The Bartender

Chapter 26

On Friday, December 23rd, Maxwell Wilders called me. We hadn't spoken much since our encounter at my secret hide-out, well our hide-out cause it's not a secret anymore.

Wilders asked for coffee with me and I dumbly agreed without thinking it through. It was as if I had longed to see him and his cunning self. He agreed we would go to Starbucks, of course, they have the best espresso ever.

It was only two days to Christmas and I was planning a coffee date with the rude Maxwell Wilders.  In a way, I didn't want to sound rude, even though he deserves every bit of it. But, since he listened to me without judging me, I think he's not that bad.

I had agreed to ride in his car because first off, my car could embarrass me at the least moment. Second, because I didn't wanna waste gas, Christmas shopping absorbed almost half of my savings. Mom has been taking care of the bills ever since she started running the bakery. This gave me a chance to save a lot more than I usually did.

We arrived at Starbucks at exactly 10:30 am. Maxwell was treated like the superstar that he is. We were given a beautiful table in a corner.  Wilders was a gentleman, I won't lie about that, yes he could be an ass if he wills but knowing him these past weeks, I've noticed that he's a softie.

We placed our order and just spoke about basically anything.

"I heard about what happened, I had gone out of town for business. I'm sorry you had to go through all that..."

"Yeah, I'm kinda over it now. I'd like to talk about something else." I was tired of hearing everyone talk about Liam and my relationship. It only makes me look stupid.

"Oh, sure I'm sorry. Well, what are your plans for Christmas?" Wilders spoke again not failing to keep his face as plain and calm as always.

"It's two days to Christmas Max, we've literally finished with all shopping and decorations. It's just what we do, and of course, sometimes we bake together on Christmas eve."

"Sounds like fun if you ask me."

"I bet yours is way fun, I can just imagine you and your classy-looking mother and your handsome dad in a posh car travelling around the states," I said not for once turning away from his face. I tried to search his eyes for any reaction but it was so neutral.

"My parents are late, it's usually just my grandma and kid sister." Shit!

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I had no idea...I'm sorry Max." I quickly apologised, mentally kicking myself where the sun doesn't shine.

"It's alright, you didn't know..."

" I lost my dad a couple of years ago, I can imagine how you feel,"  I stated, trying to make the tension between us evaporate.

"It was a long ago, I was just a fresher in college. Their driver hadn't serviced their car that week. It happened really fast, the overheated oil caused an explosion and...well, no one survived."

"Max I'm so Sorry," I said with all honesty. His pained expression when he narrated the incident showed how delicate the subject is for him. He looked so sad and heartbroken.

"Noana has been there for Jess and me, it's not been a bed of roses throughout."

"I'm sorry..." I don't know why I kept apologising, but I just felt it was the right thing.

"I'm fine April, don't worry too much." And just like that, immediately we dropped the topic, he returned to his normal self.

We drank our coffee and spoke about different things. It was during our conversations that I got a text from Miley.

"You're at Starbucks." The text read, this bitch tracked my location.

"Yes?" I replied, fighting back my smile.

"I'm coming over."

"What no! Miley, you can't come over." I texted back quickly.

"Why?"

"I'm not alone,"

"April, you're on a date?!"

"No Miley, just a friendly coffee."

Max noticed that I had stayed too long on my phone and looked up at me.

"Everything okay? You seem to be battling with your phone." He said.

"Oh sorry, I was just texting my friend. It's nothing." The rest of the coffee date was fun and informative since I found out a lot of things about Wilders.

Miley kept texting me non-stop, asking who I'm with. I ignored her and made a mental note in my mind to deal with her questions later.

After we said goodbye to each other, It was practically time for work. Tonight being my last night working before the Christmas holidays, I didn't want to be late

As always, BOTS never seems to have a dull moment. The excitement from the people was a lot to write home about.

"What's up April," Lauren greeted me upon my arrival. 

"Hey Lauren, how is the night getting on!"

"Great! the night has just started."

"You seem pretty excited about the break," I commented.

"Well, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. But it's just that you're way too excited."

"Yeah, well, Wayne invited me to join their family dinner on Christmas Day."

"Wow, I'm happy for you Lauren, you're really getting there huh."

"Thanks, April, hey I'll just record the tabs for the new clients. I'll be back." She quickly disappeared into the crowd and I began mixing up drinks as usual.

Waking up Saturday morning, I felt so refreshed and unusually active. Maybe it's because it was Christmas Eve.

I walked into my bathroom and stared back at my reflection. My eyes seemed brighter than usual, but I had obvious bed hair. So I grabbed a hair brush and brushed it out to stay tamed.

I finally managed to put my wild hair in a messy bun and went back into my room. I opened my closet and brought out the dress Miley and I had got for Christmas.

I slipped it on for the second time making sure it has no faults. It was a silk luxury royal blue dress. It was a beautiful dress, but of course, very expensive. The dress fitted perfectly without a problem. It is a Dash collection.

After carefully taking the dress off, I went downstairs. I was met with the sight of a well-decorated Christmas tree which certainly needs some finishing touches.

Kim sat beside the tree wrapping up gifts. I smiled at the sight. Mark and the boys were to stop by tomorrow and dine with us, So the presents were more than we usually got. Mom had bought a huge Turkey which I'm sure she's spicing up.

"Hey, need help with the presents?" I asked as I joined her on the floor.

"Sure, here wrap these up." She said handing me a wrapper. I began wrapping up the presents with her.

"What did you get me?" She asked.

"Kim you know if I tell you it won't be a surprise anymore right?"

"You're no fun...hey, the boys and I will be going to the mall tomorrow..." Kim said making me look up at her.

"I see you've been hanging out with those two a lot. They're cool aren't they."

"Totally cool, and they've got cool friends too."

"Oh, I see..."

"APRIL!" Mom called me from the kitchen cutting our conversation short.

"Mom?"

"Can you give me a hand here?" She asked back and I took that as my cue to head into the kitchen.

A/N
Hey guys, how is it going? Are you enjoying the turnout of the story?
Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Stay safe y'all, I'm out✌🏿peace.