58

Ashley
“Can we talk outside?” Mason asked while holding his tie, “Please.”
He begged with his eyes and I let out a deep irritated sigh. My eyes darted towards Emily who kept urging me with her eyes to leave. Rubbing my fingers against my brows, I quickly removed my apron, letting Mason head out first before I did with my hands by my side.
I had hardly gotten outside the bakery and towards an alley when someone grabbed my arm, pulling me farther. When he halted, I yanked his tight grip away from mine.
“What did you want to speak about? I have a job to get back to. “I stated sternly, trying to dart my attention somewhere else.
“I was going to apologize.” he started.
“An apology won’t cut it this time. You promised to call and you never do. I called you but you never picked up your cell. You’re busy so am I.” I blurted out the truth, my gaze directly facing his.
“Why are you acting so cold? Are you seeing someone else?” Mason asked.
“I’m not yours, Mason.” I bit my bottom lip and let out a deep sigh.
“You are angry and I understand but don’t treat me like this. ” Mason said.
“I should be the one saying that,” I answered.
For a moment, we were both lost in the ambiance around us. The sharp smell of smoke hitting my nostrils and Mason having a clenched fist. He moved closer to me, trapping me against a wall. Somehow it felt familiar like the way Leo did back in the storage room but I didn’t feel the racing of my heart nor did I feel butterflies in my stomach.
I pushed him gently, avoiding his gaze.
“Are you trying to kiss me?” I shot a glare at him, “Do you think I am that cheap?”
“I didn’t say that, Ashely. I just don’t know what to do. ” Mason anxiously answered.
I swallowed a globe of saliva, batting my eyelashes. I inhaled sharply and crossed an arm across my breasts.
“Do you like me, Mason? Was I really your childhood crush? Are you toying with my heart?” I began to ramble on and on until he stopped me by placing a finger on his lips.
“Yes, Yes and No,” he said bluntly, “I am not toying with you. I’m just really busy and you need to understand that. ”
“I’m busy too but here I am. Right here,” I countered back with my eyes boring through his, “-With you and that’s the difference. I want to know you but you don’t. ”
“I never said that, Ashely. You are not acting like yourself. What is going on?” he asked hysterically.
I bit my bottom lip and shut my eyes briefly. My mind reminisced on Leo laughing and trapping me against the door and I hissed aloud.
“Dammit,” I thought, “He’s stuck in my head.”
“You can talk to me, Ashley and I’m sorry for not keeping to my promises. ” Mason’s voice brought me back into reality.
“Really?” I questioned.
“Yes. I’m really sorry.” Mason repeated.
“Then make me another promise. ” I demanded.
“Let’s go out together. To that Greenwich restaurant the day after tomorrow by eight in the evening” Mason said, “I’ll be there before seven.”
“You’ll be busy at the bank?” I asked.
“Yes,” he answered.
“Then why promise anything?” I stated.
“Because I want to make it up to you,” Mason answered.
I looked at the concrete ground and then back at him.
“If you break that promise, you will be shattering my heart. “I told him, my voice crystal clear.
“I won’t. I promise,” He then advanced towards me slowly, engulfing me into a tight embrace, “I want you to be mine and mine alone. ”
I had no strength to return his embrace so I stood with my hands around my sides, inhaling the scent of his perfume. I was still not satisfied. That warm and fuzzy feeling when he entered the bakery and I would turn jelly was no longer there.
I retreated from the embrace slowly.
“I have to work, Mason. ” I said firmly.
“I know. I’m glad I got to see you and settle our misunderstanding. But I want to talk to you about something. Maybe I’ll be able to explain it on our date.” Mason explained. I noticed the nervousness in the way he spoke and the fact that his eyes weren’t focused on mine.
“Alright,” I answered, “We’ll talk.”
I heard a loud ring coming from Mason’s pocket and I clicked my tongue.
“I guess it’s time for you to head back to work. ” I told him.
Mason nodded, holding my hands and bringing them to his lips briefly, glancing at me for a couple of seconds before walking away and occasionally turning to look at me. I watched his retreating figure with batted breath.
I walked back to the bakery with a lot on my mind. I accidentally bumped into a pedestrian, apologizing over and over before sauntering forward. My mind began to play games once more.
Mason.
Leo.
I ran a hand through my hair impulsively. Why was I still thinking about him and how dare he say that to me?
If he couldn’t stay away from me, why wasn’t he in the bakery?
“What a liar. ” I mumbled. I wondered who he really was. I didn’t know much about him, unlike Alfred, Damien, and Luke. Luke was an orphan who was struggling to care for his three siblings. Mrs. Ping wasn’t satisfied with the way he had no formal education or that he had no previous experience while Damien was a single father.
His wife left him for a business owner a few months after she had a stillbirth. From what he told me, it took a toll on him for several months with him, losing his job when the mining company he was working with, ran out of business.
Alfred was much older and mature. He was a good cook and I praised his skills almost every day. When I probed him about his talent for several days, he eventually confessed that he learned it from his mother.
But I didn’t know anything about Nadia and Leo. It was very strange that she came a week after he did and what Emily told me about her creepily looking at Leo.
Leo rarely talked about himself but he knew a lot about me. I continued walking, squinting my eyes as the reflection of the sun passed through the sides of my face and then my eyes. I curved a hand above my forehead, trying to shield the harsh rays of the sunlight, and walked faster towards the bakery.
****
“What did Mason say? Did he bring you a bouquet of roses and kisses?” Emily asked.
“No, we just talked. He had work to do.” I answered swiftly while cleaning the tables with a rag.
“Alright,” Emily answered and then walked towards me, “Alfred told me something.”
“What did he say?” I blinked and resumed cleaning.
“He said that he saw Nadia hitting Leo, across his face on Friday, ” Emily blurted out.
My hands that rotated around the table in sync with the rag stopped moving as I lifted my head and glanced at Emily.
“Why?” I asked with one hand in my apron pockets.
“I don’t know. Alfred said he got rejected by Nadia and then she hit him.” Emily shrugged.
“Oh.” was the only words that rolled off my lips as I looked down and resumed cleaning.
“Is that all you’re going to say?” Emily asked, “Alfred said Nadia seemed pretty pissed.”
“I’m uninterested in listening to any gossip or a love spat between anyone. ” I answered sharply, briefly raising my head.
“I also don’t want to believe that. He and Nadia barely talk to each other and-”
Someone walked in, asking for a pie and Emily stepped away from me while I finished up, walking away quickly and washing up the rag in the restroom sink.
I then remembered that I dumped my bag in the storage room, I wanted to call Elena and ask how she was faring alone at my apartment and remind her to never relate with my neighbor, Leah.
I washed my hands and dried them off. I flung the restroom door open and began walking towards the storage room. The door wasn’t locked so I just walked in swiftly but then a crashing sound made me halt on my heels.
As if time had stopped, I was in a staring competition with Nadia who was standing right beside my bag and when my eyes met the ground, I sighted my cell phone on the floor.
What was Nadia up to?
I moved closer, swallowing globe of saliva with each step I took. I remembered what Emily said about Leo getting rejected by Nadia and I felt a volcano erupt from within me. I stopped on my heels, a few meters away from her. The sun reflected through the open window, striking its rays against my pink skirt and Nadia’s black top.
“What were you doing here, Nadia?” The words rolled off my lips so smoothly as I tried to calm down the tension within me. I wondered with each passing moment. Was Leo toying with Nadia too? Did he also tell her that he couldn’t stay away from her?
Nadia made no attempt to respond and I inhaled sharply and removed my hands from my apron pockets. I walked closer to her, grabbed her toughly by her shirt collar and pulled her closer to me.
“What were you doing with my cell-phone?” I demanded, “-Answer me. “