, really? That'd be a huge help, thank you," Ali gave her a grateful smile.
"But, uh, that means you won't have as much free time as usual," Marina continued, and Ali frowned, realizing that jeopardized their ice cream plans.
Sawyer seemed to come to the same conclusion when he stepped forward, cocking his head. "Do you mean she won't have the same work schedule as me?"
"Yes," Marina swallowed down the lump in her throat. "Instead of finishing around two like you, she'll be working until seven."
Ali looked up at him. "It's okay, Sawyer. We can reschedule for this weekend."
"No. That's too far," he replied, which made her eyebrows rise in surprise. Marina, too, was flabbergasted by his words, but her face changed abruptly into one of distress.
Ali, confused, searched for what could've alarmed her. She turned to him, and it suddenly dawned on her.
Sawyer was looking at Marina, as in meeting her eyes directly. He did the same with his customers, but it usually came with his irresistible, painted smile as well. However, that smile was nowhere to be seen now.
As his dead eyes bored into hers, she couldn't help but cower in fear. His voice matched the cold intensity in his orbs. "So, Marina, you're saying that Alice will coincidentally be too busy for me from now on?"
Marina nodded feebly in response.
Sawyer took another step forward, closer to her, and she tightened her grip on her tablet. Ali narrowed her eyes at the scene, analyzing him. He wasn't being openly threatening per se, but he was using the fact that she feared him to his advantage.
"Well, she's not starting her extra shifts today, is she?" he questioned, never once breaking eye contact with her.
Marina hesitated. "No, she starts tomorrow."
"In that case," Sawyer twisted his head in her direction, but he didn't meet her eyes like he did with Marina. "Are you free today?"
"I, um," Ali glanced at Marina, who shook her head vigorously, before returning to him. "Yeah, I have a few hours to spare."
"Great. Any further objections?" he asked as he looked back at the defeated assistant manager. When she didn't respond, he turned around and casually made his way back to customer support.
Ali watched him, once again left with many more questions about the mysterious boy, but she decided she would finally get her answers today.