Worth It

Chapter Six

Get a fucking grip, you horny idiot.

"How was your day?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"Good. Good. Yeah. Good." I rambled.

"That good?" He chuckled.

"Well, I kind of had a shitty day, but I don't know if I want to tell you about it."

"I thought we were...friends." He said the word friends as if it were poisonous. 

"We are. Still, I doubt you want to hear about it. Trigger warning: it involves crying."

"Try me."

"All right, but remember you asked for it."

I moved in my chair so I was facing him. He had this grin on his face as he spared me a glance that had me forgetting my train of thought. He rarely smiled, but when he did—I decided—I loved seeing it. It made his entire face light up, making him seem younger, less threatening, and way more attractive.

"Speak, Kat."

Fuck. I liked those two words together.

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry, and that had him reaching behind his chair and plucking out a water bottle. He opened it with the same hand and handed it to me.

"Well, today was my turn to buy my secretary and me coffee. We don't take turns per se, but she's been spoiling me rotten with Macchiatos and everything bagels with extra cream cheese. Which is, by the way, the only way you should be eating a bagel; with extra cream cheese.

I know it sounds like I'm rambling, but it's what leads me to what happened next. I told the cashier I wanted it toasted because who eats a bagel cold? Ew.

And I explained to him that I also wanted extra cream cheese because one is simply not enough. They charge extra for it, as if I'm ordering guac at Chipotle. Anyway, I finish and wait patiently for my coffee and bagel."

"And extra cream cheese." He adds when I take another water break.

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, and extra cream cheese. So they call my name, and I rush over to grab the bag and coffee. The bagel is not toasted, and there is no cream cheese. The soy latte for Tina isn't soy, it's regular milk, and my drink was hot when I wanted it iced.

I sound like a Karen, but I swear I usually don't care but...I wanted that bagel toasted." I took a pause. "I head over there strong and confident because I paid for it, and they weren't even that busy for him to mess it up.

I showed him my order and then my receipt, and you know what he does? He grabs my bag, tosses it in the trash, and then refunds me."

"You're fucking kidding." He swore. "Is that when you cried?"

"No, it's when he called me an arrogant bitch."

"He fucking called you that?" At the red light, Gabriel's attention was entirely on me. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel, and I saw his nose flare as he asked, "Which café was it? What was his name?"

I shook my head. "His manager fired him. It's stupid, but I didn't even respond. I got back into my car and cried for like thirty minutes. Sometimes I don't even know why I'm so sensitive because I don't have a filter when I'm angry. I'll lash out at you, hurt you, and make you feel horrible, but when I'm upset or someone yells at me...I feel so tiny and helpless. It's like I contradict myself."

"I'm sorry he spoke to you like that. If I were there, I would have shoved him in the fucking trashcan. I'm sorry you feel like you have to explain how you feel to me. We got off to a rocky start, and you probably feel like you can't be who you are around me because of what I said to you. I hope you know I regret every word I said to you. Be you around me. It's okay. I can handle it. Cry right now if you want, and I'll pull over and hold your hand through it."