“This isn’t over Leah,” he spat out, before he turned away and disappeared back into the crowd. I felt sick. Axel pulled me into the corner where it was quieter and rubbed my tense shoulders soothingly.
“Are you okay?” Axel asked, his beautiful green eyes shining with worry and concern.
“I am, thanks to you,” I said, letting out a deep breath that I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. I didn’t know what I would have done if it wasn’t for Axel, I found myself feeling grateful once more for Axel’s thoughtfulness. “I’m going home now,” I told him, still feeling a little rattled. He nodded looking worried.
“I’ll get you a cab,” he told me and I nodded, instead of arguing that I could do it myself, like I usually would have. I felt emotionally exhausted just from seeing Chris. He still really had a hold on me.
“Thank you,” I told him, meaning every word of it. “Thanks for paying my bill, for getting him to leave, for calling me a cab. Thank you for everything Axel, it means a lot to me,” I told him and gave him a hug, something I’d never done before. He held me back, holding me close. It felt very intimate, which was funny considering how many intimate things we had done, yet this somehow felt the most intimate to me.
“Text me when you get home,” he told me once the cab arrived for me, I nodded hopping in.
Axel
MY NIGHT HAD BEEN GOING great. Leah had showed up looking hotter than hell in that sexy little black number, showing off her amazing rack and sinful legs. I thought it was going to be a great night. I felt like we were taking a step forward after our second sleepover and our frequent texting. But then I saw her face as she was leaving, she looked like she was going to cry, she looked so miserable. That tool Chris Mathers grabbed her and she looked so scared and vulnerable, I nearly killed him. It took every ounce of self-control not to deck him in the face; one punch was all I needed to have him out cold on the floor. If I hadn’t been on the clock, I would have done it too but I couldn’t risk losing my job.
I waited with her for the cab to come and I could see her mentally checking out and putting all her walls back up. I was only finally cracking through to her and now this douchebag had her locking me out again. I was livid. She texted me a simple “home”, thirty minutes later and I was relived she was safe and home but wished I could be with her. I’d have to ask her about Mathers and what he wanted. I could get the guy banned, if he was messing with her. Mathers had been coming down for over a year now at least once a week, I knew what kind of guy he was and if he had any intentions of even thinking of messing around with a sweet girl like Leah, like he had with any of his other previous trash, he had another thing coming to him.
I woke up in the late afternoon the next day and checked my phone for any messages from Leah and was disappointed to see there were none. I got ready for the long night ahead of me and decided to put myself out there and text Leah, asking her if she wanted to get together the next day. The hours rolled by with no reply from Leah and I went to work feeling slightly agitated.
“You okay bro?” Julian asked, as we stood at the door waiting for people to start showing up. I nodded my head unconvincingly.
“Just tired,” I muttered crankily and I was, I’d never put so much effort into anyone or anything and I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere. It was infuriating. Julian passed me a beer and I chugged it down, letting the buzz lift my sour mood. By the end of the night and my fourth beer in, I was feeling pretty good again.
“Axel!” I heard a high-pitched squeal. I turned to see Ashley running up to me.
“Ash,” I greeted. She was a very bad one night stand that I couldn’t seem to shake. She’d gotten to be very clingy after one awful night and now she seemed to be everywhere I went: my work, my favorite hangouts with my friend, even my grocery store. It was freaking me out a little.
“How’s it going?” She smiled wide, clearly enamored with me, it was nice to have this effect on a girl. I just wished it had been on Leah.
“Good.” I smiled, enjoying being the eye of her attention, for once. Something I never had before but after all the rejection I’d been getting from Leah it was nice to feel wanted.
She linked her arms around my neck and moved her mouth to my ear and whispered.
“Do you want to come back to my place again?”
I hesitated, thinking about it long and hard. I was about to fuck it and say yes, when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I quickly pushed her back a step to check my phone and saw Leah’s name on the screen.
“No Ashley. I’m good,” I said, backing up from her. I read Leah’s message saying that we could meet for lunch tomorrow. I scolded myself for nearly having made a huge mistake with Ashley. Ashley looked at me with such confusion and hurt that I felt bad for her. She walked away like a dog kicked to the curb but there was nothing I could do to change that. My mood instantly felt lifted and I felt like a fool for having drunk so much on the job and nearly
