Chapter 9
Rya~
I hadn’t been expecting any of this when I had decided to show up at Liquid IV this evening.
The plan had been, as always, to drink a couple of beers, then maybe find someone to help take the edge off.
However, I hadn’t expected to find Koen Wilder waiting for me, and I sure as hell hadn’t expected David to send me a beer, especially when I’d made the rules between us clear.
At any rate, I could deal with David later by just reminding him of the rules, but Koen was another matter altogether.
Nowhere in this world would it make sense that Koen Wilder would want to go out on a date with me.
Even if I was five-foot-ten and had the perfect figure and face, Koen would still be out of my league.
The man’s family had billions with a B, and he looked like he’d been touched by the hand of God.
In fact, he was so gorgeous that he could probably give Lucifer a run for his money.
Not to mention that my days off at Precious Pets weren’t always the same, so whenever I had Wednesday and Thursday off together, I liked to spend it lost in the feeling of belonging to someone, even if it was just for a moment. I wanted to have just one night without the harsh truth in my face.
Koen’s brows furrowed, and the man did not look happy by my question.
“Well, not only are you beautiful, but I really did enjoy watching you play pool the other night,” he answered, and he sounded convincing enough to give me pause.
“You played with confidence and determination, and it was really impressive to watch.”
His light grey eyes were a real contrast to his black hair, matching brows, and thick lashes, and it was easy to see how a girl could get lost in them whenever he spoke, but luckily for my sanity, I was made of much stronger stuff than the average female.
Besides, Keon being here to ask me out was just too wild to even contemplate.
“Even if that’s true-”
“Because I have a reason to lie to you?” he asked, interrupting me as he jerked his head back in surprise. “Seriously?”
I let out a deep sigh, trying to figure out how to word my confusion without insulting him completely. “You’re Koen Wilder, and...and you should be on...on a yacht with a gorgeous woman on your arm, drinking...I don’t know...drinking whatever it is that rich people drink.”
“I get motion sickness, and even if I didn’t, I’m not interested in sailing the seas with some random woman on my arm,” he replied, his voice a bit hard. “I’m interested in you, and I’d like to take you to dinner, or a movie...or whatever you’d like.”
The small part of me that still believed in the goodness of people wanted this to be true, but Koen Wilder being interested in me was just too insane to contemplate.
Whatever might be going on in his life, he was bigger than dating a girl that worked at a pet grooming place for wages that barely allowed for a vacation once a year.
Looks aside, Koen’s life was...was louder than mine, and he needed to date someone who could keep up that kind of pace.
“While I’m flattered, we’re going to have to leave this thing as...as a pleasant conversation one Friday night,” I finally told him, not really equipped to deal with the likes of him.
“Are you serious?” he asked. “You’re not even going to give me a chance?”
“Seems like a waste of time, Koen,” I remarked bluntly. “Even if I did agree to go out on a date with you, I just can’t see us having anything in common for a second date to even come up.”
Those mercury-colored eyes of his narrowed. “You can’t possibly know that, Rya. You don’t know enough about me to be able to predict such a thing.”
“Oh, I know enough,” I chuckled. “Even if your looks weren’t what they are, I’ve never stepped foot in a country club to know how to act there.”
His jaw ticked, and it was surprising to see that he wasn’t trying to hide his irritation at all. “I don’t recall suggesting that we go to any country club for our date.”
I let out a deep sigh, but before I could say anything to that, David was saddling up to me, and I never would have believed that I’d ever be in a position where I’d have to turn down two guys in one damn day.
I also didn’t appreciate David interrupting when there was no need.
I had laid out the rules as clearly as I could, and he’d been eager to agree to them.
“Hey, Rya,” he said as he slid a quick glance Koen’s way. “Sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping you’d come over and sit with the rest of us when you’re done here.”
Honestly, I didn’t know how to react without making things feel more awkward than they already were. However, Koen beat me to the punch.
“Do you mind?” he asked, his irritation clear. “We’re talking here.”
David’s head reared back a bit, clearly offended. “Hey, man...I was just asking her to join us when ya’ll were done talking.”
“David, I appreciate the invite, but I’m just here to have a beer or two,” I lied, my mood completely ruined, though I wasn’t sure who to blame for that at this point. “I’m...I’m not staying.”
Refusing to take the hint, he said, “Don’t be like that, Rya. I figured we could leave after a few more like last time.”
“Sorry, but I’m going to have to pass,” I said, anger and annoyance dancing in the pit of my stomach.
“But-”
“She said no,” Koen practically snapped. “So, maybe it’s time for you to return to your seat.”
“Listen here, punk-”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Ellen announced, very aware of what was happening in her bar like any good bartender would. “David, you need to return to the other side of the bar, or else I can close out your tab. It’s your choice.”
“Fine,” he bit out before walking away, and I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d felt this embarrassed.
Seriously.
As soon as David was on his way, Ellen asked, “Are you okay, Rya?”
I did my best to give her a convincing smile. “I’m good. I promise.”
Making sure that I was, Ellen looked over at Koen as she asked, “Do we have any misunderstandings here?”
“No, ma’am,” Koen answered wisely.
Ready to cut my losses, as soon as Ellen went back to checking on the other patrons, I looked back over at Koen. “Well, I think that’s enough for one evening.”
“You haven’t even finished your beer,” he pointed out, his voice still dour.
I grabbed the bottle, then practically downed the rest of it in one swallow. After setting it back down on the bar, I said, “I have now.”
Koen didn’t say anything as he pulled out his wallet, then threw an honest-to-God hundred-dollar bill on the counter.
However, something told me that he hadn’t done it to show off.
After all, he didn’t need to throw big bills around to advertise his bank account; his last name did that well enough.
So, my guess was that it was his way of apologizing to Ellen for the drama that she shouldn’t have had to deal with.
When he made it clear that he was waiting on me, I said, “Koen, you don’t need-”
“Let’s go, Rya,” he bit out. “Now.”
Now wanting to cause more of a scene, I obeyed the man, but once we got outside, it was going to be a different story.
Though I preferred to live my life unseen, that didn’t mean that I was a pushover.
I was quite willing and able to stick up for myself when the occasion called for it, and this was definitely one of those occasions.
“Thanks for everything, Ellen,” I called out as Koen followed me to the front door, and I purposely ignored David to drive the point home.
“Not a problem, Rya,” she called back, though she didn’t address Koen at all.
Once we were outside, I headed towards my car because I wasn’t about to argue with any man in front of a public establishment.
Not only was it embarrassing, but I didn’t need the police called on us, and I sure as hell didn’t need anyone recording us for social media fodder.
If we were going to argue, then we could do it next to my car, which was a safe distance from Liquid IV’s front door.
As we made our way towards my car, I couldn’t help but notice the dark grey Mercedes that was parked among the dirty work trucks, Toyotas, and other random cars. Its pristine condition stood out like a sore thumb, but then again, Koen hadn’t exactly looked like a regular, either.
The second that we approached my car, he asked, “Really? That guy?”
Now, while I didn’t owe Koen Wilder any kind of explanation about how I chose to live my life, he had asked me out, and I felt like he deserved a conversation on why I couldn’t go out with him.
After all, asking someone out wasn’t an easy thing to do, no matter what you looked like.
Putting yourself out there like that required a certain amount of vulnerability, and I could appreciate that, even though I hadn’t ever asked anyone out before in my life.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I ever would.