Fated Mate

Billy what are you doing! Ash demanded when he stood up.

We are going to join them.

Joe and Billy were on the move. Ash was reluctant; he wanted to stay put. He was in no mood to hit on anyone, even if she was wearing nothing but whipped cream.

Ash, come on!

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Don’t be rude. You have an opportunity to be with someone other than Sabrina, now come on!

No!

Fine, we’ll send her over.

Ash growled under his breath. He hated having women forced on him. Billy and Joe were already at their table chatting up the blond and the brunette. He moved quickly and reached their table and stood next to the girl they had met at the bar.

“…. and this is Ash. Ash, this is Ann, that’s Maria and you remember her, she’s Lee.” Billy introduced them with a cocky smile on his face.

Ash felt awkward and out of place. With a formal tone he greeted them. “Hallo.”

Lee raised her eyebrows. This guy really didn’t want to be here. She gave him a weak smile and looked down keeping her attention on her beer. It was going to be a long night. She took a long swig before she placed a bigger fake smile on her face.

Ash, what are they thinking about! Joe looked at Ash waiting for an answer.

After a long pause and Joe’s persistent look, he exhaled in defeat and stared at Maria. Then his eyes moved on to Ann.

Maria wants to dance, and Billy, Ann wouldn’t mind seeing you naked, but she wouldn’t mind a dance either.

All right! Joe and Billy’s grins widened as they thought in unison.

“Would you like to dance?” Joe asked Maria. After a second of hesitation, Maria nodded her head. Billy didn’t even get a chance to ask, Ann was already dragging him to the dance floor.

Ann ran back to the table, a wide grin on her face. “Ash, today is Lee’s birthday and she’s a bit down. Would you cheer her up, please?”

Ash nodded at her, with an almost sincere smile on his face. Then she turned and hurried back to Billy. Ann had mounted the pressure on him. He not only had to converse with Lee, now he had to cheer her up. She’d given him a job he knew he wouldn’t be able to pull off.

“Well, it seems you’re stuck with me. Sorry about that, Ann is a little pushy.”

Lee sounded glum. She started playing with her bottle. Ash knew he wasn’t being gracious. He didn’t know what to do, so he found out the only way he knew how.

I wish I was home. I’d be watching a movie and eating ice cream. Instead, I’m stuck here with a guy who wants me to disappear! But they wanted to come so bad, and after what I put them through plus all they’ve done for me, I owe them. I need another drink.

Ash felt guilty, he didn’t like invading people’s privacy, but he was clueless. He’d been out of the game for so long, he had no idea how dating went in this new decade. The last time he was alone with a human woman was over half a century ago, and she turned out to be a pain in the ass.

“Would you like to go to the bar? We could drink and I don’t know, talk? It looks like we were both dragged here, so why not entertain each other.” Ash’s lips were pressed in a tight smile. He tried his best to make sure it didn’t look too faked.

Lee looked at him for a while. She gave him a smile for his effort to lighten both their moods. “Sure why not.”

Lee and Ash made their way to the bar. Ash pulled out the stools for both of them.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He turned and looked her straight in the eyes.

He always thought a person’s eyes were the gateway to their soul and one could tell a lot about a person by just looking at them.

He held the gasp in his throat down. His grip on the bottle tightened as his chest crushed in.

Her eyes were hazel and they slit downward slightly. They reminded him of someone. But her eyes were smaller and shaped differently. Rosa.

The crushing in his chest got worse.

* * * *

Lee looked away immediately, and fixed her eyes on the bottle in her hand. She felt very uncomfortable when someone held her gaze like he just did. She put her empty hand on her arm and hugged herself tight. She suddenly felt very exposed.

Ash noticed her new posture. It was like his gaze had shrunk her confidence. He shifted his gaze to the bartender and ordered another beer.

“You have beautiful eyes,” he said quickly, the air in his lungs compressed by his constricting chest.

Lee looked at him from the corner of her eye. He looked tense with his head hanging back, the brown bottle attached to his lips as he drank the liquid down without coming up for breath.

“Thanks,” she said a little stunned before she lifted her own bottle to her lips, sipping at it as she looked straight ahead. She kept her attention on the glasses on the shelves mounted on the wall, taking forced interest at how the blue and white light reflected on them.

They were quiet for a while before she spoke up. Usually she wasn’t the one who started the conversations but if she didn’t say something, they’d sit here acknowledging each other’s presence but at the same time completely ignoring each other. She hated socializing because it was difficult and awkward meeting new people. That’s why she was content with being a loner.

“Can I ask you something?”

Lee’s question pulled Ash out of his thoughts. He turned to her with a tight smile struggling not to look directly into her eyes again. “Sure.”

“Why are you so…distant?” She looked down; embarrassed she had gotten so personal. It was the first thing she noticed and there was nothing else to talk about, apart from the weather.

Ash paused before he spoke

“If you answer that question about yourself, I’ll be happy to give you my reason.”

Lee couldn’t help but laugh. He had flipped the question on her. This was the first guy she had met who didn’t take every opportunity to talk about himself. He was different, a male version of herself, she felt at ease with him.

“Touché! How about we just drink until we drop?”

“That works for me, by the way…happy birthday.”

“Thanks.” She gave him a fleeting look before she looked away again.

“How old are you? I hope you are legal because I don’t like small spaces.” Ash joked trying to make her comfortable. He was staring again and it was distressing for her.

Lee laughed. “I’m old enough to date, but truthfully not legal to drink.”

“Then we should take this away.” Ash reached for her bottle. She swatted his hand away then stared at him shocked by what she did. She cleared her throat and spoke shifting around on the prickly stool.

“Never touch a woman’s drink, it could get very dangerous.”

“I’ll remember that next time. So how old are you?”