The Things That You Do

Sipping on her drink, Alexa spared a subtle look down towards her watch before she looked up, checking the door for any sign of Andres. He was running slightly late, usually, after his shift at the restaurant finished, it took him half an hour to get to the café where he and Alexa met, and whilst she doubted it would be long before he arrived, she was slightly excited to him, something which had led to her checking her watch more frequently than usual. She knew that it was still early days, since they’d met, she and Andres had only been out a handful of times, but she had a good feeling about him, even if both Lionel’s and Poppy’s warning to be careful rang in her ears. She was a little excited to see how things between her and Andres progressed.

Taking another sip of her drink, she spared another shy glance towards the door before she felt a soft kiss land on her cheek, something which caused her to squeak before she quickly whipped around in her seat, her blue eyes looking up at Andres who grinned down at her. “Hola” he quipped playfully.

Alexa shook her head playfully before she leant up, pressing a quick kiss against his lips. “You’re late” she mused.

Andres, who’d moved to take the seat opposite her, nodded. “I know I am” he noted “And I’m sorry for not texting. I had to cover an extra ten minutes for a coworker who was running late” he explained.

Alexa nodded. “It’s OK” she noted “I’ve not been here for too long” she added with a playful smirk.

Andres let out a small laugh before he leant across the table, stealing another swift kiss before he stood up, gesturing over his shoulder. “You want another drink?” he asked.

“I’m OK” Alexa replied “This one is still pretty fresh” she added.

Andres nodded. “OK” he noted “I’ll be back in second” he added before he stepped across the café, making his way towards the counter.

Alexa watched him for a couple of seconds before she dropped her eyes, smiling subtly to herself. She knew that Lionel had a point, as much as she tried to hide it, she still wasn’t quite herself, and she knew that running into something new wasn’t the best idea, but still she wanted to get to know Andres, even if she wasn’t quite ready for things to get overly serious between the two of them. She had grown to like spending time with him.

Smiling to herself, she sipped on her drink briefly before the sound of Andres sitting back down reached her ears, causing her to look up at him. “So” he quipped “How was your day?” he noted with a small smile, resting back in his seat.

Alexa admired his smile briefly before she shrugged. “It’s was OK” she mused “I mean, I didn’t get up to a lot. I’ve been on leave from work for a few weeks so I’ve not got a lot on right now. I spent a quiet day at home, going through some boxes of stuff, and then I got a visit from Leo” she explained.

“Leo?” Andres posed with a small frown “The guy that wasn’t your date?” he added.

Alexa nodded. “We’re friends” she noted “And he’s developed a habit of checking in on me recently” she added.

Andres nodded his head slowly, recalling that Alexa had told him about what had happened to her father. “You two are pretty close?” he asked after a couple of seconds. He knew that there was something between them, the fact that he had met Alexa whilst she was out at dinner with Lionel confided it, but he wanted to know just how close they were, even if he didn’t want to stick his nose into her business. He wanted to know if there was something for him to be worried about.

Alexa, who’d moved to sip on her drink, was quiet for a couple of seconds before she placed the cup down. “We were” she admitted thoughtfully.

Andres mulled her words over for a second before he reached his hand across the table, gently knotting his fingers with Alexa’s. “I like you, Alexa” he mused “I hope that I have gotten that across to you when we’ve been out” he added.

“I think so” Alexa quipped with a small teasing smile.

Andres returned her smile softly before he offered her hand a soft squeeze, taking a couple of seconds to think before he shook his head, pushing his glasses back up his nose. “Do I need to be worried about Leo?” he asked quietly.

Alexa, who’d been admiring the fit of their fingers, glanced at him in surprise. “What?” she posed.

“I like you” Andres repeated as he moved his fingers slightly, messing timidly with Alexa’s “And I kind of get the feeling that you might like me too, but I want to know that I am not getting in the way of something. If there is something that I should know about you two, I’d like for you to tell me now” he noted gently. He knew that he had caught her off guard, the surprised look in her eyes screamed it, but he knew that he had to ask, even if her answer was that there was nothing between them. He knew that he’d feel better knowing than not.

Alexa stared at him for a few seconds, thinking over his words, before she let out a small sigh. “I had feelings for him” she admitted, not wanting to lie to him. “For a long time, I was smitten by him, but it only ended up with me getting hurt. He didn’t know it, I never quite worked up the guts to tell him that I had feelings for him, but he when he told me that he had gotten a girlfriend, it really hurt me, so I started to pull away from him. I’ve not really spent a lot of time with him in the last few months” she explained gently.

Andres was quiet for a few long seconds, something which made Alexa shift in her seat uncomfortably before she shook her head. “I...I should go” she babbled as she rushed to her feet.

Andres, however, didn’t let go of her hand, instead offering it a tender squeeze. “Had?” he quipped.

Alexa frowned. “What?” she posed.

“You said ‘had’” Andres clarified as he looked up at her “You said that you ‘had’ feelings for him. Is that different now?” he asked.

Alexa met his blue eyes, chewing on her lip shyly, before she shrugged her shoulders, something which made Andres sigh softly. “You still care about him?” he asked.

Alexa simply nodded, not quite sure what else to say.

Andres rubbed the bridge of his nose briefly before he shook his head. “Do you care about me?” he asked gently.

Alexa nodded swiftly. “I like you, Andres” she mused “I like you a lot” she insisted.

Andres smiled thinly. “But you like him too” he pointed out.

Alexa merely sighed, allowing a beat of silence to pass between them before Andres shook his head, his hand gently squeezing hers. “I think you need some time” he noted.

“Time?” Alexa asked.

“Your papa just died” Andres noted “Emotionally, you’re not quite in right place to be starting something like what I want to start with you, and I don’t want to be the guy who’s pushing you into something. We both know that it will only backfire and I don’t want to hurt you, Alexa, nor do I want to be hurt when you realize you still want to be with him. I don’t want us to ruin this, Alexa, and I think to do that, I need to let it go for now. It’s not the right time” he explained as he offered her a faint smile.

Alexa glanced at him, admiring his small smile, before she nodded. “I think you might be right” she murmured.

“I know I am” Andres teased feebly.

Alexa let out a weak laugh, something which made Andres squeeze her hand once more before he pushed himself to his feet, moving to cup her cheek gently before he ducked into her, kissing her softly for a few seconds before he ducked away, making his way towards the door. Alexa watched after him briefly before she shook her head, hating that they’d met when they had.