Perseverance

Chapter Eleven ~ March

I step into the unfamiliar bar, my eyes taking in the high ceiling, and the wooden arches that decorate it. The floor below is light and airy, the furniture all the same oak as the ceiling, giving the city bar a unique, holiday cabin type feel. I like it.

I spot the back of Ellis' head, talking to the bartender with a beer in front of him, the two of them laughing over something. I smirk at the sight, not surprised that Ellis knows how to charm the pants off of everything with a fucking pulse.

Stepping towards him he turns at the sound of my heels on the floor, grinning straight away, his eyes trailing over my short black skirt and lace-up blue bodysuit.

"Wow," he exclaims and I roll my eyes before placing my clutch on the surface beside him, smiling at the bartender.

"Could I have a mojito, please?" I ask and he nods, turning away and grabbing onto the spirits behind him.

"No 'hello Ellis'?" Ellis says and I smirk.

"Hello Ellis."

"It's good to see you," he admits and I keep my mouth closed, smiling at the bartender as he hands me my drink. "Wow, you really are playing hard to get today!"

"I'm not playing anything," I counter. "If I was playing a game, you'd know it."

"Now that sounds like fun."

"It's a shame I don't play with guys I know from high school."

"That seems like a silly rule to me."

"Oh, really?" I smirk. "I think it's the smartest idea I've ever had. I've made the mistake of nearly entertaining those sorts of guys on more than one occasion."

"Bec..."

"Remember Chris?" I say quickly, desperately trying to recover from the word vomit that slipped out my mouth. Ellis is no doubt thinking I mean him, and only him. Sure, I probably do, but the cocky idiot doesn't need to know that.

I had just as much trouble with the obsessive Chris back in the day, the way he wouldn't leave me alone after a steamy make-out session, despite the fact that I made it clear from the very moment we stepped in that closet together that it was one time thing, no strings, no feelings. Surprisingly, it turned into one of my biggest mistakes of Junior year.

"Chris was..." Ellis trails off, a grin on his lips. "He had it bad for you."

"He did." I nod before turning away, my eyes scanning the bar. "How did you find this place?"

"Well, after our last... not so successful attempts to talk to people I started scouring the area for new places. I literally stumbled upon it," he says. "I thought you'd like it."

"You presume to know a lot about me," I retort. "I wonder how it is you keep ending up being correct?"

"Maybe because we're more similar than you like to admit?"

"Nah." I scoff. "You're just obsessed with me."

"Is that so?"

"Maybe I should tell the police you're stalking me," I tease, and he smirks in response.

"Seems like a waste of police time seeing as you enjoy it."

"Oh, do I?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely," he exclaims, making me laugh as he grins. Turning to the bartender he puts two fingers on the surface of the bar. "Two shots of gin, please."

"Gin?" I almost spit out my drink. "Shotting gin? Are you crazy?"

"No." He shrugs. "Neither of us like it. It'll be fun."