26 A BOTTLE OF WHISKEY

"Chloe, where are you heading to?" A young girl wearing a blue apron asked.

"I want to get some alcohol for the cake." Chloe answered, taking off the apron which was around her waist.

"Is it for the new cake order?" The young girl asked again.

"Yeah." She answered as she picked up her phone from the table and threw it into her small purse.

"Okay, don't take too long anyway. I can't handle the bakery all alone, people keep coming through the door every minute." The young girl said as she was busy decorating a small cupcake.

"Don't worry, I won't be long. I'm going to get it from Zux's anyway." Chloe announced to the young girl.

"You are taking too long on that cupcake, hurry up." She added.

"Yes, Ma'am." She placed the tip of her finger against her head in a saluting manner with a determined look on her young face.

"Good girl, bye now." Chloe left the bakery immediately after giving the girl a quick smile.

Chloe owned a bakery not too far away from Zux bar, it was not too big or too small, she preferred it that way. The bakery was a gift from the Smith's, which was given to her last year as a birthday present. Chloe met Mrs. Smith many years ago when she was still a teenager, when she was being honored with a scholarship at a university which Mrs. Smith was invited to present. After that joyous occasion, Chloe got invited to the Smith's mansion where she met their daughter, Olivia. They became friends after that day but they couldn't see each other often because they studied at different universities. Chloe was a brilliant girl back when she was in high school but she loved something else aside from studying which is baking. The only reason she accepted the scholarship in the first place was because her parents were so happy about the news and she could not ruin their happiness. After graduating, she decided to focus on what she truly wanted, which the Smith's family played an important role in fulfilling her dreams. At first, she refused the bakery but her crazy friend didn't even let her refuse the gift.

. . .

"What's up, beautiful. You're here pretty early today, what can I get you?" Felix asked, cleaning a cup with a napkin.

"Yeah, I came here to get a bottle of whiskey." Chloe replied casually.

"Whiskey?" A familiar voice echoed in her ears which caused her to throw her head at the direction of the owner of the voice, Ryan.

Ryan caught sight of Chloe on her way into the bar, he was confused if it was her or not cause he was a distance away from the bar. After contemplating for a while, he decided to go to the bar to check for himself and it ended up being Chloe.

"You?" Chloe said, seeming a bit surprised as she gave him a hard glare.

Chloe saw Ryan a bit differently this time around, he was wearing a fine suit with nice shoes and a long tie to match with, which went well with his lighter shade of brown hair and eyes like Olivia's. He looked so responsible at the moment she saw him but it didn't last long because her other image of him came rushing back into her head.

Ryan and Chloe had never crossed paths before during the day time especially at the bar so seeing him was least expected.

"Yes, me." He replied, walking towards her. "I thought you were not into stuffs like alcohol, what are you doing ordering for a bottle of whiskey?" He asked, his eyes still widened from the surprise.

"Felix, please, give me a bottle of bourbon whiskey. I don't want to waste much time here." She said, drifting her attention back to Felix.

"Sure, do you want it chilled?" Felix asked.

"No, thanks. I want to use it to bake, just give me a normal bottle." She said, ignoring the man who was standing next to her.

"Ohh… she wants to bake with it" He said inwardly as a more relaxed look formed on his face.

"Okay." Felix replied as he turned to select a bottle of bourbon whiskey from his rack of alcohol.

"Here you go." Felix gave her a small bag which had the bourbon whiskey in it.

"Thanks." She said as she brought out some cash from her purse.

"I'll pay for it." Ryan announced as he brought out his wallet.

"Pay for what?" Chloe asked, raising a brow at him.

"For the whiskey, what else?" Ryan brought out some money from the wallet and placed it on the counter in front of Felix.

"Okay... man." Felix was about to take the money off the counter when Chloe suddenly stopped him.

"Who said I couldn't pay for it?" She hissed at him, pushing the money back to him.

"I didn't say that, I just offered to pay for it, that's all." Ryan replied, looking confused as to why she reached that way.

"Thanks but no thanks, I'm not interested in your flirty money" She said as she dropped her money on the counter.

"Bye, Felix." She stormed out of the bar with the bag of whiskey dangling in her fingers.

"What did I do wrong?" Ryan asked, eyes widened in disbelief.

"I really don't know, man." Felix replied, also surprised by Chloe's instant turn around of behavior.

"Is she always like this?" Ryan asked, still in disbelief.

"No actually, did you do something to her?" Felix questioned, aching his brow at Ryan.

"No, we practically met no too long ago, what could I have done to her for her to treat me so terribly?" He answered.

"Are you sure?" Felix asked.

"Yes, very sure." Ryan answered, very convinced about it.

"Then go after her." Felix said, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Really?" He questioned.

"Of course."

"Okay." Ryan dashed out the bar immediately to catch up with Chloe.

After a short and tiring run, Ryan finally caught up with her.

"How… you… ahh… ahh" Rya could not form the right words because of his heavy breathing.

"Are you following me?" Chloe asked, frowning at him.

"Well, yeah." He answered, still breathing shallowly.

"Why?"

"Because I need to ask you a question." He replied as his breathing returned back to normal.

"And what will that be?" She folded her hands below her bosom as she waited for his question.

"What exactly is your problem with me?" Came his question.

"My problem with you is that you are such a big flirt and it disgusts me." She replied with obvious irritation in her voice.

"Wait, that's your problem with me, really?" He asked, taken aback by her answer.

"Okay, why is that a problem to you? As far as I remember, I have never flirted with you, the only thing I ever did was try to be friendly with you, that's all." He said as he tried to recall if ever he flirted with her.

"Tsk… friendly, the only thing you men care about is looking for means to get into bed with women and satisfying your so-called desires." She blurted out.

"And what makes you think I only care about taking a woman to bed? Do you really think that's the only thing I find interesting in a woman?" He asked, also getting annoyed with how their conversation was going.

"Yes, that is basically all you care about. Or am I wrong to think that way?" She asked, poking her face at him with her hands placed on her waist.

"You are wrong and do you know why? It's because you woman have never really understood men, you guys think the only thing we care about is to fuck your brains out. But not all men care about that only, we also care about other things." He stated briefly.

"Like what?" She requested.

"Like having someone to share our problems with, make us breakfast, stays up all night just cuddling and pampering us…. Not only sex. Why am I even explaining this to you, it's not like you understand anyway. Forget about it." He said and then he left her sight with obvious annoyance and displeasure written on his face.

Chloe felt hurt after everything that happened, she really got affected by it. She was aware of the fact that ever since they met that day when Jason and Olivia made an alliance at the bar, she never treated him well for some reason. After standing for a while and scolding herself for behaving in such a terrible way, she left for the bakery.