Love at The Bluebird

“Hello?”

“Gavin? Um, hi, this is Alyson, the girl from the Bluebird Cafe,” I say, trying to sound somewhat cute and not like a complete dork. “The one you gave your card to,” I remind him, hoping he hasn’t been handing his card out like candy on Halloween night.

“Alyson,” he repeats my name in his deep voice, and a chill slides down my spine. “Do you go by Aly?”

“Yes,” I rasp out, my voice shaking a little at my nervousness. “Most people call me Aly.”

“Well, all right then… Aly.” Why does my name sound so exotic coming from him? “I’m sorry if you can’t hear me very well. I’m still at the Bluebird. Can I call you when I get home?”

“Oh right! I’m so sorry. Your assistant demanded I call you, and she’s a little scary,” I joke while I smack my hand against my head for being the dumbass I am. Of course he’s still at the Bluebird, since it hasn’t even been five minutes since I left. Why didn’t I think to wait to call him?

Fortunately, he’s chuckling at me and I marvel at the sound. “I hope she wasn’t rude to you. Sosie’s always pretty serious.”

“No, she wasn’t rude at all.” I grimace at the lie. “Call me whenever you get a free moment. I should be up for a while. I mean, call me another day or whenever,” I stammer, rolling my eyes at myself for how stupid I sound.

“I’ll call you in a little bit, darlin’. Get home safe and I’ll talk to you soon,” he tells me before saying goodbye and hanging up.

“What an idiot you are, Aly,” I groan out loud, mad at myself for calling him so soon and seeming desperate. Knowing there is nothing I can do about it now, I turn on the radio, hoping it will distract me from my thoughts of Gavin.

I pull into my driveway fifteen minutes later and I go inside. I feed Apollo before putting on my pajamas. After I wash my face and brush my teeth, I look at my clock and see it’s only 10:00 p.m., so I decide to get into bed and continue reading the current book I’m obsessed with. Apollo joins me and curls into my side. I check to make sure my phone is on full volume and not on vibrate so that I won’t miss Gavin’s call. With my phone settled next to me on the nightstand, I lie against my pillows and start to read.

Two hours later, the words are starting to blur together and I’m afraid that if I don’t go to bed soon, I will be jolted awake by my Kindle smacking me in the face. I put it aside and reach for my phone. Disappointment rears its ugly head as I see how late it is and he hasn’t called me back like he said he would.

“Chin up, Aly. Don’t waste any pretty breaths on him,” I tell myself, repeating the old motto my mother used to say to me when a boy I liked didn’t like me back. I turn my light off and settle into the covers, praying that a certain green-eyed devil doesn’t occupy my dreams.

Chapter Five

GAVIN

I SHOULD’VE NEVER fucking agreed to this.

I didn’t have dinner before I got to the Bluebird Cafe, so the idea of grabbing a quick bite to eat with friends when the invitation presented itself sounded like a great idea. I should have known them reassuring me that we’d be quick was a lie, even with most of them having late night studio sessions to get back to. Two hours later, our group of four has turned into a group of ten and we’re still sitting at the restaurant. I look around the table at everyone, trying to gauge how much longer they’re going to take to finish up so I can pay the bill and get the hell out of here to call Aly back. Everyone is done, but most are still nursing their drinks. I start to feel agitated at the delay, hoping this doesn’t diminish what Aly thinks of me. I’m a man of my word, so when I tell someone I’m going to call them back, I do. I look at my watch to see it’s midnight.

Screw this. It’s time to take matters into my own hands.

“You ready to go, Sos?” I interrupt her conversation with another person and she turns toward me. “If not, no big deal. I can Uber it home.”

“We haven’t even gotten the check yet,” she states while seeing if anyone else got theirs.

I stand up and throw two hundred-dollar bills down to cover me and Sosie, not caring that our bill was nowhere near that amount. “Here’s for me and you. I’m gonna head out. Stay and enjoy yourself.”