Chapter 41: Chapter 41: What's The Issue?

Leila Ryker's POV:

I thought Alaric's request was a bit odd, but who was I to know what somebody else was thinking? I wasn't the one who had the ability to read somebody else's mind.

As I walked back around the counter to where Alaric was seated, I lightly held the cup of coffee in my hand. I didn't know what to think. Why would he come here knowing I wasn't here yet?

"Here you go," I said as I set the cup of coffee down to the side, but still in front of Alaric on the table.

Alaric didn't say anything as he reached forward and grabbed the handle, turning around to where he could pull it closer to him. He then reached over and grabbed the condiments he needed, sliding the tray over as he proceeded to fix his coffee the way he would like it.

"In the meantime, is there anything else I can get you?" I asked him as I again reached into my half apron pocket and pulled out the order pad and a pen so that I could write down whatever he needed.

Why else would he show up here early if he hadn't intended to order something? There's no telling why he showed up here or even what he wanted to meet me here at the Café.

"Do you have a moment to take a seat?" Alaric said, looking up at me as he placed his opposite hand on top of the menu in front of them.

"You do know that this is my job, right?" I couldn't help but ask him as I held out the pen and order pad to the side, as if trying to show him what I held in my hands. "I have a job to do. And that is take your order if you want something if not I can return to work."

My request for you is to have a seat," Alaric spoke again as he raised his right hand towards the seat in front of me, with his left hand still placed down on top of the menu.

It was at that moment that I turned to look at the window and noticed that Monty was looking right at me. For some reason, Monty was apparently paying attention to this short conversation that Alaric and I were having. I know full well that Monty saw that Alaric's hand was positioned in front of him, pointing at the bench seat on the opposite side of the table from where he was seated.

My eyes went wide whenever I saw Monty nodding at me and jerking his head to the side, insinuating that he wanted me to take a seat as well.

My lips parted as I gasped lightly, turning back around to see Alaric do the same, his hand pointed at the seat in front of him.

"All right..." I said with a bit of reluctance as I placed the pen and pad of paper back in my apron pocket and took a few steps over to take a seat on the bench in front of Alaric. "What is it that you wanted me to sit down for?"

"I have found something, something that I have found rather interesting," Alaric said right then as he withdrew his right hand and grabbed a cup of coffee, taking a sip of it before setting it back down on the table.

I couldn't help it as I crossed my arms in front of myself.

"Great," I said, trying to hide the sarcasm in my tone. "That's absolutely fantastic that you found something rather interesting. Would you care to share that bit of knowledge with me?"

"I wouldn't mind, however..." Alaric stated as he leaned forward, placed the edges of his forearms on the edge of the table, and interlocked his fingers in front of himself. "I have a bit of an issue that I need to solve."

"What's the issue?" I couldn't help but ask as I leaned back against the padded backrest on the bench seat and huffed as I sort of slammed my back backward lightly. "And how was it that I would be able to help you with this issue that you find rather interesting?"

I don't know why he was beating around the bush to get to the topic at hand, but it was rather irritating.

"I need to date," Alaric said in that moment as he looked down in front of himself.

"A date?" I couldn't help but ask. "What you mean you need to date? Like a day during the week? Or you need someone to go to a dance with you or something? Like a girlfriend, sort of thing?"

I was trying to give him options so that he would just spit it out instead of delaying the topic at hand.

He looked up at me, whatever he was on crossed his fingers, and placed his hands down on the table, lightly spreading his fingers in front of him. I looked at the coffee cup, and it was directly between his arms. I even lowered my chin as I wasn't exactly sure what he was trying to get.

"It practically comes down to... I need your help with something, Leila," Alaric said in that moment as he looked to me with a pleading look in his eye. "It's something that... I wouldn't trust anybody else with this."

"Oh..kay..." I said, drawing out my words in a slow manner. "And you are sure that I am the only one that can help you out with this particular issue, I'm guessing?"

"That's correct," Alaric said, nodding and pulling his hands back and placing them underneath the edge of the table, as I'm assuming he folded them in his lap. "You are most definitely the only person who can help me out with this issue."

"All right, well then... will you just tell me what it is that you need help with?" I asked him as I also decided to speak in a lower tone after noticing that Alaric's tone was set lower as well.

Despite the fact that there was noise coming from the bustling restaurant, as it was about midday on a Sunday. That still didn't stop him from speaking in a lower tone.

"The thing is, I'm not exactly sure if you will agree to this or not," Alaric said, still not telling me exactly what it was that he wanted to ask.

"Do we need to go outside or something?" I asked at that point. "Because to me, it seems like you're afraid that this conversation will be overheard by someone here. Do you know anybody else here?"

"I know a lot of people. At least, I know of them," Alaric said as he looked around the cafe, as I did the same thing.

When I looked back at Alaric, he was looking directly at me, staring intently. I couldn't help it as I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what he was trying to get at.

"Perhaps it would be better for us to step outside," Alaric said, standing up to his feet, before he reached out for me. "Shall we go?"