However, before I could mentally chase that impossible dream, my phone chimed as I opened the car door, and when I pulled it out of my pocket, it was to see Leandra’s name, and she had texted me to let me know that she was spending the night with Joseph and that all was well, and I could only hope that she still felt that way in the morning.
Chapter 8
Koen~
Three weeks later, I was still showing up at Liquid IV in the hopes of running into Rya, and the plan was to keep showing up until I saw her again.
Though I hadn’t pressed Leandra for more information about Rya that night, she’d gone home with Joseph, and the next day, he had tagged her in a photo of the two.Armed with that notification, I had managed to find out that Rya’s last name really was Harlow, but upon my online stalking of the woman, I had also discovered that all of her accounts had been set to private, which had done me no good.
What had been especially curious was how she’d even had her DMs disabled, so I hadn’t even been able to send her a message through her accounts.Now, while I understood how direct messaging could get out of hand when people didn’t have your phone number, I didn’t know anyone who’d ever disactivated their DMs completely.Granted, with social media being the toxic cesspool that it was, I could understand how someone would want to control what they were subjected to while online, but I’d just never known someone who practiced that level of privacy before.
So, after getting nowhere online, I had resorted to heading back to the bar with the hopes of running into her.The bartender had said that she randomly showed up on Wednesdays, and at this point, I wasn’t overly concerned with looking too obvious anymore.I wanted to ask her out, and I was hoping that my borderline stalking skills would show just how much I wanted to get to know her.
“The usual?”Ellen asked, the daytime bartender that was beginning to know me well.
“Please,” I replied as I took my seat at the end of the bar.
Now, luckily for me, Liquid IV had been designed where you could see the front door from any seat at the bar, and whether it’d been meant to be or not, it was a great safety feature.If you were being responsible enough to pay attention, then no one would be able to come from behind to surprise you.It was also convenient in the event of a fire or any other hazard like that.
Getting comfortable, a baseball game was on, and while I liked sports just as much as the next guy, I wasn’t here for that.Nonetheless, I watched it just for something to do.Honestly, I was trying to appear like a normal guy who’s just having a drink after work, but since my office was miles from here, no one who knew me would buy that.
Just then, the door opened, and all six heads that were perched on a barstool turned to see who was walking in, and my heart slammed in my chest when I saw that it was Rya.She had her hair thrown up in a simple ponytail again, her face looked fresh like last time, and she was dressed in a green shirt, black jeans, and no jewelry.
“Hey, Rya,” Ellen greeted as I watched her make her way up to the bar.“The usual?”
“Yep, please,” she answered as she took a seat clear on the other side of the bar.
Needing an opening, when Ellen walked back to the refrigerator, I said, “I’ve got her drink.”
Ellen’s blue eyes regarded me closely for a second before just nodding, and I couldn’t believe how nervous I felt.I helped my father broker million-dollar deals all the time, and that felt like child’s play compared to asking Rya out.I wasn’t even sure why, either.I was twenty-seven and had asked out my fair share of women, so this wasn’t anything new.
Still...
My heartbeat was drumming in my ears as I watched Ellen place Rya’s beer in front of her, and when she gestured towards me, clearly letting her know that I was buying her beer, Rya looked over, and the surprise in her green eyes could be seen all the way from where I was sitting.Nonetheless, as was customary, I raised my own beer, saluting and acknowledging that she was here.
Rya lifted her beer in return, and I felt the rejection like a quick kick to the chest, but when Rya stood up, then began making her way to the end of the bar, my hopes began to soar before I realized that she might just be walking over to reject me in private.
