69

Ashley
For a moment, I was lost in Leo’s eyes as he held on to me. I pulled away, harshly while racing towards the restroom. I shut the door immediately, turned on the faucet, and bathed my hands and face with lukewarm water. I leaned against the ceramic ends of the sink and inhaled sharply.
I shut my eyes briefly, small sobs racking my body. My thoughts were halted by a vibration that I felt in my skirt pocket. I slowly reached out for it with my left palm on my cheek.
It was Mason who was calling.
I lifted my neck and bit my bottom lip. My phone snapped shut in my arms as I pushed it into my pockets.
I didn’t want to hear his voice or listen to him speak. He was going to choose his ex-girlfriend and his child and not me definitely. I tucked in a loose strand of my hair behind my ear and decided to let it not affect me.
I closed the faucet and moved to open the door. My hands wrapped around the handle, and the realization that I would see Leo or Emily hit me. He clearly saw me crying and would definitely ask about it. I pulled on the door, opening it and closing it behind me.
I walked over to the counter, avoiding looking at Leo while trying my best to focus on Nadia.
“Thank you. ” I told her while she handed over my apron to me.
“Are you fine? You ran straight into the bakery?” I heard Nadia ask and I nodded in the affirmative while watching her pick up a newspaper and make to leave. I asked her where Emily was and she stated she was in the kitchenette with Alfred and Damien.
Nadia left and I swallowed hard, realizing that I was left alone with Leo. I wore my apron in a haste and sat while awaiting just anyone to walk into the bakery. I noticed that Leo had his attention right outside, his eyes staring hard at the scurrying pedestrians. I could smell his perfume from where I was seated, the distance between us was minimal but the tension was the opposite.
I shifted in my seat, nervousness creeping up my body slowly and at that moment, my phone fell to the ground.
I reached to pick it up quickly but a pair of hands pulled them up faster, his hands grazing mine slightly. I felt my heart jump in delight and my insides churn with pleasure at just that touch.
I lifted my head shyly as Leo passed me my phone. I was about to receive it when he retracted his hand, caging my phone in his pocket.
“What are you doing? Give it back!” I cried out.
I observed a smirk that made my knees go wobbly appear on the corner of his lips.
“Why were you crying?” he asked.
I mashed my lips together, wishing that he could stop looking at me in that manner. He gazed at me in a way that made me uneasy.
“It’s none of your business. Give me back my cellphone. ” I told him.
“Then you won’t get your phone.” he chuckled while folding his arms.
My nostrils flared up in frustration as I rose to my feet in an instant while my hand reached out swiftly for his apron pocket.
He jerked back in an instant, grabbing my wrists.
“What are you doing? Are you trying to touch me?” he asked and I froze. I noticed that my fingers were sprawled across his thighs and nearly reaching his groin region.
I tried to yank his tight grasp from my wrists when he did something unexpected. He lifted my wrist with little effort, placing my hand on his chest. My fingers trembled as I tried to avoid looking at anything else rather than him.
The sun decided at that very moment to cast its reflection on Leo’s face as he edged me closer to him. I steadied myself by placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Do you hear that?” he asked with a smirk on his face.
“H-Hear what?” I stuttered the words out.
“The racing of my heart when you’re next to me. ” he finally said. I swallowed a globe of saliva as I turned to look at him, straight in the eye. He swiftly removed his spectacles and his milky eyes reminded me of the alleged Prince of Midon whom I danced with, that night.
I felt my heart beat so wildly that I hoped it wouldn’t burst out of my heart. I sighted someone entering the bakery and I eventually yanked his grip off me, touching the sides of my face. Leo later dropped my phone in front of me a couple of minutes later.
The next several hours felt so tough and long because of Leo. I served customers while he took over ensuring that they paid the bills.
I found myself muttering, “He’s crazy. ” a zillion times and I almost fell on my face a couple of times when my mind strayed away.
Emily came to me a while after muttering all sorts of words but I didn’t know how to respond because I wasn’t even listening to her. Occasionally, my eyes darted to see what Leo was doing, where he was headed, or the smile on his face.
I thought I was going insane because each time we passed by each other, his hands would graze my open palm.
“Why do you look so out of it?” Emily snapped me back to reality.
“What?” I shifted in my seat, darting my eyes away from Leo who was serving and chatting with people in the bakery.
“You look pale. Are you sick?” Emily asked as she touched my forehead.
I shook my head in a non-affirmative while giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. I whipped my head around, my eyes searching for Leo when I noticed he was gone.
I noticed that Emily was speaking to an older woman who had issues with looking for her purse in her bag. A person asked for serviette paper and I reached for it under a drawer to look for it but there was one left. I excused myself, giving a quick apology before venturing towards the storage room. I walked quickly with my feet barely making any noises. I opened the door to see Leo sitting on the table with a leg slightly raised.
I found myself drooling over his facial features as I walked slowly toward the cardboard boxes. I crouched low with my knees kissing the ground while looking for it. I was beginning to get frustrated as I recollected telling Luke severally to arrange them properly so it could seen without time being wasted.
I was still looking through the boxes when I felt Leo’s body beside me, reaching out for a particular box that I had overlooked.
“Is this what you were looking for?” he asked, stretching forth his hand. I reached for it in a go while placing it on the ground. I wanted to rip the tape that held the box in place but I couldn’t. I was about to decide between searching for a pair of scissors or asking Leo for help.
I was still deep in thought when I felt his hands by my sides, reaching out for the box on the floor. I was dazed by the close proximity between us and I could hear his faint breathing just behind my left ear. He ripped off the tape with ease and I inhaled sharply, watching his veiny hands open the box.
I thought my suffering was over until he tilted his head to look at my face.
“Why are you so red like a tomato?” he muttered slowly while staring into my eyes. A primal urge within me wanted to smash my lips against his and tell him to stop doing this to me.
Why was he making me go crazy?
My lips quivered while my gaze tried to remain focused on the floor. The floor seemed much better and more comfortable to look at. I sighted a smirk on his face as he rose to his feet, taking a step backward. I immediately reached for a bundle of serviette paper, holding them by my sides before I rose to my feet.
“Stop doing that. It makes me uncomfortable. ” I softly told him while avoiding his gaze. I then decided to advance towards the door. I had hardly taken a step when he held my hand and turned me around to face him, his hands reaching to cup my flaming cheeks.
“You feel it too, don’t you?” he asked. This time he wasn’t smiling or winking. He was just staring at me while I blushed like a fool. I wanted to lie and say that I felt nothing but my lips remained unmoved.
He patted my cheeks gently and I felt blood rush to the tip of my fingers and in my head, sparks flew.
Literally.
He removed his hands from my cheeks, placing them into his apron pockets and then he let out a sigh before speaking;
“You’re so beautiful.” he blurted out. I felt my heart race even faster and at that moment, I turned on my heels and ran.
Away from him.