Page 4 of Creep

And why were there suddenly white roses everywhere?

There had been one lying on the windshield of my car earlier this week. And a man had mistakenly delivered a bouquet of white roses to the shop two days ago. Did he accidentally leave one behind?

I bent down and picked the rose back in my hand, careful to avoid the thorns. The petals still looked fresh.

This was recent.

Was I the only one noticing this?

I didn’t know. I brought the rose with me out to the car and placed it on the dashboard. My mind was moving a million miles an hour as I drove to the bar.

It was a Thursday, and though there was a decent number of cars in the lot, I knew it wouldn’t be as crowded or wild as it usually got during the weekend.

I found Victoria right away, flirting with a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, classically handsome, andwealthy. The man just had this look about him that I knew well, after all, I grew up in a similar crowd.

Victoria was in the same outfit she usually wore at work, which told me she had headed straight here as soon as she got off. Victoria worked as a digital marketer for one of the big tech companies here in New York, Roth Tech. It paid well, considering she had been there as an intern her senior year in college and had stayed with the company ever since.

It was all so… grown up.

Sometimes, I find myself hit with a wave of envy at how Victoria seemed to have everything figured out. She went to college, then got a job in her related field. She made it seem easy, and I knew Dad had wished I was more like her. I just didn’t know why I couldn’t do the same. I didn’t want to do the same, even if I was envious of her for being able to do it.

I wouldn’t call myself spoiled, but I knew I was privileged growing up.

Instead of walking over to Victoria, I made my way to the bar top, where Brody was showing off his bartending skills to a group of young, impressionable college girls. They clapped when he finished pouring everyone’s drinks into small glasses, and he winked at the girl closest to him.

I could literally see them swoon.

I smiled a little as I watched the interaction before focusing on Brody.

He was tall. Taller than most men around by at least a head, with curly, short black hair, a muscular build, blue eyes, a charming smile, and tan skin.

He was handsome. And hardworking. And obviously successful. Not someone Dad would have wanted me to end up with, but I had already strayed far from the path he wanted for me. I doubted me marrying a bar owner would really be the thing to push our relationship over the edge.

At any rate, I didn’t think it would be a problem because while I talked to Brody, had gone on three dates with him, and shared some heavy make-out sessions, there was no spark.

I couldn’t even convince myself that the “spark” was real anymore, considering I had never felt that with anyone.

But I wanted so badly to feel it with Brody. I wanted so badly to find someone who could be in my corner… who could be my person. Victoria was a great friend, but I wanted something more intimate than that of friendship.

I wanted that closeness only possible between two people, that… spark.

I deflated a little from where I stood.

Brody wasn’t the one for me. And I was doing nothing more than stringing him along because even though I didn't feel anything, I knew Brody did.

And he was nice.

“Hey, you,” Brody greeted, coming up to me.

I plastered on a smile I didn’t feel. “Hey.”

“I didn’t know you were coming out tonight,” he said, leaning his body over the bar to get closer to me.

I gripped the edge to keep myself from backing away. “Oh yeah, Tori threatened to come pick me up if I didn’t show.”

He laughed as if I had told a funny joke. I smiled a little at that. “Whatever it is, I’m glad you came. What are you drinking?”

“A beer.”

---