In the back was a fairly sized sink, right next to it was a glass rack. Several crates stacked in one corner, a refrigerator in another.
She handed him a towel. "I wash, you dry." She instructed.
Immediately he stood next to her, a tension of sorts suddenly filled the air. Suddenly, they were both stiff, their breathing more controlled. Their hands had touched a couple of times as she handed him a glass, in every instance, they had both felt a jolt.
At one point, a glass had slipped from her hands fell, breaking on contact with the floor. She quickly took a step back and shifted her eyes to him, only to find him calm and composed. Why would he not be? "I'm really sorry."
"For what? Accidents happen Ammika."
Yeah, they do, but she was absolutely sure she wouldn't have dropped that glass if he wasn't there right next to her.
They turned and faced each other, their eyes locked in loud silence. Neither spoke, words were unnecessary at this point. Looking into his eyes, she found it hard to breathe. It was like the air had suddenly thinned. He on the other hand tried so hard to act immune to the tension that had drastically grown between them, trying to keep his cool intact. She felt the pull, and so did he. His phone rang, startling both of them. She quickly took a step back, breaking the eye contact and shifting her stare to the pieces of broken glass on the floor. "I'm so sorry about that." He said with a nervous laugh, fumbling to get his phone. He muted it and joined her in picking up the glasses.
"No, its fine. I got it, you should probably answer that." She softly told him without looking at him. He noticed this but didn't say a word about it, just rose to his feet and walked out with his phone on his ear.
He came back as she was emptying the last pieces in the trash can.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah," he responded. "Callie was just worried where I am."
"Oh! I hope I'm not keeping you. You should go, I wouldn't want her to-"
"No Ammika, you aren't keeping me. I volunteered to do this. It's only fair that I stick around till the end." He interrupted.
"If you insist." She stretched out the broom and dustpan to him. "I think it's best if you start out there and I'll finish up in here."
He knew what she was doing, and why. He too couldn't stand the feeling that grew inside him whenever he stood next to her and not being able to say anything.
"Yeah…umm, yeah sure, that's a good idea."
No! No it wasn't. As far as he was concerned, it was a terrible idea. He wanted to be there with her. Feeling her aura next to him. He hated that he had to be away from her yet it was just the two of them there. He certainly hadn't stayed behind to be spending his time away from her. Regardless of his feelings towards the idea, he had no option but to comply.
"Just sweep the broken bottles and glasses, don't strain yourself too much." She advised.
"I'll try no to." He joked with a forced chuckle.
She watched him walk out into the bar and realized she too hated the idea. She didn't want him to go sweep the broken glasses, she wanted him right there next to her. She couldn't quite explain how she felt whenever he was around, or the feeling she got whenever he touched her but she loved it. She hated that she loved that feeling, she wasn't supposed to love it because of so many reasons that she deliberately chose to turn a blind eye to.
A few minutes later, she joined him in the main bar with another broom. "This is quite impressive." She commented and he smiled.
"You're done already?"
"Yeah, I happen to have fast hands." She bragged and they laughed.
He stepped into a dark corner to clear out some of the broken glasses there. His head quickly turned to Ammika when he heard her let out a loud shriek. He held up the broom, ready to battle whatever it was that caused her to scream like that. He was disappointed to find it was her boyfriend Leo. He had snuck up from behind her and gave her quite a scare.
Leo hugged her from behind, wrapping his hands around her breasts. "Why you so scared my love?" He laughed then tilted his head down, kissed her on the neck then on the cheek. He turned her around and saw the horror in her face. "Hey," he drawled, pulling her in for a hug. "I'm really sorry I scared you."
"It's okay." He voice was almost breaking.
"Babe you're shaking." He pointed out. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah." She quickly answered and pulled out of the hug, darting her eyes to Hiram's direction.
"I've been with you long enough to know when you lie, and that my love was a lie."
She hated that. She hated that he knew her so well. Damn it! Damn him!
She was silent for a second. How could she lie to him again yet he would see right through it.
She exhaled deeply, looked at him for a second then answered. "I'm just really exhausted."
"We'll finish up, go home and you can rest. Okay?"
She lifted her head to give him a reply but before she could, he was at her face, his lips over hers'.
"I'll grab a broom." He disappeared into the back room.
Her eyes went straight to where Hiram was, hear heart pounding so hard she could hear it. He stepped into the light removing some cash from his wallet. He placed on the counter and walked towards the exit. He could tell that there was so much that she wanted to say but she couldn't.
"I think it's best that I go." He told her softly and walked past her.
She didn't reply, she had tried but her voice failed her.
Later on his bed, he tried to sleep but whenever he closed his eyes he saw the, Ammika and Leo, back at the bar. He saw him hold her, kiss her neck, her lips. He realized he had focused on Leo throughout the 'incident' and not once had he looked at her. As he lay there, he wished he had looked at her and maybe he would have read her face, try figuring out what was going through her mind at that moment.
But why was he seeing her, seeing him, seeing them? Were they not in a relationship? Is that not what people in relationships do?
He tossed up and down on his bed, trying with little success to push them out of his head but failed. He exhaled deeply as he lay facing up. He turned his head to the clock on his nigh stand. 3:36AM. With a sigh, he stepped out of bed, changed out of his sleeping clothes into his workout wear. With his phone and airpods in hand, he proceeded to their house gym, plugged the pods in and went on the treadmill.