Ahead of the Darkness (20 page)

Stupid small towns.
I sighed.

“Drew and I bump into each other from time to time at the gym, yes. There is only one gym here, and we do have the same work hours, so it makes sense that we’d end up there at the same time.”

Truth be told, we never did actually arrange to meet at the said time every day, it just sort of happened, but I still had a feeling Anne had something to do with our perchance meetings in the beginning.

“Uh-huh. And last night?”

“What about it?”

“A few of my friends were here last night, and said they saw Drew whisk you off on his shoulder and out of the club.”

There was really no denying that.
Stupid Drew and his huge public display
. I couldn’t hide the small smile playing at the corners of my mouth at the memory. It was a lot funnier now than it had been last night.

“So, that really happened? Gosh, that’s so romantic.”

“I was too drunk to walk. Not really all that romantic.”

“You’re a bad liar.”

I never used to be ... “So, what are you doing here?”

“Oh. Over the summer months I work here a few nights a week, when it starts to pick up.”

“Oh? It’s only the middle of May.”

“School breaks up for the summer next week, and I won’t have to start back until early September. You’re stuck with me for three whole months.”

“Oh, right. You can help keep me sane. Working with this lot ...”

I detested how my eyes snapped to Drew as he walked out of the staffroom, and his to mine. He looked ... he looked like I’d kicked his dog ...

“Makes you crazy?” Georgia finished my hanging sentence, looking at me peculiarly.

“Completely.”

I pulled my eyes from Drew to find Georgia smiling at me, and I frowned at her.
What did I say?

“Something definitely transpired between you too. It’s all over both of your faces. Except ...”

She frowned slightly, taking in Drew’s expression as he made his way towards us, and looked at me, perplexed.

“What did happen between you too? You look, well, closed off, and he looks ...”
Hurt.

“All right, Georgia?”

“Hi Drew.”

“Mia.” The way he said my name, so reverently, gave me goosebumps. “Could ye start teaching Georgia how to make the cocktails? She wanted to come in to learn.”

“Okay.”

I smiled at Georgia’s excited face as she linked arms with me, hurrying us the rest of the way to the bar.

“What shall we make first?”

“Sorry to be a killjoy, but how about I show you some of the techniques first? That way we don’t waste as much.”

“But I’m off the clock. I can drink them.”

“All ten? You’ll be on the floor.”

“Oh ...”

I chuckled at her meek expression.

“Go on then, make her a few.”

Drew’s hand went to the small of my back as he moved closely behind me, chuckling as Georgie jumped up and down on the spot, clapping her hands excitedly.

“G, you know you’re a piss pot, right?”

“Sod off, Julian,” she yelled back at Jules

“I’ll put less in for you,” I whispered to Georgia

“Yeah, that might be best. So, what’s first?”

Drew came behind the bar to help serve so I could concentrate on going through the simple ins and outs of the cocktails we had on our list. Drew and I had purposely chosen ones that didn’t require too much skill, and if there were any requests for more complicated ones, I could handle them, or Drew could. He’d picked up a thing or two from me.

We seemed to have gathered quite a crowd standing around to watch, with people wanting to see how this or that was made. We ended up having a lot of requests, so a very excited Georgia did get to make a few on her own. I leaned back against the wall to watch at one point when there was a lull in service, and Drew came to lean beside me.

“Ye’re a pretty good teacher.”

“She’s a quick study, and nice. It was easy enough.” I shrugged.

He dropped his hand next to mine, our little fingers touching, and he cleared his throat leaning in to whisper in my ear. “Are ye grooming her as yer replacement?”

I pulled back to look at him confused. “What ... Oh.” And then it hit me what he was asking.

I pulled my hand away from his, and folded my arms across my chest, looking back at Georgia. I didn’t know how to answer that.
Was I?

“I ... do you want me to?”

“Ye know what I want Mia.” My heart beat painfully fast as Drew stood up and walked off. I watched his retreating form, lost in thought.

“Mia? Mia!”

My head snapped around to find Georgia looking at me with a frown.

“Sorry, Georgia, what did you need?”

“We’re out of ... some things.”

“Things?”

“Yes. Things. I need you to come to the storeroom with me and help me get them. Would you?”

I looked at her and frowned. She stared at me intently until I got what she was saying. I sighed as she took my hand and led me out the back.

“Okay, spill.”

“Spill what, Georgia?”

“Drew never mopes, and he hasn’t stopped watching you all night. What happened between you? And don’t say nothing, because something happened. He’s not himself and ... well, I don’t really know you well enough yet, but something is amiss too.”

I sighed and sat on down on a crate.

“Did Drew tell you how he feels, and you told him you don’t feel the same?”

“What?”

“It’s obvious Drew is crazy about you. I’ve known him for a few years, and there’s never been anyone Drew seemed to particularly like. Girls are always throwing themselves at him, and he just laughs it off. Not once has he ever gotten jealous with Jules, not like at the beach.”

“You told Jules to leave it alone, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. He wasn’t all too pleased, but he’d noticed as well that you two seemed to have this pull towards each other, and Drew is his best mate.” She shrugged as if to say of course he’d let it go.

She looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to confess, but all I could do was shrug at her. She frowned at me, and put her hands on her hips.

“Well, go fix it.”

“Fix it?”

“Yes. I’ll cover the bar for you. Go in there, and tell him the truth.”

She pulled me up and practically pushed me out the door. “I know you like him too, so stop pretending you don’t, and go make up.”

I had really starting to slip if I’d become so damn transparent around everyone, but I couldn’t stand the thought of Drew sitting in his office “mopping” because of me. Georgia noticed me wavering and smiled, nudging me out the storeroom.

“Go already.”

I shook my head at her but headed off to the office, struggling with what to say. I knocked quietly on the door, secretly hoping he was busy and wouldn’t answer. My palms were sweating, and I didn’t know why. I was just coming to tell him I’d stay and work for him a little longer, wasn’t I?

“Aye?”

I slowly opened the door, and I tentatively walked in. Drew sat back in his chair, looking at me, waiting.

“Sorry. If you’re busy, I’ll come back.”

I turned around to leave, and I heard Drew’s chair scrape along the floor as he stood up.

“Mia, Dinnae leave.”

I paused with my hand on the door, and took a deep breath.

“I’m not.” I turned around and wavered a little when I found Drew standing so close. “I mean, I’m not leaving, I Georgia just wanted to know everything. I’ll stay for—”

Drew had captured my mouth before I could finish my sentence and add
for a little while longer
. He kissed me fiercely, and I completely forgot why I wanted to leave in the first place.

Drew crushed me to him and lift me up, spinning us around. I pulled my lips away to laugh as he continued to spin us in circles.

There was a knock at the door, bursting our bubble.

“Go away. We’re busy.”

“Shh, Drew!”

He chuckled lightly against my throat as his kissed my neck.

“Drew, I need Mia. Someone’s requesting cocktails I can’t make.”

Thank goodness it was just Georgia. “I’m coming,” I yelled through the door, trying to extract myself from Drew’s arms.

Drew chuckled. “Not yet, ye’re not.”

“Drew!”

My eyes widened as I pushed at Drew’s chuckling chest, and he begrudgingly let me go with a slap on the bum. I opened the door to find Georgia trying to hide her laughter, and I felt my face went bright red. I narrowed my eyes at Drew as I closed the door, and could still hear him laughing through it.

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“I wasn’t going to say a thing.” She laughed, bumping shoulders with me.

“You don’t need to. It’s written all over your face.”

“I could say the same thing to you,” she whispered as we walked out.

“Can we keep it between us, please? I ... we aren’t ... I don’t even know, but it’s not, we’re not, a thing. So, there’s nothing to tell.”

She laughed out loud and everyone looked at us peculiar, especially Jules and Mac.

“Jesus, Georgia,” I whisper-shouted at her.

“I’m sorry, but that was a right laugh. You are a weird one, aren’t you? Wait ...”

She stopped right in front of the entrance to the bar, and studied me for a moment. Her eyes softened when she saw whatever it was she was looking for, and I frowned, lost. Opening the latch door, I pushed her through to the far side, away from everyone else.

“Okay, so I don’t date, ever, but Drew and I aren’t dating. It was just ...”
Intense sex, all night and morning ...

“Uh-huh. You’ve both got it bad. Let’s see how well the not-dating works out, but I’ll keep mum about it.”

Drew picked that moment to come out of the office, and like every other time we were in a room together, our eyes were drawn to each other. Drew’s whole face lit up with a look of—

“If that’s not a promise for later, I don’t know what is,” Georgia whispered in my ear, giggling slightly. My face warmed at exactly what that promise would hold.

I turned around to whisper at her. “Don’t ... don’t let him near me.”

She laughed so hard I thought she might wet herself, and I frowned again. She had no idea at just how much he affected me.

“Don’t laugh. I can’t concentrate on teaching you if he’s hovering. What did you need, anyway?”

“Oh, nothing, but I thought it was best to interrupt before something really got started.”

She tried to hold in her laughter as Drew entered the bar. I made myself scarce, to the other side near Jules, quickly busying myself with the clean dishes. I bent down, pulling the tray out, and nearly dropped them when my arse grazed someone’s front as I stood up.

I gasped, almost falling forward as Drew’s hands shot out from behind me and secured the tray. He was impossibly close and I couldn’t move, completely stuck between the tray and Drew.

“Jesus, Drew. Stop doing that.”

“What’s gotten ye all worked up?” He lowered his voice, and leaned closer in. “If I dinnae know any better ...”

I elbowed him in the ribs, and he chuckled lightly in my ear. I quickly pulled my hands out of Drew’s and ducked under his arm.

“Where ...?”

“You seem to have that under control,
Boss.
”

I mouthed
bugger off
and scurried to the other side of the bar, leaving Drew chuckling to himself.

The rest of the night continued on in most of the same way, with Jules looking on curiously and Georgia trying not to laugh. Mac, thankfully, was completely oblivious; she’d been acting totally unlike herself, but at least I didn’t have to deal with her. It was hard enough trying to avoid Drew and his ‘innocent’ hands for the rest of the night. It was one of the longest shifts I’d ever had to work, and I was on edge until we could close the doors and call it a night.

“Nighty-night,” Mac sang on her way out.

“Jules, hurry up and take me home, would you? I’m exhausted. Goodnight, guys.” Georgia winked at me as she pushed her brother out the doors after Mac, leaving me all alone in the staffroom. I turned around to find Drew leaning in the door of his office, looking like he wanted to devour me. I swallowed hard, remembering all too well being in this exact situation, only in dream form.

“Can I touch ye now?”

“You are such a shit.” It lacked the conviction I would have liked.

Drew smirked, his dimples making an appearance as he stalked towards me. My heart raced, for all the right reasons. His fingers slowly trailed up my arms.

“Aye, but ye got me all worked up in my office, so it was only fair I did the same.”

His hands continued up to cup my cheeks, and I struggled with getting any words out.

“You’re my boss ...”
Face and palm.

“Aye, so we best take this to the office, then. I have a proposal waiting for you on my desk that needs your full attention.”
Oh God!

And with that, he kissed me, ending all conversation for the rest of the night. And it was, a very, very long night.

––––––––

“D
o you sing, Mia?”

“Me? God, no.”

It was Wednesday night, karaoke night, and my heart raced at the thought of Georgia wanting us to do a duet. I didn’t like her that much. I didn't like anyone that much.

“But you dance?”

“Yeah ... how did ... ah.”

“Yeah, the guys are still talking about it but, you know, just not around Drew.” She smiled an all-knowing smile.

“I don’t quite understand that. How do they know? There isn't
anything
to know.” OK, that was a lie.

For weeks, the men had stopped flirting with me and I couldn’t work out why, not that I cared. Drew and I had kept our ... whatever it was, under the radar for the last month. Well, I thought we had. I’d tried to fight the pull Drew had on me but it was impossible; Drew made it impossible. He’d always find ways to get me alone to kiss me, but kept touching in public innocent enough, especially when at the gym. Then, his hands were always touching me.

If it wasn't Drew jumping me at the end of the night once everyone left, it was me jumping him. We couldn't get enough, and there hadn't been a spare inch of the club we hadn't defiled. As desperately as Drew tried to get me to come home and stay with him, I couldn't bring myself to. I’d always manage to make some lame excuse or distract him.