10.
No calls. No emails. No orders.
Not a word from the brooding beast of a man since he slammed the door forcefully.
It was the end of the workday and I had to head home to prepare for my second shift.
I stood outside his door, second-guessing whether I should say goodbye.
There was a tension in the air that made me feel odd.
There was this weird pang in the pit of my stomach making me feel as though I had done something wrong.
I softly knocked on the door and waited for his response to enter. It never came. I knocked once more, applying more pressure as I did. Maybe he just hadn't heard me knock? I knew he was still in his office as I would have noticed had he left.
No answer.
The unease in my stomach grew as I stared at his engraved name. He didn't want to talk to me. It shouldn't bother me and as I shook my head and walked away, I told myself I wouldn't let it.
The bar was busier than it had been in a while. The end of the semester was so close I could touch it with my fingertips. Students were celebrating classes being done and trying to take the edge off by drowning their stress and anxiety with cheap liquor.
It was so busy I had barely had time to converse with Kyle let alone take a break to eat or drink something myself.
I was relieved when Kyle told me I could take a break.
I smiled at Johnny, another bartender who worked here, and whispered good luck as I walked past him to which he broke out in a slight chuckle.
Johnny was a law student. He was the reason I got the gig here.
We had had a couple of classes together and he introduced me to Kyle when he found out I was looking for a place to work.
He was handsome, sweet, and smart. If you looked up the definition of the boy next door, you'd find a picture of Johnny with his curly brown hair, green eyes, and perfect dimpled smile.
I stepped into the office and gathered my purse as I decided to step out for some fresh air and pizza at the parlor next door.
I stepped into the long line filled with drunk students and stared at the pizza on display, trying to decide what I wanted while trying to ignore their loud voices.
My nose scrunched at the options and while going through my purse to find a few crumbled dollar bills, I decided on getting the cheese pizza.
"The usual, Lottie?" Fernando was the owner of the cheap New York pizzeria and I was probably his most loyal client. His pizza and drink combo for 3.50 was the only thing keeping a broke university student like me sustained. I found Fernando's when Kyle hired me and I haven't looked back since.
I stepped forward, reaching my hand outward to place the five-dollar bill on the counter when someone beat me to it.
"Her usual and mine." The man placed a crisp twenty on the counter. "Keep the change."
I turned around and found myself face to chest with none other than Mr. Morrentti himself.
He stared at me emotionlessly as I examined him, trying to figure him out. I offered the crinkled five-dollar bill to him and he crinkled his nose in disgust while looking at it.
"So, you have a usual?" I asked, slightly surprised as I turned to face Fernando and his workers as they hustled behind the counter.
"Why's that so surprising?"
"I never took you for a 3-dollar pizza type of guy.
" I glanced at him over my shoulder. His hands were in the pockets of his jacket and his cheeks were slightly pink from the cold wind nipping at them.
From the little opening of his jacket, I could see he was still wearing the clothes I had seen him in a couple of hours ago.
A part of me wanted to say that it was because he had gotten lost in his work and had probably just stepped out and was on his way home.
The smarter part knew it was because of his dinner reservation.
"How come?" I gave him a deadpan look. We both knew why.
"Anyways, how are you still hungry? Aren't you coming back from Santini's?" We both stepped forward, grabbing our orders from Fernando.
I followed him as he leaned against the wall of the building outside. I sat on the curb of the sidewalk and motioned for him to follow. When I worked at the bar, especially on nights like these when the air was heavy with sweat, booze, and puke, I liked to take my breaks outside.
We sat in silence as we ate. At first, I didn't think he would follow me and sit on the curb nor did I think he would eat his pizza on it by the way his nose cutely scrunched up in disgust at the sight of me doing it.
Or maybe, it was just me that disgusted him.
Either way, his company satisfied me more than the pizza and that was a scary thought to have.
"I didn't go to Santini's."
"Oh."
Several minutes seemed to pass as we both faced forward, chewing slowly as if scared that one of us would have to say something when we swallowed.
"How come?" I asked as I faced my body towards him. His gaze remained forward, passive as his jaw flexed with every bite.
"She's not interested."
I threw my head back and broke out into a burst of deep laughter.
The thought of anyone not being interested in this man was ludicrous to me.
On a superficial level, he was most likely the most attractive man I've ever seen in my life.
I didn't know him deeply, but the tiny glimpses of his caring were enough to strengthen my argument.
"What's so funny?" He turned to me with his dark eyebrow raised. The look in his eyes told me he was mildly annoyed at my laughter but something else lurking in them told me he'd get over it.
"The thought of someone not being interested in you is ridiculous." I was never one to beat around the bush and maybe in another world, if the situation wasn't what it currently was, then I'd tell him I was interested.
His eyes were a battle of emotions, each fighting for dominance as we stared at each other.
I could hear my heart beating in my ears and the tension in the air was nearly suffocating.
I looked down as our knees brushed slightly.
The sound of my alarm ringing pierced through the atmosphere and I silenced while slowly getting up from the curb.
"I-uh I have to go. Thank you for the pizza and the company.
" I crossed my arms over my chest as I stood in front of his sitting figure.
He looked up at me and opened his mouth as if wanting to say something.
I stood there, on edge as I waited for him to say something, anything.
Instead, he clenched his jaw and looked away from me.
I gave a sharp nod. On my way back into the bar, I threw out our garbage and I found myself staring at his back hoping he'd turn around to look at me. He was still sitting on the curb, his knees bent. He ran his hands through his hair, slightly shaking his head before getting up and walking away.
He never looked back.
Written: 11/22