I wasn't into all that shit. Yeah, I had daddy issues after never having received the love of my father but I didn't treat that as some sort of kink. No. Eeuw.
Sipping my cold beverage, I ignored Mateo's lingering glances as usual and turned my face towards the street, observing the world around me for a long time. I loved coming here after work in the afternoons. Sometimes I people-watched and other times, I just read. My apartment was nice and all but then it got so lonely in the evenings.
Living alone in a foreign country was hard and I didn't want to make it harder on myself by remaining cooped up at home all the time. That was why I took myself out. Treated myself whenever I could. Olivia made time for me sometimes and that was also nice.
But the ache in my soul....
Nothing could make that go away.
Not one single thing.
Sighing a little, I looked around for Mateo to indicate I was leaving and to put the bill on my tab which I would settle at the end of the week but my eyes locked with a pair of green ones instead.
Oh my God. What was Cole doing here? My heart skipped several beats as I blinked at him sitting at a table in the corner with some other guy. He had not shown up for work today so seeing him this way, dressed casually in jeans and a grey t-shirt in a place I was sure he did not usually frequent had me flustered.
Nodding at me slightly, he lifted his hand in a wave. My response was a weak smile. I was still so embarrassed about yesterday. Do I have to stop at his table and say 'Hi' now? It seemed like the proper thing to do instead of simply leaving. I thought about it as I gathered my purse and phone, glancing his way tentatively.
Fuck, he was staring. Like full on intense 'you-are-so-fucking-mine' kind of staring. There was a pleading in his eyes and it called to me. God, what was this? He was confusing me with all these mixed signals. Screwing with my head.
Standing abruptly, I stalked over to his table, intending to say a few words to him and then leave but his eyes widened a little and he shook his head at me firmly. I frowned. Now what? He had practically reached out to me with that longing expression on his face just to warn me off. What the hell was going on with this guy?
As soon as the question popped in my mind, the man who accompanied Cole lifted his head and then turned without warning to look at me.
My mouth fell open in shock. I would know him anywhere. He was my pervert. The one with the camera on the hotel balcony two weeks ago.
Recognition dawned on his features before his eyes shifted to Cole and then back to me. Then he let out a low growl. Yes. He actually growled in my direction, appearing extremely pissed off and making me gasp at the hostility I witnessed in his expression. What had I ever done to him?
Abruptly, Mr. Pervert turned Angry Man pushed back his chair, stood up and stalked off. Cole rubbed a hand over his jaw with a pained look on his handsome face. My heart ached at the worry I saw tightening his features and he caught my look and gazed at me for a long, spell-binding moment. He did want me. He did. I could tell from the way his eyes devoured me. But something was wrong. I knew it now. And it had nothing to do with his lack of interest in me.
~~~
Cole
I knew the moment I stepped inside our apartment that Jasper was not going to back down from interrogating me this time. He knew. He fucking knew I had feelings for Skye. He had seen it plastered all over my face in the cafeteria.
Was it fate or coincidence? When Jasper had suggested that we go out for a coffee date after being too busy with work the past few days to get out recreationally, I had jumped at the idea. I needed things to be okay between us. I needed Jasper to be okay because his uneasiness increased my guilt tenfold.
He had driven us to some new place which he had discovered during one of his photo shoot gigs a couple of weeks back and we were just sitting there having a laugh when I had spotted her.
Alone again. Gazing at the crowd as though she wanted to lose herself in it forever. I tried like hell to pretend to be unaffected but my heart had other ideas. I couldn't stop looking my fill as Jasper got busy on his phone. She was so fucking beautiful. I realised with a jolt how much I had missed her today and the flirty, lavender halter-neck dress she wore made my dick stir in my jeans.
When she finally made eye contact, I had gone still, a wild mixture of emotions churning inside me. I knew I should look away after acknowledging her once but I did not. I could not. It had been a mistake. A flare of panic had gone up inside me when she had moved to approach me. I knew I would not be able to act like she was just somebody I knew at work if she talked to me in front of Jasper.
My
