Chapter 6 Clashing Boundaries

• Ambre
• The atmosphere in the bar is at its peak. It's suffocatingly hot in the room and it's getting harder and harder to work as the customers crowd around the bar. With a tray in my hand, I walk over to Tyler, Garret and Cameron's table to serve their drinks. They have been joined by Jayden and his two buddies whose names I cannot remember. Morgan? No...Scott and Peter, I think, his English friend. I force myself to remain as professional as possible with a smile on my face as I prepare to serve the one person in the room I am trying to avoid.
• "Here's the mojito."
• "Thank you!"
• The blonde-presumably Peter-takes the glass I hand him. He looks at me, his eyes twinkling, and gives me a little wink of gratitude. I blush, secretly hoping my embarrassment won't show in the heat. I serve the rest of the order to Scott and the boys before lowering my eyes to the last glass on my tray. I look up at Jayden, who seems not to have taken his eyes off me since I arrived at their table.
• "And the gin and tonic's for you."
• It's not a question. I lock eyes with him, still waiting for him to finally say something. I clear my throat, a little embarrassed, and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. My mouth is dry, my gaze still fixed on Jayden's. After a few seconds that seem like an eternity, his mouth opens.
• "Yes," he answers in a deep voice.
• My heart jumps, my breath catches as he takes the glass from my hand and our fingers brush. A pleasant shiver runs down my arms and I feel goose bumps on my skin. What is this madness? Humiliated by the sensation that has just spread through my body, I quickly move away from the table, holding the tray tightly to my chest and trying not to let it slip despite the sweat on my hands. I really have to stop this! The shocks I feel every time he looks at me or touches me cannot go on. It's outrageous! I look like a child who is embarrassed by the boy she likes. What's wrong with me? I don't like Jayden! Firstly because I can't be attracted to this complete idiot, and secondly because he is a "half member" of my family. Hands off, both near and far. I growl at myself, calling myself all sorts of names and vowing not to let my emotions surprise me again when I go back to their table. If I go back tonight, that's it. It doesn't seem like it, given the pleading look Mrs. Perfect gives me when I arrive behind the bar.
• "Amber, please switch tables with me. Give me the one you just served."
• Her hands clasped in prayer, Ginger looks at me with her fish-eyes and pouting mouth.
• "For what reason?"
• "Jayden. Your brother."
• I tense up. I didn't know she knew him. My eyebrows furrow instinctively, then I try to regain my composure and appear as detached as possible.
• "Half-brother," I unconsciously correct myself. By marriage.
• "It doesn't matter," she insists, dismissing my answer with a wave of her hand. "Would you do it, please?"
• "Go ahead, it's all yours," I capitulate, shrugging and pretending to be nonchalant. Either way, she wouldn't have let go of me all night and would have gotten the damn table back eventually. She thanks me with a hug and waddles off to her new customers in her perfect skirt. I pout. Maybe I gave in too easily? I look at her and realize that even from behind and from a distance, she is beautiful. It's just annoying. She tilts her head back, a sign that she's laughing, one hand on her hip, the other holding her tray. I can't see the faces of all the boys, but I can still watch Tyler, who doesn't seem to be paying any attention to Ginger's theatrics. That should reassure me. He's the type to never look away from a nice cleavage, but he's improving. Only right now I don't care. And the worst part is the uncomfortable feeling I get when I imagine someone else in Tyler's place. Stop it! I close my eyes and quickly push the images out of my head. Pull yourself together! I force myself to go back to work without much conviction, moving mechanically from table to table: smile, laugh, get paid. Occasionally I looked at the guys, still more or less accompanied by a flirtatious ginger. I'm in the middle of pouring a few drinks when Holly positions herself behind me, whispering in my ear to make sure I can hear her over the music playing in the room.
• "For someone who pretends to ignore you, I think Jayden has a lot of eyes on you..."
• She steps back a little to stand next to me, her hands raised to her chest in a sign of surrender, before adding:
• "I'm just saying, that's all."
• "What do you want me to do about it?"
• Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Be Zen.
• "It's a good sign, isn't it? Silent but protective brother.
• Brother. Suddenly it clicks. As if the heat has finally risen to my head and I'm coming to my senses. I run a hand over my sweaty forehead and push a few strands of hair back into my hair band. I'm tired of my evening, the deafening noise around us has numbed me, and I'm letting my emotions get the best of me. Jayden is my brother. A brother I hate, who makes my life miserable and is never nice to me. And he's not even my type. I like blond, light-eyed, sophisticated, funny, outgoing, and definitely not part of my family. You should be at the top of my list: brothers are off limits!
• My best friend gives me a playful look, followed by a little wink.
• "It means he's starting to let his guard down," she coos.
• "It's all an act, Holly," I mutter. "Don't tell me you're falling for it?"
• "Don't be so pessimistic! If he's watching you, he cares, and if he cares, it means he doesn't care that much. I'm sure deep down he likes you."
• Yeah, right...
• I roll my eyes, struggling to ignore Jayden, who is less than ten feet away, playing pool with his buddies for the last twenty minutes. I know this because I've been watching him too, taking advantage of moments when he's focused to sneak a peek. The muscles in his shoulders, the taut jaw, the slightly upturned nose, the hands gripping the pool cue. I scrutinize everything, trying to confirm what I already know: there's absolutely nothing about him that appeals to me.
• "Honestly, I would dream of having this guy in my life. He may be a total idiot with you, but he's a felon. Look at that butt," Holly comments, her eyes fixed on the pool table.
• Okay, that was a big lie...
• I lower my head and don't answer, preferring to avoid any eye contact with him for the next few hours. Where is Tyler? I might as well accept his coffee; it would help clear my head a bit.
• ***
• "Let's go, girls!" exclaimed Cameron as he and Tyler stood in front of the bar. Resting their elbows on the counter, they watched as Holly and I prepared the last orders.
• "Already?" I asked, disappointed to see them leave.
• "Yeah, Garret's tired," Tyler replied, also frustrated to be leaving. "He's waiting for us in the car."
• "Okay..."
• Holly leaned over the counter to hug the boys before returning to her task. As for me, I walked around to stand in front of them properly and bid them good night.
• "See you in the morning," I said to Cameron as I hugged him.
• I released the hug with a big smile on my face and turned to Tyler. He looked at me, a little embarrassed.
• "Well. I'll see you at school on Monday then?" he managed to say.
• I smiled amused to see him so unsure tonight. He who is usually so confident with girls... I stood on my tiptoes and planted my lips on his cheek. As my mouth made contact with his slightly rough jawline, I felt his free hand grab my hip to hold me closer. Tyler, the charming one, was back.
• "I'll send you a message about our date this weekend," he assured me, pulling away from me.
• I nodded, looking forward to spending time with him soon. We haven't really had a chance to talk since our breakup. I hold Tyler in the highest regard, despite everything he's done to me. We've remained friends, and maintaining our previous bond is very important to me, but we need to start over on good terms. Even though we both handled the breakup in a mature way - well, especially me, the cuckold - it's true that we both deserve to get some clarity.
• My joy was short-lived, however, as my gaze turned away from him and instinctively focused on two brown irises watching me from a distance. Jayden was standing there, in the back of the room, and he didn't take his eyes off me. What's his problem? His look was indecipherable, and my body stiffened from my toes to the roots of my hair. I didn't move, staring at him until he gave in first, whispering something into the ear of one of his buddies and then hurrying at a brisk pace towards the exit. Tyler finally moved away from me and after Cameron waved goodbye, they both disappeared towards the door. Exhausted from the evening, I dragged my feet back behind the bar and began to clear the dishes. Another hour and a half and I'll finally be in bed. I was frantically wiping down the dishes I had just rinsed under the tap when Holly appeared next to me.
• "She's practically shoving her breasts in his face," Holly said disdainfully.
• "Who?" I asked, not looking up from what I was doing.
• "Who do you think? Ginger! Look, Ambre!" she urged me, as if I had missed the spectacle of the century.
• "Great," I muttered. "But I couldn't care less."
• I deftly picked up the clean dishes and stowed them under the bar. As I finished my task, I instinctively looked up at the front door. I stopped dead in my tracks.
• "He looks just as enchanted as everyone else!"
• Holly was still leaning against me, arms crossed, scanning the scene in front of her for several minutes. Jayden hadn't left yet. He was standing in front of Ginger, a seductive little smile on the corner of his mouth, looking with interest at the pretty blonde who was talking to him. I had never seen him with a girl before, at least not that close. They stared at each other, and when he began to chuckle softly, Ginger leaned over to him.
• "Is she giving him her number or am I dreaming?" Holly exclaimed as our colleague wrote something on Jayden's hand.
• A strange sensation spread through my chest, pressing hard against my ribcage. My breath caught, my heart tightened, and I felt a terrible urge to vomit. I should never have looked...
• ***
• After finishing up at the bar, Holly drops me off at my house past two in the morning. Using the light from my phone to illuminate my way, I stand on the doorstep, looking for my keys in my pocket. But before I can get them out, the door opens in front of me. Jayden appears, one hand in his sweatpants pocket and the other on the doorknob. He says nothing, stepping aside to let me pass before closing the door behind me. The room is plunged into darkness, except for a faint glow from a computer screen on the couch.
• "You're not sleeping?" I whisper, turning to the figure still behind me.
• "Do I look like I'm sleeping to you?" he replies in a sarcastic tone, his intense gaze fixed on me; he's got me stumped. I prefer it when he doesn't talk. What an idiot this guy is. I furrow my eyebrows, annoyed by his immature retort, and turn my back on him, determined to walk away. I walk carefully up the stairs, trying not to make them creak under my feet. As I close my door, I hear footsteps on the stairs and the floor creaking above.
• After a quick change of clothes, I slip under the covers, already knowing that two things will disturb my sleep. The first, and I'm not proud of it, is the relief that consumes me at the thought of Jayden sleeping alone tonight. The second, and perhaps a little too pleasant, is the feeling that he has been waiting for me to come home...