He was nervous all day thinking about her. And someone seemed to notice.
"Hey, are you doing okay?"
He turned to look at his very close worker called Chase. Trevor didn't talk much with people at work, but he did talk to this man a lot. He could almost call them friends.
"I'm good," he said.
The redhead man frowned at him. "I want to believe you, but you're not acting like usual. You seem..." he thought for a few seconds before coming up with a word, "unfocused."
Trevor didn't know what to say. He didn't know if he liked that he could be easily read though.
"I'm just thinking about something."
"What?"
"It's not really important, don't worry," he waved off.
They weren't at the hotel today. They were at his restaurant.
Some people assumed because he occasionally went there, that he owned the place or something. He didn't. He just usually got contracted to cook for specific days, to which he hadn't refused at any point. The pay and environment was good, so why would he?
At his restaurant though, he didn't have to be around 24/7, but he just wanted to get out today. Even if it just meant that he'd be staring from his office window down the street.
At least there'd be distractions. Like Chase.
"Is it about a girl?" Chase probed after a few questions.
He was splayed on a couch, facing Trevor who decided to follow suit and sit down.
"Oh. So it is about a girl," Chase said, eyes lightened with excitement as he stared at him.
"I never said that," Trevor said, defensive. "Even if it was, it'd be none of your business."
Chase laughed. "If it wasn't about a girl, you wouldn't be so defensive." He sat up, leaned his arms on his knees as he asked, "So what did this girl do, Trevor? Who's she?"
He didn't want to answer. He didn't see the need. But at the same time, it wouldn't hurt to tell him. He was more likely to be more understanding than Mike who definitely wasn't a fan of hers.
He'd told the man that he didn't care about her like that anymore, and him going back on his word was going to piss him off.
"She's my ex."
Chase's eyes widened.
He continued, despite the man's surprise. "We dated for a while. I was planning to marry her when she suddenly broke everything off. That's three years ago."
"So you... You haven't moved on?"
"I was planning to," he sighed. "Then I saw her again. And yesterday I sent her a message when I saw her on a dating app."
He returned his attention to Chase who gazed at him silently.
"This is crazy," the man said after a while.
Trevor shrugged. He didn't have to tell him twice.
"First of all, I'm sorry about the break up," Chase said after getting himself together, to which Trevor shrugged. "Second, do you know why she broke up with you? Is it a new man or something?"
"I don't know. I asked her then. I asked a few people she knew and none of them had an answer. A proper one," Trevor said, feeling down thinking about the past.
"So, you said you sent her a message when you saw her on a dating app. Maybe it's fate, you know."
The Chef looked at his employee in amusement. "Fate?"
He didn't want to tell him just how wrong he thought the man was. It would be too easy.
Chase, however, wasn't deterred. "Try to chat with her constantly and find a way to meet. Then ask her why she broke it off." He added, "It could give you closure! Even if it's not a really good answer, maybe you'd use that as a way to let go of her slowly. To heal and all."
Trevor tilted his head in thought as he glanced at the man.
"What if she doesn't want to meet?"
"Well, we'll talk about that if she refuses."
He was really considering it. Sure, he'd thought about seeing her again when he sent her a message, but he didn't think too much on what he could do if she wanted to meet.
They'd barely spoken to each other. The last time they spoke was at that local bar when she was being harassed. He still wasn't comfortable with how unbothered she acted as she was insulted by that piss of shit. Though that was a thought for another day.
"Are you sure your plan is going to work?" he asked.
Chase shrugged. "It's not like you have a choice. You're the one thinking about her constantly, letting her interrupt your life and all."
Trevor sighed. "Maybe I should go home."
Chase nodded. "Maybe you should. While on your way, text her again. That's if she hasn't texted you back."
"Sure. I'll do that," he said as he stood up. "Thanks, man."
Chase grinned. "Happy to help."
***
Tina hadn't gotten a response from him for a while. She wondered if he'd accidentally texted her. If it wasn't intentional on his part. She'd be so embarrassed if she was wrong.
If he didn't intend to text her.
She'd gotten back from work pretty late, forcing herself to remove her attention from her phone unless it was for something important.
But now, she couldn't deny her curiosity and need to see if he saw her message.
There was no way on earth that she was going to send another message to ask if he'd seen it. She had too much pride for that.
All washed up and dressed in her favorite night gown, she sat at the balcony of her house, phone in one hand and a hot coffee in the other.
She'll drink the latter while thinking about what to have for dinner, she decided.
She found a spot to rest her hands and phone as she sipped her extremely hot coffee. It was so hot that she almost dropped the cup, cursing a few times.
"Geez," she said, opening her phone and going to the app she'd been ignoring for a while.
Are you in town by any chance?
Want to meet up?
If you don't want to yet, it's fine. I was just curious.
She blinked as she took in the words.
She didn't even think much as she answered him.
I'm in town.
And sure, we can meet.
If you want.
She placed her phone away from her as she pressed the send button.
She and Trevor were going to meet.
"Oh my God," she muttered, feeling excited for something for the first time in a while.