Chapter 42 Chapter 42: Not Prepared For This

Chapter 42 Chapter 42: Not Prepared For This
Leila Ryker's POV:

I wasn't sure what to take from all of this. At that moment, I stood up to my feet, and Alaric was standing there next to the table in the aisle of the Copper Cafe. I turned to look over his shoudler at Monty, who was looking directly at me.

Monty gave me a winking expression, just as he leaned his head toward the door in a jerking motion. I guess that was his way of saying, " Go take a minute to have a chat with someone who was practically sitting at my job waiting for me for however long. Even before I arrived.

"All right," I told Alaric as I walked around him and headed for the front door, which was practically at the back of the booth wall where he was previously sitting.

When we were outside, and I walked a short distance down the sidewalk under the awning, I stopped and turned around to see Alaric coming up behind me.

"Now, I don't see anyone close to us that might be able to overhear what it is that you didn't say while we were inside," I said as I lightly crossed my arms in front of myself. "Will you kindly tell me what this proposal is? Or issue. The thing that you found interesting, that you have yet to tell me what it is exactly that you want me to help you with."

I couldn't help it as I watched Alaric look right at me as he slowly closed the distance. Then, without saying anything, he just walked right on past me and straight over to a bench that was a short distance further down the sidewalk, nearly to the end of the row of glass windows in front of the Copper Café.

"All right then," I said, turning around, throwing my hands up in the air till I allowed them to fall back down, patting my sides when they did. "I guess I will follow you instead."

Just as I reached Alaric, he took a seat on the bench. I walked up and sat right beside him, placing my hands on top of my thighs as I slid them to my knees when I leaned forward to look at him.

"This is not at all what I thought you meant when you said you wanted me to come outside," I said, looking back in front of me at the sidewalk.

"I'm afraid you're going to say no and therefore refuse to go with me," Alaric said without looking at me.

"I don't even know where you want me to go with you to," I said in that moment as I turned aside to look at him. "You said you needed to date. In that I am the only person that you trust to do this. Is that right?"

I couldn't help but ask him in that moment. Without saying anything, Alaric looked at me and leaned back as he placed one arm behind me. I pursed my lips together as if I wondered if this was an elaborate attempt for him to just get me a close embrace. If that was the case, I was not going to go for this.

"What are you doing?" I couldn't help but ask as I glanced back at his arm resting on the backrest behind me.

"You're right," Alaric said in that moment.

"Cool... About what?" I couldn't help but ask.

"All right, I'll shoot straight," Alaric said as he moved his hand off the backrest and placed it on top of my shoulder. "I do need to date. I have an appointment that's coming up here soon, and I need someone to go with me."

"Okay, how hard was that?" I asked him as he continued to look at me.

"A lot harder than you think," Alaric responded in that moment.

"I don't think it was that hard," I said, turning to look out as a car passed in front of us whenever I turned back to look at him. "All you had to say is that you have a date in time that is coming up, and that you want me to go with you. For some strange reason, you don't trust anybody else to go with you to this particular appointment, and you want me to go with you. Does that just about sum it up?"

To be honest, he actually looked shocked that I said all that.

"Well?" I couldn't help but ask as I knew I really needed to get back inside.

It was still just before eleven, so I technically wasn't scheduled to be on the clock just yet, but still.

"I want to apologize," Alaric said in that moment as he looked down at his lap before looking back at me with his eyes, then raising his head to meet mine.

"What for?" I asked.

"I want to apologize for last night."

"Oh... Well, you should apologize," I said, crossing my arms tighter in front of my chest. "Both you made me look like an utter fool at dinner."

Alaric lightly squeezed his grip on my shoulder when he said, "That was not my intention. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. However, I also didn't anticipate having company as well".

Wait... Is there actually a softer side of this guy? Did he actually care about me in a way? I couldn't help but wonder to myself.

"Whether we had company or not, showing up at dinner last night is irrelevant," I told him, looking away for a brief moment as I reached up and scratched the bridge of my nose. Then I turned back to look at him, and I added, "Still. How you acted was completely uncalled for, and I didn't appreciate it. However, I do appreciate the apology."

As I looked at Alaric's face seemed to soften a little bit. He even smiled at me lightly.

"Do you have any idea as to when this particular appointment is that you need me to go with you to?" I asked as I looked back towards the door of the cafe, where Kristin had opened it, stuck her head outside, and waved at me.

I waved back at her, and I hollered out, "I will be right there. I'm almost finished."

"Good, because I need your help," she called out to me, pulled her head back inside the cafe, and let the door close.

I then turned back to face Alaric.

"Well?" I asked him as his eyes went wider, looking at me again. "Do you have any idea as to when this... Appointment is?"

"Not at that moment. Whenever I do, I will definitely let you know," he said in his response. "Do I have your word that you will go with me?"

I pressed my lips in a fine line before I inhaled and blew it out with a bit of a huff.

"Fine," I told him at that instant. "I'll go with you. However, if any unwanted company just so happens to show up, don't act like a total and utter fool. Can you manage that?"

"I would do the best I can."