Heartbeats Away From Disaster

Saving all my documents, I closed out of everything and shut down my laptop. While I was waiting for it to turn off, I saw someone take a seat on the edge of the table I had been using as my work desk. I glanced up and recognized Lyle's handsome face smiling warmly at me.

"Hey Lyle." I grinned. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," he replied, "I just found out from Justin that I don't have to go in to work tonight and train our new bartender until around 7 o'clock or so."

"Oh?" I asked raising an eyebrow, already knowing what he was thinking, "what are you going to do with all that time in between?"

Lyle laughed quietly to himself and gave me his shy school boy smile that I've found myself to be thinking about every now and then.

"You wanna go grab some dinner with me?" He asked softly.

Studying him slightly, I slowly nodded my head and gave him a small smile in return. "Sure." I replied. "That'd be nice."

"Alright, cool." He grinned. "I have to go and call my new bartender up real fast, but then I'll be ready to go."

"Okay, Lyle, I'll meet you at the front then?" I suggested.

Lyle nodded his head in response and then go up, waving to me quickly before he took off across the empty restaurant, heading toward the bar area. Watching him walk away, I sighed quietly to myself and thought about the past month and a half. Lyle and I had been on a couple of dates before, and he was proving to me that he could be more than just a friend or co-worker.

I've gone on dates with a few other guys, but I didn't find myself thinking about any of them the way that I thought about Lyle. He was smart, funny, charming, sweet, and not to mention good looking. Standing at around 6'2", Lyle would peer down at you through his light green eyes, watching you thoughtfully. His dark hair always seemed to have a few pieces here and there out of place even though he ran his fingers through it constantly, trying to put it right.

He had a quirky sense of humor and found it 'cute' when he learned that I was a big fan of Star Wars. Later I found out that he had a geeky side to him as well; he loved Star Trek, as well as most of the shows on SciFi.

Although I was hesitant to admit it, I think that I may have found the right guy to fix my heart that Craig had been so careless with.

I finished gathering my things, and slid my laptop into my laptop case before I slid the strap over my shoulder, and started to make my way toward the front entrance. The restaurant would be opening in a few minutes time and I wanted to be as far away from it as possible before the evening rush came in.

Just as I was about to reach the front door, I heard my sidekick start to go off in my pocket, and I paused for a moment to fish it out. Seeing who it was, I hesitated momentarily before I hit the 'accept' button and held it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey Mitzi." Craig's soft voice drifted through the earpiece. "How are you, sweetheart?"

"Craig, don't call me that." I muttered as I pushed my way through the heavy glass doors.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "I just ... can't help it; I've been calling you that since high school basically."

"It just seems like it's something you'd call your girlfriend."

"Or your best friend." Craig insisted.

At his words, I fell silent, not knowing what to say in rebuttal.

"You're ... we're ... still best friends, aren't we Mitzi?" Craig asked slowly. "I mean ... you didn't really mean it when you said you hated me?" He whispered.

Glancing around the sidewalk, I spotted a nearby concrete bench, and marched out a path straight toward it as I thought about my answer. I frowned to myself and shook my head, knowing that if I truly did mean it when I said I hated Craig, I would never be able to live with myself.

"Of course I didn't mean it, Craig." I said quietly. "True, I was 'upset' with you for a while there, but I think I'm over it now."

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I know that you were expecting a lot from me, but, I just don't want a girlfriend right now. It's not that you're not good enough or anything, it's just ... " Craig trailed off, mumbling a few incoherent words to himself.

Rolling my eyes slightly, I sighed, knowing that Craig was just rambling now. It was something he did whenever he felt he had done something wrong, and wanted to apologize but wasn't quite sure as to the proper words to say to make things right.

"Craig, its fine." I said gently. "Don't worry about it."

"But Mitzi, you said I broke your heart." Craig whispered. "You know how much it's been killing me to sit around, knowing how bad I've hurt my best friend? It fucking sucks. I hate it." He mumbled.

"Craig, you can't keep sitting around dwelling on it. I mean, it's not like you turn back time and take back the things you've done and said." I reasoned with him. "Honestly, I'm fine."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." I whispered.

Craig was silent for about half a minute, and if it hadn't been for the faint sound of his breathing floating out of my earpiece, I would have thought that our call had been lost or something. Finally, Craig mumbled something under his breath, and then spoke aloud.

"You're seeing someone, aren't you?" He questioned me.

"Well, if you mean to say that I have a boyfriend, no, I don't." I replied. "But, if you're referring to the fact that I am indeed dating guys, then yes, I am."

"No, no." Craig sighed. "Mitzi Lynn isn't the type of girl who agrees to go on dates with a vast assortment of guys; sure, you may go on dates with two or three different guys, but there's one main one that has a hold on you." He stated. "Isn't that right?"

Though he was oblivious to some things, Craig still knew me better than anyone else.

"Yeah, you're right." I sighed. "So what?"

"So what?" Craig mocked. "So tell me who he is. I'll tell you whether or not he has my stamp of approval."

"Craig," I frowned, "you can't tell me who I can and can't date." I huffed.

"Just, tell me who he is." Craig insisted.

"Fine." I mumbled. "It's Lyle."

Craig let out a loud swear word in response. "That guys' a prick." He growled. "Any one but him."

"Craig, you don't even know him." I protested. "You can't judge him if you don't even know him. Hell, that day you saw him at the arcade, you didn't even give him a chance to talk!"

"I don't need to know him, there's something about him I don't trust." Craig mumbled. "Seriously, I don't trust him, at all. I don't know what it is, but just watching him with you that day gave me the feeling that he wasn't any good."

"Craig, Lyle and I have been working together for a couple of years now." I sighed. "He's a good person. Just give him a chance."

"I don't want to." Craig said stubbornly.

"Well, that's fine with me then," I sighed, "because as long as I like him, nothing else matters."

"Mitzi, you can't seriously be falling in love with him." Craig mumbled. "And don't try to say you're not, because it definitely sounds like you are."

"I don't know about falling in love with him," I replied, "but yes, I'm definitely falling for something about him. He's good to me, and he's sweet, he's everything that I wan - "

"Don't say it." Craig muttered, cutting me off.

"Say what?"

"Don't say that he's everything you wanted me to be." He whispered with the sound of hurt written deep in his soft voice.

Automatically, a wave of sadness washed over my own body and I bit my lip, suddenly realizing that I actually was going to say that.

"I told you that I wasn't perfect, Mitzi, and when we were together I really did try my best to be everything you needed. But, obviously I couldn't cut it, and I knew that, that's why I decided to break up with you." He mumbled. "I know that I'm not good enough for you, you don't have to go off and remind me of all the things I can't be for you."

"Craig, I'm sorry." I whispered. "I didn't mean - "

"No, of course not, Mitzi," Craig said softly, "I know that I've been shitty to you; it's only natural that you're gonna say some hurtful words to me without even realizing it."

"It's not like that," I mumbled. "You know me; sometimes I say things or do things without really thinking about it. I'm sorry."

"Mitzi, can you do my favor?"

"Hmm?"

"Choose someone other than Lyle."

"Craig, seriously, stop that." I frowned. "He's a good guy, quit trying to find excuses as to why you don't like him, and why you think he's not right for me. He makes me happy, shouldn't that be good enough?" I asked.

"No," Craig mumbled, "he should make you feel like no one else ever has. Tons of people make you happy, Mitzi, so why settle for that? You need someone who makes you feel amazing." He said simply. "And if you say that this jerk just makes you happy, then I honestly don't think he's good enough for you."

"Craig," I said softly, "it's not like I'm going to marry him; hell, I'm not even his girlfriend or anything."

"Well, if he asks you to be, don't jump the gun too soon; think about it before you give him an answer." Craig insisted.

"Sure, Craig." I sighed.

"I don't want you to get hurt again, Mitzi." Craig whispered.

"Craig, I won't." I said quietly.

On the other end of the line, Craig sighed softly and then fell silent as another voice called to him in the background. I was barely able to recognize the voice to belong to Matt when Craig's voice interrupted it.

"Mitzi, I gotta go sweetheart." He said softly.

This time I didn't bother not to argue with him calling me that.

"Alright." I whispered. "I'll talk to you later then, yeah?"

"Um ... the show is gonna start in a couple of hours, and it probably won't get over until about 10 o'clock or so." Craig mumbled. "It'll be late by the time I'll be able to call you back."

"10 o'clock isn't late."

"I'm on the west coast, Mitz," Craig laughed quietly.

"Oh, well, I don't care." I grinned. "Wake me up if you have to; I'm not working tomorrow."

"Alright, if you insist." He teased. "I'll talk to you later, Mitzi. Bye."

"Bye, Craig."

With that, the line went dead, indicating that he had already hung up. Sighing to myself, I slid my sidekick back into my pocket, and looked up just in time to see Lyle emerging from the front doors. Giving me a shy smile, he waved at me, motioning for me to join him. I flashed him a smile in return as I got up, and walked over to him.

"You ready?" He smiled.

"Yes, sir, I am." I replied.

Lyle didn't say anything, but rather offered his arm out to me, causing me to laugh quietly as I linked mine with his. At that moment, Craig's words flashed through my mind, and I couldn't help but wonder if he really did have a reason not to trust Lyle. Glancing up at him, I was able to catch Lyle's gaze and he stared back at me with his soft stare.

No, there's nothing about Lyle that gave any reason to suggest he couldn't be trusted. I don't know what was going through Craig's mind, but he was wrong about Lyle.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"You know, Lyle, I've never, ever been to the restaurant while it was actually open, and ready to serve people." I laughed as I glanced around the bar, taking in the sights of the people around me.

"You haven't?" He grinned. "Shit, you've worked for Justin for how long now?"

Giving Lyle a slightly intoxicated smile, I shrugged my shoulders and then shook my head, not really able to make sense of anything just then. "I'm not too sure right now." I admitted. "Ask me that question again in the morning."

"Mitzi, I think you've had enough to drink." He stated with a smile. "I'm cutting you off." With that, he took away my cup of Long Island Iced Tea that was only halfway consumed, and set it behind the bar, out of my reach.

"I wasn't finished with that." I frowned.

"You've had three of these, prior to this glass." Lyle laughed, shaking his head. "Trust me, you've had plenty."

"Well ... I suppose you're right." I sighed, watching him as he whipped up another drink that someone else had ordered. Everything seemed to go by so fast, and I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of how jumbled everything in my mind was. Lyle finished the drink, handed it to the waitress, and then turned back to me with a slightly bemused look on his face.

"Want to join me on my break?" He asked.

I nodded my head, and Lyle motioned to the new bartender that he was going on his break. After that, Lyle disappeared through the back door behind the bar, and then emerged about half a minute later, taking me by the hand and leading me through the labyrinth of people. Before I knew it, we had stepped out into the cool night via the back door of the restaurant.

Gripping my hand tightly, Lyle led me to a nearby bench and took a seat, tugging on my hand slightly to get me to follow suit. Glancing over at me, a smile broke across Lyle's face and he reached up with his free hand, brushing some hairs out of my face.

"Mitzi, Mitzi," Lyle grinned, "you know, I wasn't planning on getting you drunk tonight."

"No? Why not? You don't like me when I'm drunk?" I asked.

"No, no, you're very entertaining when you're drunk." He teased. "But, I didn't want you drunk, because I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend tonight."

"Yeah?" I replied. "Well, you can still ask me if you want."

Lyle shook his head and sighed. "I can't." He said simply. "You need to be sober for me to ask you, then that way you'll actually know what you're thinking, and what you're agreeing to."

"I know what I'm thinking." I insisted.

"Mitzi, you can't even remember how long you've been working for Justin." Lyle pointed out with a soft laugh. "You're drunk."

"That's true." I agreed. "But," I paused for a second, glancing around the empty parking lot, "I'll admit, I really do like you."

With that, I felt the heat starting to rise in my cheeks and I turned away from Lyle, suddenly feeling like a moron. I felt Lyle's soft touch linger on my cheek momentarily, before he cupped my chin in his hand, causing me to look back to him.

"I really like you too." He admitted. "And I'm not telling you that just to entertain you while you're drunk; I really do like you." He said. "A lot." He whispered before pressing his lips softly to mine.

At that same exact moment, my phone began ringing in my pocket, and I reluctantly pulled away from Lyle. Mumbling an apology to him, I reached into my pocket and pulled my sidekick out, only to see that it was Craig calling me back, just like he said he would. Biting my lip slightly, I hit the 'ignore' button, sending him to my voicemail and then turned back up to Lyle.

"Who was that?" He asked while I put my phone away.

"Just a friend." I said before I reached up and pressed my lips back to his.