God, Hayley is even more beautiful than I remembered. She is truly stunning, although I'm not sure that she knows how beautiful she actually is.

It has only been a day since I saw her last and yet it has felt like a lifetime. I didn't expect to have quite the reaction to seeing her again, but god, this woman does things to me that I'm definitely not willing to admit to yet. I still even don't know much about her, but maybe I could change that tonight.

Hell, I know where she works now, so that's a start. 

She hadn't been too pleased to see me though. She'd been rather flustered actually, her co-worker - a pretty dark-skinned girl by the name of Zara - offering to take over serving the rest of the drinks so she could escape.

I watch her carefully, tending to the bar as the busyness of the room fades into a blurry buzz around me. She gives everything a quick wipe down before pouring a drink and taking it over to an older-looking gentleman, who looks at her like she's a prize he can win. A wave of jealousy washes over me but I quickly push it away before I have to acknowledge what it truly means.

I have no claim over her, she is free to do what she wants. I can't stop her...

"Hey man, you still with us?" Griffin asks quietly as Charlie, Henry, and Wyatt laugh at something one of them said. Unlike the other guys, Griffin and I have always been the quieter ones in the group - preferring to blend into the noise of the room rather than be the ones creating it.

Neither of us mind, of course. We still have a great time and it gives us the opportunity to have deeper conversations that the others aren't often interested in. Griffin and I had always had a lot in common and out of all the guys, I am definitely the closest with him, maybe even more so than with Charlie at this point.

"Yeah, sorry," I say with a small smile, briefly glancing at him before looking back at Hayley, who has since returned to behind the bar and is chatting with Zara.

"Do you know her?" Griffin questions, jutting his chin towards Hayley, an amused tone to his voice. I look back at him and he smirks.

"Um, sort of?" I start, unsure of whether I should tell him what happened or not.

"Sort of?"

"Yeah..." I take a sip of my drink, deciding that it's probably best to just tell him. I look at the other guys for a moment to make sure they aren't listening before turning my attention back to Griffin.

"She accidentally got into my cab the other night whilst I was on my way to see Melanie..." I start, almost sheepishly. Griffin is the only one who knows about Melanie, although he doesn't know all the details, only that we regularly fuck.

"I don't quite know what it was about her, but I ended up blowing Melanie off and spending the evening with her instead and - not the smartest decision on my part - I let her sleep at my place because she had nowhere else to go..."

"Oh my goodness," Griffin says, starting with the fake dramatics. "Theodore Clark letting a woman sleep at his place without fucking her, now that's a first. She truly must be a fascinating creature, if she managed to make you forget about your hookup and follow her spontaneously around the city."

I roll my eyes at him as he smirks. I cast my gaze around the room before settling it back on Hayley. As if sensing it, she looks up at me for a moment, our eyes locking. Heat rushes through me and my heartbeat quickens slightly as the tiniest shiver runs through her body. She drops my gaze and turns back to Zara as Griffin lets out a low whistle, having watched that whole interaction. 

"Jesus... just go and talk to her, you idiot," he chuckles. I turn and glare at him, which causes him to laugh harder. 

"I can't just-"

"Who wants another round?" Charlie asks, taking a break from his boisterous conversation with Wyatt and Henry to look at Griffin and I.

"Sure" we chime in unison, exchanging a sideways glance - Griffin's being one of rather amused expectancy - before looking back at Charlie. I quickly down the rest of my drink, wincing ever so slightly as the bourbon burns a trail down my throat.

"I'll go if you like," I say, my tone rather gravelly as the alcohol continues to burn a little. In hindsight, I should not have finished my drink as quickly as I just did. Griffin smirks again but I keep my expression unreadable. 

"You sure? Zara will be over again soon if you wanna stay sitting?" Charlie asks, curiously. He looks between Griffin and me for a moment while Wyatt and Henry are still engaged in what seems like a rather riveting conversation about the local sports game playing on the bar's TV.

"Nah, it's okay. I was planning to go and get another drink for myself anyway. Plus, I want to stretch my legs, I've been sitting down too much today..."

"Fair enough," he says as he and Griffin stand up and shuffle out of the booth so I can get out. 

"Another round of shots then?" I ask as I stand next to the table as the boys file back in. After receiving a chorus of yeses, I begin to walk my way to the bar. It is only now that I notice that the older gentleman that Hayley was serving earlier has also made his way up to the bar.

He seems to be chatting her up, with a drunk and greasy smile plastered on his face. I'm surprised she hasn't cut him off yet, considering his state. Either way, an ugly ball of jealousy begins to settle in my gut again.

"-end up working in a place like this?" the older gentleman slurs as I reach the bar. I watch them closely for a moment and go to say something when suddenly Zara is in front of me, blocking my view of Hayley.

"Hey, hotshot!" Zara chirps, beaming a little too brightly as she starts placing shot glasses on a tray preemptively. "Lemme guess, another round of shots and then an Old-Fashioned for yourself."

"Yeah, thank you" I reply with a small smile. 

"No problem. You know I could have come over to you right? You didn't have to walk all this way..."

"I know. I wanted to stretch my legs..."

"Ah, I see. So are you guys enjoying yourselves?" she continues, her tone honeyed. Something tells me that Hayley may have said something to her. She seems like she's purposely trying to keep me from talking to her.

"Yeah, we are" I reply curtly, looking past her at Hayley, who is laughing at something the older gentleman has said. My expression darkens at the sight of them.

"That's great! Well, your drinks are ready so if you'd like to follow me back to your booth..."

Shit.

I need to get Zara away from Hayley if I have any chance of trying to talk to her tonight.

"Sure" I reply, plastering a fake smile on my face as I begin to follow her back. We make it most of the way back before I quickly duck behind a group of guys hanging around a nearby pool table and make my way back to the bar, praying that Zara hasn't noticed my disappearance yet.

I make my way over to Hayley, who still seems to be entertaining the older gentleman's conversation, although she looks less enthused than she did before. He seems to be rambling on about to do with the economy, my guess is it's something to do with his job.

"Excuse me, miss" I cut in as politely as I can, finally catching Hayley's eyes as she looks in my direction. Her breath hitches and she looks around frantically for a moment - confirming my suspicion - before realizing that Zara isn't nearby and plastering a killer-watt smile on her face. 

"Sorry Wade, give me one moment," she starts, giving him an apologetic look before turning and moving away from him to give me her full attention. I glance at the gentleman and he glares at me before lowering his gaze to nurse his drink.

"Yes?" she asks curtly, her expression suddenly cool enough to freeze hell.

"Hi," I reply, my voice softening, suddenly very lost for words. Normally, I had no issue talking to women... What the hell is wrong with me? She looks at me expectantly and I quickly pull myself together and lock my expression down.

"Zara forgot to-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," she cuts in with a frown. "Zara doesn't forget to do anything. What do you really want, Theo?" 

A wave of exhaustion washes over her face for a moment before she quickly replaces it with a small smile, and in turn, a small pang of emotion cuts through my chest. Things must've gotten worse since I last saw her, judging by the cracks in the mask she seems to be putting on.

"I just wanted to come and say hi. You never ended up calling me... How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Look, Theo, I can't do this, not here. I-" she starts but is quickly cut off by Wade, who loudly asks her for another drink.

"Of course, Wade, give me one second" she replies, her tone honeyed as she smiles at him before busying herself by pouring his next pint. He gives her a sly grin back before turning his attention to me.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" he slurs, jutting his chin towards Hayley, who flinches ever so slightly at the comment.

"I was just telling her about what I do for work" he continues, not waiting for my reply as she hands him his drink.

"Cheers, lovebug," he says, winking at her. My expression darkens at his pet name for her and I move closer to him but Hayley interjects before I can say something.

"Wade, look I'm really sorry, I've had a great time chatting with you, but after this drink, I think it's time for you to leave," she says gently with a small smile.

"Sorry sweetheart, unfortunately, you don't make the rules around here. I can leave whatever I like," he grunts, his expression suddenly very icy. "However, if you're a good girl, maybe you can make this little hiccup up to me after your shift."

She visibly flinches at his words this time, clearly very uncomfortable.

"Sir, she's very respectfully asking you to leave," I reply cooly, keeping my facial expressions locked down in an attempt to help her.

"Theo, it's okay. I-"

"Fuck you man! You can't tell me what to do" Wade slurs loudly as he stands up to face me, glaring daggers.

"I wasn't trying to. I was simply telling you that you should listen to her as she very-"

"Gentlemen!" an older guy booms from behind the bar, grinning at both of us. Both he and Zara have now flanked Hayley, who seems to have disappeared into herself, avoiding both Wade and I's eye contact.

"Now now, let's not start this here. Wade, if Hayley has asked you to leave, it's time for you to go bud." He shoots the bouncer a glance and within seconds, the large man clothed in all black is escorting Wade out of the building, with Wade slurring a string of curse words aimed at Hayley and I.

"As for you, good sir," he continues in a jovial tone as he turns his attention to me. "Why don't you let Zara fix you a drink and take you back to your booth." He gives me an assertive grin and nods towards the booth where my friends are and as much as I don't want to, I do as I'm told as I don't want to be the reason my friends and I get kicked out of the bar.

"Hayley, my office, now" the man grunts under his breath as Zara grins at me and begins to escort me back. Shit, he must be her manager or the owner of the bar or something.

Jesus, Theo. Way to put your foot in it. 

I try to catch Hayley's gaze but she is purposely avoiding me. Hopefully, I can catch her before we leave - to apologise. I hadn't meant to get her in trouble.

"Zara, what time does Hayley finish?" I ask quietly before we reach the booth.

"She's meant to finish at 8 pm..." she replies with a small smile, the sunshine from before not present in her voice.

"Okay. I just want to apologise, that's all."

She nods before turning her attention back to the guys, her sunshine smile returning.

"Look who I found!" she chirps, her gaze lingering on Griffin for a moment longer than everyone else.

"Theo! We were wondering where you'd go to" Charlie grins, his boisterous tone carrying. Clearly, the alcohol is getting to him. In all fairness, he'd always been a bit of a lightweight in comparison to Griffin and I.

"Come on, let's get these shots going!"

I chuckle and reinsert myself back into the group, but my thoughts keep circling to Hayley. I make small talk with the boys for about ten minutes before I catch Hayley giving Zara a hug. She squeezes her tight and then proceeds to pick up her things off the floor and wipe her face, which is now red and puffy, before quietly walking through the bar and out the door.

Shit, she's been crying.

God, what have I done?

"Hey, I'll be back in a second," I tell the boys, before running out of the bar after her.

I have to apologise and fix whatever has happened, or at the very least I have to try.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey Guys,

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please vote and comment and feel free to leave me your feedback as I always appreciate it. 

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I hope you all are well and having a good day wherever you are in the world and I will see you all in the next chapter!

Love,

Allamy xx