Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Sierra pushed her cart along the aisle, reshelving books, as Tyler prattled on about something behind her, as per usual.
She had lost track of what he was talking about.
The conversation had started about the book he was currently reading, but now he was just going on about some author that Sierra couldn’t care less about.
“…And that’s why I’m pretty sure she is out of ideas and that she should fess up, you know? Before she releases another book of nothing.”
“Yeah,” Sierra agreed halfheartedly, as she inspected the book in her hand, turning the worn cover over and running her fingers along the embossed gold lettering.
“What’s going on with you these days?” Tyler asked, drawing Sierra’s attention away from the book and up to his face, where his lips were pressed in a tight line.
“Nothing,” Sierra replied, slipping the book onto the shelf before realizing she had put it on the wrong one, so she had to pull it back out and slide it on the shelf beneath where it had been.
“Bullshit.” Sierra opened her mouth to argue, but Tyler held up his hand. “You haven’t wanted to talk to me all week. I know I may have been a bit forward in the past, but come on, we’re friends.”
Sierra knew he was right. But before she could apologize or mention what had been going on in her life, Aodhan came around the corner with a cart of his own, his eyes alight with what Sierra assumed was jealousy. “What is going on here?” he questioned, his eyes bouncing from Tyler to Sierra.
“Nothing, Aodhan.” It came out as a sigh, and to emphasize, Sierra turned back to her shelving, ignoring his questioning and intrusive glance.
“We’re just talking.” Sierra saw Tyler cross his arms over his chest out of the corner of her eye, and without looking at Aodhan, she knew he had probably done the same.
“Hm, well, if Sierra wants to be left alone, you should leave her alone.” Aodhan’s voice was low, and Sierra could tell he wasn’t happy.
“She can tell me that herself,” Tyler insisted, not backing down. “She doesn’t need you to speak for her.”
Sierra spun around to face the guys, confirming indeed that they were both standing with their arms crossed in standoff mode.
Aodhan noticed her look and raised one of his eyebrows.
“It’s fine, you guys, settle down. I’m just trying to work here,” Sierra assured them both, hoping it was the end of whatever this situation between them was becoming.
It looked like neither Tyler nor Aodhan bought her excuse. They both continued to stare at each other for another minute until Tyler backed down and made an excuse about how he needed to leave. He didn’t meet Sierra’s eyes as he grabbed his cart and made his way toward the employee room.
“Great. Just great.” Sierra grumbled.
“What?”
Sierra set the book in her hand back on the cart, turning to face Aodhan. “You know, you can’t go around scaring all my friends, okay?”
Aodhan lifted one eyebrow. “Are you two really friends?”
Sierra knew he was right. She had no friends here, and Tyler was a sad excuse for one. “Does it really matter?”
“Not really, but if it were up to me, you wouldn’t be talking to another male besides me for the rest of your life.”
Sierra raised her eyebrow. “Aodhan, this is the 21st Century and I will talk to whomever I please, no matter what their gender is.”
“Their funeral then, because I will not stand by and let anyone, male or female, make you feel the way you are feeling right now.”
His words made Sierra pause from spilling the retort she was about to make.
What was she feeling that was strong enough to draw Aodhan to her side?
Sad, yes, maybe even something a little more serious, akin to despair.
But these emotions were not about something Tyler had said, but rather because Aodhan had pointed out the fact that she had very few friends and that not even Tyler was truly her friend, despite what he may say.
“Oh,” she sighed. “These feelings aren’t because of Tyler. It’s because I don’t really have any friends here in Dublin…or back at home…or at all really.”
It was as if a lightbulb suddenly flicked on in Aodhan’s head, and the anger on his features diminished immediately.
Aodhan then placed his finger under her chin, lifting it to bring her eyes to meet his.
Sierra thought he might say something, but instead, he gave her a quick but passionate kiss on the lips before whispering, “Meet me outside at lunch.”
Sierra could only nod as Aodhan released her face, grabbed his cart, and maneuvered away from her.
Her lunch break arrived quicker than she anticipated, and Sierra rushed into the employee room to grab her purse and jacket before heading outside. She wasn’t sure what Aodhan had in store, but she was excited at the prospect of some sort of surprise, despite her earlier annoyance at his actions.
As she rounded the corner just outside of the glass doors to the library, her eyes met Aodhan’s as he was leaning against the wall, but then she noticed someone standing next to him.
The other person was wearing a hood, but it only took her a second to recognize Kaye’s fiery red hair peeking out from the sides.
“I thought we could all have lunch together,” Aodhan explained, leading the two of them inside the café area. They quickly found a table for four, and as Sierra and Kaye sat, Aodhan headed to get in line to buy them all lunch.
“I’ve never sat in the café before,” Sierra mused as she surveyed the large number of students and campus employees eating their lunches. Usually, she was in such a rush to get her food and leave, she hadn’t really taken a good look at the café.
“Where do you normally eat?” Kaye asked as she looked at the variety of people in the room.
“Outside,” Sierra replied. Kaye raised an eyebrow. “I, uh, tend to try to avoid people as much as possible.”
“That would explain why you don’t have any friends then.”
While her voice was critical and a bit blunt, Sierra recognized that Kaye was just trying to help her with the issue that had brought this on in the first place. “Did Aodhan put you up to this because I don’t have friends?”
Kaye smiled. “Maybe. But I also think he really wants us to get along.”
“It’s not weird for you?” Sierra asked.
“Is what weird?”
Sierra glanced around before leaning in. “Being forced to be my friend because of Aodhan?”
Kaye tossed her head back and laughed. “Any friend of Aodhan’s is automatically a friend of mine. Plus, Aodhan knows I also struggle to find friends here, so this is as much for me as it is for you, I think.”
Sierra tilted her head in confusion. “I thought you were from here?”
“Oh no.” Kaye placed her hands on the table. “I’m from up north, closer to The Hills.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I expected Aodhan to mention it.”
“So, you came down here for Braan then?” Sierra noticed that Aodhan was almost at the register.
“Yes and no. Dating someone who is…different…can be hard, even here in Ireland.” Sierra’s mind backtracked to Aodhan’s nonchalant explanation from the day before. “My parents have no idea that I’m with a Fae, and they’re a bit traditional, so Braan and I don’t feel comfortable telling them.”
Sierra hadn’t thought about the challenges that came with dating someone different, nor had she thought of the challenges of explaining to your parents that you were dating someone of a different species.
As quick as the thought came, she pushed it away because she knew thinking of her own family right now would only stress her out.
Instead, she asked Kaye, “So, what do they think you are doing then?”
Kaye sighed. “Well, they think I’m working as a travel psychologist. I travel home from time to time, without Braan, of course.”
“And you don’t video call or anything?”
Kaye smiled again, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yes, but I call from different rooms of the house, pretending that it’s a different hotel.”
“Hm.” Sierra rested her head on her hand as Aodhan made his way over, sandwiches piled precariously in his hands. “Does it bother you?”
Kaye shook her head. “My parents are much too religious to accept the idea that I love Braan no matter what he is—or isn’t. And honestly, I don’t get along with them well anyway, so at least this way I can control when I see them.”
Something Kaye said resonated with Sierra.
Her own relationship with her mother and siblings were so strained she wondered if a situation like Kaye’s would be better for her in the future.
At least then she would be able to control when she saw her parents, and not feel like she was spiraling out of control when they randomly just showed up in her life, wanting her to solve their problems.
She didn’t say anything as Aodhan sat at the table, handing them their sandwiches. Sierra looked at the label, noticing he had chosen her a vegetarian cheese sandwich. She assumed he had chosen the same thing for himself, and maybe Kaye as well.
Sierra unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite. They ate in silence for a few moments until Sierra decided to break it. “Thanks for lunch, Aodhan.”
“You are welcome,” he answered, his sandwich already devoured, hands occupied with unwrapping a second. “Can’t have you going hungry.”
Sierra rolled her eyes. She knew he had orchestrated this whole thing just so she could spend time with Kaye, but she enjoyed the sentiment regardless.
The trio spoke of the weather, and something about The Hills, which Sierra didn’t quite understand as Kaye and Sierra finished eating.
Even though she wasn’t able to chime in about all the subjects, Sierra enjoyed sharing her lunchtime with others instead of keeping herself sequestered as she normally did.
As Aodhan gathered the trash to throw away, Kaye waited until he walked away from the table to say something to Sierra under her breath.
“I like you, Sierra, and I hope things work out for you and Aodhan.” She gave Sierra an awkward hug over the surface of the table.
“And I meant what I said, you are welcome at our home anytime.”
Sierra could only nod as Kaye pulled away and stood, giving Aodhan a wave before heading out the door.
Once he was back at her side, he placed a hand on her lower back and guided her out of the café. “What are you doing after work?” he asked, as they made their way back to the library, the fall breeze causing Sierra to pull her coat more tightly across her body.
Sierra felt like being a little coy. “Hm, I’m not sure. I might have a date.”
Aodhan, who was likely picking up on her emotions, played back. “Oh, really now. With who?”
“Oh.” Sierra tucked her hair behind her ear. “You don’t know him.”
“I don’t?” Aodhan appeared to be second-guessing their game for a moment, and Sierra could see his jealousy rising like it had that morning in the library.
“Nope, but I’d like to introduce you to him. Maybe you can come to my place after work.” Sierra kept a smile on her face as she invited him over, and to her relief, he smiled back.
“I guess I can set aside time for that.”
He gave her another quick kiss on the lips, before opening the door and holding it for her.
“It’s a date then,” she said as they made their way back to the employee area.
“It’s a date,” he confirmed, before they parted ways and returned to work. Well, at least Sierra returned to her work. Aodhan pulled his normal disappearing act, and Sierra didn’t see a single glimpse of him for the rest of the afternoon.