Lies I Never Told You

CHAPTER FIVE: HUNTER

Blaire tightened her grip on my hand. She stared angrily at the man who welcomed us and spoke to her. "I'm not here to see you. Don't flatter yourself too much," she said as she walked towards an empty table near the window.

The man's smile disappeared. I didn't understand the situation, but I didn't know if it's wise to ask Blaire about it now. Once we have settled on our seat, the same man brought the menu to us and waited for our order.

"I'll have cheeseburger and espresso," I said, then looked at Blaire for her order.

She flipped the menu card a few times before she decided, "Hot cappuccino with milk and strawberry french toast, with almonds."

I checked the menu again. "But french toasts are only available for breakfast," I said to which she only shrugged her shoulders.

I was about to apologize to the man, but he smiled reassuringly. "No worries, we'll prepare your orders right away. Excuse me."

"Do you know him?" I asked her once the man was out of earshot.

She shrugged uninterestedly. "Just someone from the past. Someone I wouldn't want to cross paths with again."

I guess that's the reason why she asked me to go somewhere else. I felt like I needed to apologize. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, don't be. I can deal with him," she said.

A few minutes later, sweet smell of strawberry filled the room. Her order came first, it was served by the same man who took our order. Then my order came next, carried by another staff. His name plate reads George. "Thank you," I said once George put my coffee on the table.

"Anything else?" asked the man who, I noticed, was not wearing a name plate. He was looking at Blaire who was already picking on the strawberries and almonds from her french toast.

She didn't answer. The man then left us to enjoy our snacks.

"Who are you?" I heard a familiar voice behind me. "Really? Who are you?" she asked again when she reached our table.

Blaire is so engrossed with her strawberries and almonds that she didn't bother to pay attention to the newcomer.

"Kiera?" I asked, surprised that she was here instead of in a bar.

Kiera stopped in front of us. "Hey, Hunter! Missed me?"she asked.

Like someone who was woken up from a trance, Blaire looked at me, then at Kiera, then back at me. Her light brown eyes looking straight into mine. I nodded, as if to answer the question that her eyes were asking me.

Kiera laid both of her palms on the table and leaned closer to us. Looking at the girl opposite me, she asked, "So, who are you?"

"My name's Blaire. Why are you asking?"she answered monotonously.

As if she's not physically close enough to Blaire, Kiera sat next to her. "I don't care what your name is. What I'm interested about is why are you here with my ex-boyfriend?" she asked. "And also, what's so special about you? Ordering from the breakfast menu at 4 o'clock in the afternoon?"

Blaire put down her utensils and faced Kiera. "Well, you said it yourself. He's your ex-boyfriend." Blaire emphasised the word 'ex'. "So, you no longer have a say in whoever he's with, right? And special?" she sarcastically asked. "I'm no special person. I'm just an ordinary girl having her favorite snack with somebody's ex." She maintains the smirk on her face, intentionally not answering why she ordered a breakfast meal in the afternoon.

The sarcastic response shut Keira up. She stood up and turned to me. "You really think I'll be jealous if you show up on me with another girl? In your dreams, Hunter," she said.

Blaire smiled at me as she finished her toast and coffee. I didn't know what I should feel. Should I be happy that Kiera noticed that I'm with another girl, or should I be bothered that she didn't care at all? I just returned Blair's smile.

"Hi Brian, we're going on a night out later. Wanna come with us?" I heard Kiera talk to someone.

Another familiar voice answered. "I'm busy, sorry." When I turned to look at them, Brian, the man who served Blair her snacks, was heading towards our table. "Hi Blair, I'm going home now, would you like a lift?"

So, his name's Brian and he's Kiera's new apple of the eye.

"No, thanks," Blair said without looking up from her coffee.

I can see the disappointment on Brian's face, which makes me wonder even more about them. I'm getting curious about their relationship.

"Okay. Bye," Brian said before leaving our table.

"Hey!" It's Kiera again. "Who are you to turn down Brian's invitation?" she asked. She shook her head. "He chose you over me, then you have the guts to turn him down. The nerve of you, huh?"

"And who are you to ask? I don't owe you anything. Leave me alone," Blair replied. It seems like she wasn't in the mood to argue.

"Who is he anyway?" I asked Kiera. "Why are you acting so offended for him?"

Kiera pretended to be shocked. "You don't know Brian Villasanta?" Her round eyes widened. "He just owns this place. You're lucky he served you your snacks," she said to Blair. "He never does that to anybody else," she continued as if the cafe has been operating for more than two weeks now.

"So, after Hunter, Brian's your next target?" Blair blurted out all of a sudden. "What are they to you? Toys? Something you'll get effortlessly when you want to, then you'll leave aside when you're done with them?"

She looked at Kiera from head to foot. "Good luck on getting Brian to like you," she said that as if she knew Brian more than anyone. She stood up and walked past Kiera. "I'm going home. Thanks for the treat."

Kiera just stood there, her eyes wide and mouth open. It was the first time someone talked back to her.

"What? Wait. I'll walk you home." I immediately called for the bill.

"Your snacks are on the house, Sir," George said.

"Huh? Why?" I asked.

George shrugged. "That's Sir Brian's instructions."

"Well, tell him we said thanks." I didn't wait for his reply. I headed straight to the door hoping Blair is waiting for me outside.

Blaire was waiting outside the cafe. The moment the cafe door behind me closed, she started walking away. I followed her.

"Don't even bother to ask about him. I don't want to talk about it," she said.

I understand that she doesn't want to talk about her past with Brian. Even though I'm curious, I don't think this is the right time to ask, she'll just lie about it.

"Okay. But I don't think this counts," I said to which she stopped and looked at me, confused.

"Count as what?" she asked.

"As a date," I answered. "You see, we didn't even talk back there. And I didn't pay for our orders. It was on the house as Brian instructed his staff," I explained.

She shook her head. "That's so Brian. He'll surely try everything to get what he wanted. However long it takes, whatever it takes."

I tried to ignore what she said. I didn't want to think about that. It's just making me more curious about them. "So, can we do it again next week? We'll go to a different place."

"No. Let's continue going to Brian's cafe. I think Kiera will be a regular there. She'd keep an eye out for Brian. We should show her more of what she's let go," she said with a smile. "Don't worry about me and Brian. I can handle him."