Chapter 8

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A/N: Do you like the image in the multimedia section (to the top of the chapter)? It's animated/moving, but if you can't see that, click on the link in the comments :)

*****

The drumming outside was what had woke me up today. Even before I'd pushed away the persiennes to look out the window, I'd known that it would be pouring down as if all the Angels in Heaven had chosen this day to lament their former comrades going mad and turning against God only to fall. I must have been still half asleep to think of such supernatural nonsense. There were no such things as Gods, or Angels, or Devils, or ghost, or vampires; in my opinion, you had the same chance to meet one of them as you had to shake hands with the Tooth Fairy.

Unfortunately, the heavy torrent had not ceased hours later, while I was getting ready for work. As a result, I'd called myself a cab. But even though I'd used an umbrella before and after getting out of the yellow vehicle, the dampness and the wind outside had managed to completely ruin my hair and that on a day as important as this one; the day I planned to ask Rhys out.

There was a chance he wouldn't even come. It was Tuesday but the weather outside had discouraged many from venturing to places they were not obligated to be; unless they had to go somewhere compulsory like at their a work place or school, the majority of people wouldn't step out of their homes. But if Rhys did come today, in these most horrid of conditions, then I would feel slightly more optimistic about him gracing me with a positive reply. My conversation with Keri the day before was what had made me build up the courage to take this step. Well, it was what had helped me build up some courage; I was still nervous as Hell.

"Rhys," I began silently practicing, picturing him sitting in front of me. "Want to go watch a movie?" No, that sounded too casual. I had to say date; I didn't want there to be any doubt that I was asking him out as more than a friend. I pulled on the hem of my long-sleeved shirt and tried again. "Rhys Flemings, would you go out on a date with me?" I imagined asking him, but I now sounded too formal. I definitely needed to rehearse more before he got to the Milk & Cream. "Rhys, wanna go out with me, watch a movie, have dinner and then sex and stuff?"

I groaned aloud and bent in two, slamming my forehead on the polished surface of the bar. Sex and stuff; that was just so romantic!

"Riley, are you okay?" A hand fell on my shoulder and I straitened up to look at him. Tim's face was the perfect picture of brotherly solicitude. Not that I would know much about that after the way my real brother had treated me.

"I'm just..." I sighed and rested my back on the wall behind me, letting his hand slip off my shoulder. "Tim, how did you ask Winnie out?"

"I didn't have to," he replied, leaning on the bar. "It happened about a week or two after she began working here," he started to narrate in his naturally deep voice. I'd always liked his timbre, it was very soothing. Even today, when my stomach was twisted with nerves, he managed to take a tad of the tension off me simply by speaking. "There was a client, sitting alone on that table," he pointed to one of the tables next to the windows. "He was one of those clients that always found something to complain about."

"Like John?" I suggested, remembering the few occasions I'd met with Winnie's brother-in-law and Tim gave me a nod.

"Like John. Winnie was serving him and he was giving her a hard time. Or at least he was trying to because you know how Winnie gets when someone treats her that way." He smiled, pride in his eyes, before he went on. "He started verbally assaulting her so I went to them, ready to step in, but before I got the chance to even open my mouth, Winnie opened hers. Not five minutes later, the guy was apologizing as if there was no tomorrow and left, giving her a hefty tip. She put the money in her pocket, turned to me, looked at me from head to toe and said: 'You were going to stand up for me and that's sweet; you let me handle myself and that means you have common sense. You can pick me up Friday at eight; I'll write you the address.' And that's how I started dating Winnie."

I laughed and shook my head. So typical of her, being bossy even when she flirted. She was amongst those women who only a certain type of men could be happy with; patient and respectful men, who weren't too proud to let a woman be in charge. The two of them had one of the most stable relationships I'd witnessed; I would be blessed if I ever found a partner who understood me the way they understood each other.

"Are you planning on asking him out?" Tim's voice – no longer jolly with the memory of his feisty fiancée – brought me out of my musing. "That guy from the Bullets that comes here. It's obvious there's something going on between the two of you."

"His name is Rhys," I said, "and yes, I plan to."

"Riley..."

"I know what you are going to say," I cut him off, raising my hands at the level of my shoulders, palms turned towards him. "But you don't know him. You don't know them."

"Do you?" he asked, not nibbling, but with concern in his inflection.

"A few of them, vaguely, but..." I wasn't sure I'd be able to explain it to him. Even after my conversation with Keri, there were a lot of secrets left to unravel when it came to their community. Yet I was sure that they were wrongfully condemned as the scum of society. "They aren't that bad, Tim; they are just... private," I concluded with a term that Rhys often used to describe his family.

"I hope you know what you are doing," he said with a shake of his head. A girl from one of the only two occupied tables raised her arm and waved. That part of the café was supposed to be served by Jenny – the third worker on shift today – but the teenager was engrossed with her magazines and so Tim pushed himself off the bar and went to attend the costumer and her friend or boyfriend, whichever the guy that sat opposite her was.

I took a towel and began wiping the bar. It wasn't stained, but I had nothing else to do; we'd only had five clients since I came here. The bell over the door rang gently and the nervous knots made their way from my stomach to my throat. Rhys carried a large, black umbrella, now closed, yet the rain had found its way to his zipped up jacket and faded jeans. Moist stuck his brown hair to his face like glue. Nevertheless, he seemed elated, smiling from the moment his eyes caught mine.

"Hey," he greeted, sitting in his usual spot. "Where can I put this?" He shook the umbrella lightly.

"Just place it at the base of the bar," I suggested and while he did as I told him, I turned around and grabbed the largest mug we had to fill it with hot coffee.

"How was your day?" He asked as I added the cream and began to draw a sitting wolf.

"Not very busy," I replied, frowning; nerves made my hands shake and I'd accidently added an extra leg to the wolf. I poured more cream, erasing my mistake, and redid the lower part of the animal. Even though I was trying my best, the design turned out of proportion.

"Is everything okay?" Rhys asked, when I turned around and presented him with his drink.

"I just..." Don't know how to ask you out. I puffed. His right palm covered the back of my left hand as soon as I'd placed my hands on the bar for support.

"Riley, what's wrong?" He asked, leaning forward, his thumb going to the right and to the left over my skin. "Did someone upset you?"

"Would you go out with me on a date?" I blurted, not giving myself a chance to chicken out. He startled and moved slightly back, his eyes going large before he tilted forward again, placing his hand under my palm. He brought my arm towards him, giving it a kiss just below the wrist. The sensation caused by his lips traveled up to my shoulder and then resonated in my chest.

"Is that a yes?" I asked quietly, afraid to move any muscles except for those in charge of my mouth. He was no longer kissing my hand, but he still held it in his and I didn't want him to let go of me.

"It's a yes," Rhys confirmed and nodded. His thumb trailed over my fingers and then he pulled his arm away. I was disappointed that he broke the contact with me, but there was another feeling, much, much stronger than disappointment, which cried to be expressed.

"Would you excuse me for a moment?" I asked and without waiting for a reply, I headed towards the restrooms. I would be ashamed if he saw me giving into that emotion in front of him; my reaction would be too childish.

I dashed into the men's room, closing the door behind me. Then I screamed. And giggled. And screamed some more. I didn't think that winning the lottery could make me as happy as I was now. I was jumping up and down like a child who's overdosed on cake glazing. The door opened and Tim froze on the spot, seeing me bouncing around the restrooms, no doubt with a lunatic's grin on my face.

"He said yes?" My colleague supposed after a moment of wonderment.

"He said yes! He said yes! Oh, my God, he said yes!" I squealed, clasping my hands like one of those creepy mechanical monkeys with cymbals. I jumped towards him, my momentum making the larger man stagger back before I enveloped him in a bear hug.

"Winnie is going to be so pissed I found out about this before her," he muttered, his head way above mine.

"Call her to tell her and also say I'll get in touch with her when my shift is over," I instructed, letting go of him. "I'm going back to Rhys now."

"Wait," he grasped my wrist and for a moment I thought he was going to preach against me going out with a member of the Bullets. "You might want to splash some water over your face first; you're all red," he noted instead and let go of me. I headed for one of the sinks and Tim disappeared into a restroom stall.

I washed my face then reached for the paper towels, making a mental to tell Mr. Philips to stock on them; we were running out. Heading for the door, I began counting. One Mississippi, two Mississippi... Someone had told me that doing this would help you calm down. I still took a deep breath and let it out slowly before I reached for the door handle.

Three Mississippi, four Mississippi... I kept counting all the way to the bar.

"So I was thinking that maybe we could go to the movies on Friday and then get some dinner?" I suggested once I stood in front of Rhys. I smiled, noticing the faint remnants of a blush on his cheeks. Perhaps Keri had had a point when she said Rhys was shy around me. "We could meet at the cinema..."

"No," he shook his head and the corners of my lips slumped down; had he changed his mind? "I'll come pick you up, Riley. I don't want you to walk on your own; it's dangerous right now."

"You mean that man. Or people," I added quietly, thinking about the recent murders. "I hope they catch them soon."

"They are doing their best but Kelly says there isn't much that they could use. There are almost no traces..."

"Kelly?" I interrupted his grave narrative. "As in Keri's cousin?" Rhys nodded. "What does she have to do with it?"

"She's a police officer," he replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "She works on the case along with Detective Callum."

"Is she the uniformed officer who spoke with the media on the day of the last murders?" I asked, remembering the confident young woman who had stepped in when a row was about to go on between the detective and the pushy female journalist.

"Yeah," he replied with a slight smile. "She's one of our best."

'Best what?' I wanted to ask, but something told me that I wouldn't get anything more than a vague reply. Maybe she played an important role in their society; perhaps she was even a part of the Council that Keri had told me about.

"It seems kind of strange to find out people from the Bullets have regular jobs," I admitted aloud, leaning my elbows on the bar. "I mean, except maybe for running that pub of yours."

"We don't actually have an external income from that place, you know," Rhys said and I raised an eyebrow. "I mean, the only visitors of that pub are us. So when I buy beer, I'm paying a zero point zero something out of my own salary."

"You mean, because the community pays the Bullets' leader and the second in command to take care of them?" Keri had told me about that too. He nodded once more.

"That's correct. Keri and I are too busy with family business to hold a regular job, so the community pays us. Each family gives a small percentage of their income for a community fund which is spent on things like building work out facilities, helping out sick members who can't pay their hospital fees and mine and Keri's salary."

"What did you do before you became her right hand man?" I remembered my fantasies about Rhys as a spy at a cocktail party, sipping on martinis, shaken, not stirred, of course.

"I worked in construction along with Everett and our dad," he replied and just like that the image was gone. His previous job was far less glamorous than my fantasy, but now my mind produced a new appetizing picture of Rhys with a worn-out tank top, sweat gluing it to his body, outlining his muscles...

"What about your mom?" I asked, shaking my head to chase away my day dream. "What does she do?"

A gentle smile spread over his face; I could tell Rhys was very fond of her. I bet he was the type of guy who would kiss his mother on the cheek each morning when he came down for breakfast and once again before leaving the house to go about his daily duties.

"She's a social worker."

That could come in handy when we decide to adopt.

Heat covered my cheeks. What was I thinking? We had not even gone out on a date yet and I was ready to pick our children's names. It was Rhys' fault thought; completely his. Ever since I'd told him I wanted a big family with lots of kids and pets and he'd interrupted me to say he didn't like cats, I'd imagined him as a part of that family.

"So what time will you pick me up on Friday?" I asked, wiping the bar with a towel as an excuse to look down; my face was still red.

"I'm not sure when I'll be free yet," he replied and I heard the mug slide as he picked it up. "How about I get back to you on this when I come on Thursday?"

"What if you don't come on Thursday?" I stopped the back and forth motion to look at him. "What if the weather is really bad or..."

"The weather is bad today, but I am here, aren't I?" He placed his hand over mine, his thumb gently moving over my skin again. I smiled. I could get used to that! "I'll be back to see you on Thursday, Riley. I promise."

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A/N: Yay, the boys are finally going on a date!

As always, thanks for reading and please vote if you enjoyed the chapter. Also, don't be shy to leave a comment and tell me what you thought of it.

Is it too soon for them to go out?

What about for Riley to fantasize about a family with Rhys?

Do you think Rhys would get scared if he knew about that?

Have a great time wattpading everyone!

PS: I'll be updating Hunt Me Down tomorrow.

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