NB: Read Chapter 1, 2 and 3 here:
Chapter 1: https://steemit.com/writing/@penny-rose/ender-s-love-chapter-1-warning-strong-language
Chapter 2: https://steemit.com/fiction/@penny-rose/ender-s-love-chapter-2
Chapter 3: https://steemit.com/writing/@penny-rose/ender-s-love-chapter-3

Warning: Contains strong language!

Chapter 4

"Hi," said a voice. It was the handsome guy. Moments after the girl had left, he had wandered straight over to our table, his glass of whiskey in his hand.

"Hi, handsome," Stella beamed and I noticed she was pushing herself up as if trying to exaggerate her breasts. I just rolled my eyes and inwardly cringed.

The guy glanced at her, gave her a curious look. I noticed his eyes flick down at her breasts before giving her a strange look. But I couldn't place what that expression meant. I wasn't very good at reading people.

"What are you two lovely ladies doing in here?" he asked, looking at me as he said that, as if deliberately ignoring Stella. To my horror he sat down opposite us. "You two don't look like you belong here. I would have thought you would be better suited to a classy bar than this dive."

"I could say the same thing about you," Stella flirted and started to flutter her eyes as she sat forward and deliberately used her arms to push her breast together to create a larger cleavage.

The guy looked at her and raised an eyebrow. I just snorted in amusement as I couldn't imagine Stella in a classy bar at all.

"Normally I would," he replied to Stella, but I was sure I saw a small frown on his face. "Although my-, err- ex wanted to meet here."

"That was your ex?" Stella asked, her finger running the rim of her alco-pop deliberately. "She looked like a bitch."

"Stella!" I snapped.

But the guy just merely smiled at her. If he was insulted he didn't show it. "Sometimes it's what inside that counts, not outside."

Stella sat up straight suddenly and grinned broadly. She clearly took that as him flirting with her, but I knew he wasn't. "You want to go fuck in the toilets?" she asked him casually.

Before Stella made that comment, I had just taken a large sip of my wine, hoping the alcohol would dampen the embarrassment I was feeling. But upon hearing Stella, I had accidently inhaled and nearly coughed it back into my wine glass. The wine burnt my throat and lungs as it accidentally went down the wrong way but I tried not to cough uncontrollably. I took another sip in a feeble attempt at controlling myself from coughing.

The guy in front of us gave a snort of a laugh and raised his eyebrows at her in response. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not particularly keen on the taste of those cheap fizzy pops you're drinking."

"Give me one of those horrible drinks you're drinking and it'll wash the taste out," Stella nodded to the glass of whiskey in his hand. I dared not look at her, I had averted my eyes and pretended to scratch my forehead, but I could hear the slight annoyance in her voice.

He suddenly frowned. "I was actually trying to turn your down politely," he explained, looking really annoyed and I noticed his tone had changed. "But you didn't get the hint. I have no interest in having sex with you, let alone in those disgusting public toilets."

"We'll go back to your place then," she shrugged, clearly not hearing the 'no'.

"Jesus Christ, Stella!" I suddenly yelled at her, she jumped and looked at me in shock. I was shocked at myself too. "Take a hint, he's not interested!" Stella looked taken aback by my outburst. She just stared at me in mild shock but didn't say anything. "Not every guy is interested in just finding some whore to hook up with and fuck that night, unlike the losers you probably know! Some men are actually decent guys who just want to sit and have a normal conversation with a woman without having them judge them as a piece of meat."

Stella's eyebrows went up at me, but I turned around to the guy and was just shocked to find him smiling at me with his own eyebrows up.

"I'm sorry," I said to him as he took a sip of his whiskey, and shook his head as if to say 'don't worry'.
There was a few seconds silence as Stella, clearly in her shock and maybe a bit of embarrassment, just sat back, grabbed her cheap drink and huffed.

"How's your back?" I decided to ask the guy in front of me, trying to take control of the situation and find a way to prove to him that I wasn't like that myself. Plus, I wanted Stella to know that I actually knew him. Even if it was briefly, although I hoped he remembered me. I also felt like I needed him to know that I wasn't even really friends with Stella, but I couldn't say that in front of her. I wished she'd just decided to buggar off.

The guy looked away from Stella and back at me. "It's better, thank you," he smiled. "That heat patch worked."
Stella frowned at me in shock suddenly, as if suddenly realised I knew this guy. I ignored her as I took another sip of my wine.

"Did you get that office chair swapped?" I shouted slightly, hoping he could hear me over the loud noise that was behind me, as a group of guys had suddenly started yelling in joy.

"Oh, no," he shook his head. "It wasn't the chair, I had just got back from LA that morning, I think I must have slept awkwardly on the flight."

LA? Wow! My eyebrows rose. "Oh, sorry!"

"Wait a minute, you two know each other?" Stella had finally found her voice. I wasn't sure if it was just the fact she had to yell to be heard, but it sounded like she hissed at the guy in front of us.

"Well, actually-" I started, but I got cut off.

"Yes, actually we do. Which is why I was a little shocked to see her here. It's not really her kind of place to drink. Nor mine!" he started. I raised an eyebrow at the guy, how did he know it wasn't my type of place to drink? Or was he trying to pretend he knew me better than just the brief encounter like I was hoping for? "It's a bit loud and cheap for our tastes. But I'm guessing it was your choice to come here?" he asked, taking a sip so casually that I wasn't sure if he was being deliberately condescending or not.

"Err-, yes, it was my choice," Stella said, not getting the apparent dig and I laughed accidentally.

"Figures," he nodded and a small smile creeped up on his face. Yeah, he was being deliberately condescending.

"Oh, fuck this!" Stella snapped and suddenly got up, snatching her jacket and purse and just stormed out of the pub.
I couldn't help but laugh. But as soon as she started to storm away I felt instantly guilty and I placed my hands over my mouth and watched her storm out into the outside world.

"Sorry," I heard the guy say from across the table. "But she was doing my head in."

I shook my head. "Mine too."

"You want to get out of here?" he asked and my eyebrows rose along with the temperature in my face. He wanted to leave with me? Where? His place? Oh god!

---

Feel free to check out my other work here:

Rose Garden Sanatorium
Read my Prologue here:
https://steemit.com/writing/@penny-rose/rose-garden-sanatorium-prologue-updated
And Chapter one here:
https://steemit.com/story/@penny-rose/rose-garden-sanatorium-chapter-1-updated

I fell in Love with a Psychopath
Read Chapter 1 here:
https://steemit.com/writing/@penny-rose/i-fell-in-love-with-a-psychopath-chapter-1
Read Chapter 2 here:
https://steemit.com/fiction/@penny-rose/i-fell-in-love-with-a-psychopath-chapter-2

It's My Mistake
Read Chapter 1:
https://steemit.com/fiction/@penny-rose/it-s-my-mistake-chapter-1-updated
Read Chapter 2:
https://steemit.com/fiction/@penny-rose/it-s-my-mistake-chapter-2-updated

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