A Night With My Boss

“I don’t want to bore you with my sob stories-“.

“No actually I wanna hear them and I think I have some to share as well” Liam looked into her eyes in a compassionate way that made Emily want to forget about girl code and make out with him right there and now… If only that was possible.

“Okay but you go first” Emily said brightening up.

“Why me?” Liam asked, surprised.

“Firstly I’m kind of shy and also I would like to hear your embarrassing stories”.

“You’re a hard one to deal with”.

“My mom used to say that” Emily gulped another glass down and turned another glassful for herself, it was going to be a long evening for poor Liam.

“Well….. I got an embarrassing moment from my past… You don’t want to hear it I swear” Liam was fighting the urge to burst out laughing and that made Emily even more intrigued.

“Tell me please”.

“Fine… Okay… But just don’t spill your drink out of laughter” Liam warned her, laughing still.

“Tell me I can’t wait anymore”.

“In fifth grade I got beat up by a girl” Liam paused because Emily had spilled her drink out of laughter, it took her a while to calm down after drawing the attention of other customers.

“I’m sorry…. I’m sorry….. I just can’t….. What?” She gasped trying to be serious once again but failed.

“Just listen alright, she was an eight grader and she was twice my size” Liam gestured with his hands.

“So you got beaten up by a fat girl?” Emily started laughing again.

“I am starting to regret telling you this” Liam wasn’t laughing anymore, he had just told her his most embarrassing moment and she just laughed at him like he was a wimp for not hitting a girl.

“Liam I’m so sorry I kind of lost it there, please go on I promise to take you seriously this time” Emily rearranged her composure quite embarrassed at herself for laughing at her “date” in such a manner.

‘You just had to laugh like a jackass! Really Emily?’ Emily gave herself a mental facepalm.

“It was lunch time and some pranksters had the habit of sticking a ‘Kick me’ sign on any unsuspecting victim, Caroline was the victim this time and she was out to punish the offender” Liam paused to check if Emily was paying attention.

“But you weren’t the offender were you?” Emily urged him on.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“No I wasn’t, she asked who stick the sign on her back and I was pointed out by the pranksters as the culprit, I thought she was only going to scold me or maybe call me names but she didn’t do that instead she dived me to the ground and pummelling my face with slaps and blows” Liam’s face went red in embarrassment as he remembered the terrible experience.

“Oooouuuu, I didn’t see that one coming” Emily covered her mouth with her palms cringing till the end of the description.

“She was a feisty one but why didn’t you defend yourself?”.

“For one reason she’s a girl and the other is because I knew that after the beating I was going to transfer all my painful aggression to the pranksters”.

“I like the chivalric mister Liam, did you beat the pranksters afterwards?” Emily said with her eyes shining in admiration.

“Yes I did, every single one of them” Liam made a cracking sound with his knuckles which made them laugh.

“Now it’s your turn, tell me your most embarrassing story” Liam looked deeply into her eyes, piercing her soul making it impossible to lie to him or try to fake a story.

“It’s not just embarrassing….. It’s pain filled as well” Emily said sobering up.

“Go on, I’m listening”.

“Okay… Here it goes…” She took a deep breath trying to calm her jittery nerves. The story she was about to tell has haunted her for so long but she hasn’t been able to open up to anybody.

“After Skyler paid me off I went to my aunt’s place in Nebraska, There I stayed lowkey and acted perfectly like a local of the town, I told my aunt about the rape and she promised to take me if only I got a job and started to fend for myself without getting into her way. I agreed to the terms and conditions partially because the money Skyler gave me was enough for me to fend for myself and also because I got a job in the first week I got into the town”.

“Charm will take you anywhere I see” Liam commended her for making her smile but it was short lived.

“I became popular in the town because of my polite way of attending to customers and the vibes I spread out from the bar to the rest of the pub. I started earning more than my aunt so she started getting jealous. Anytime I asked her if there’s any payment or anything she needs to be taken care of she will always say no and start talking about who’s the head of the house blah blah blah”.

“She was jealous of my popularity and whenever we went out together I always got more attention from men than her, it reached the tipping point when she saw her lover trying to force himself on me at a cinema ladies bathroom” Emily’s voice broke as she tried to swallow the lump building in her throat.

“Oh my goodness how did it happen?”.

“Me and my aunt went to a cinema to watch a movie. She was going with her lover and I was the third wheel. My aunt went to get some popcorn while I went to the ladies bathroom to urinate before the movie started. Unknowingly to me I was being followed by her lover, he entered the bathroom with me and blocked the door with a chair… He tried to rape me… I fought back… I didn’t let him do it….. My aunt caught him forcing himself on me but she didn’t say the truth to the locals instead she said I forced myself on him and she told them about the rape incident which she had promised not to say anything about…..” Emily was crying now and Liam quickly handed her a handkerchief.

“Thanks…. The person I once loved became the most hated in the local area. I ran away from the town at night without saying goodbye to anybody… It was so horrible, I was alone, cold and sombre…. ” She couldn’t go on and Liam didn’t urge her on, he waited patiently as she dabbed her eyes and wiped her face clear of any sign of tears.

“Who knew I’d be crying on my first date? ” She said trying to laugh it off, it was a feeble attempt but Liam followed up with it.

“I guess you aren’t really the emotional type huh?”.

“Even if I get punched in my nose I still wouldn’t cry” Emily laughed again.

“I guess there are some things that hurt more than a nose punch…. ” Liam stared into her eyes again and for a moment everything stopped moving in Emily’s radius, she felt the sudden urge to kiss him again.

“I’m glad I finally have someone to talk to after keeping it a secret for so long, thanks for listening to Liam” Emily smiled at Liam disarming him for a second or two before he regained his senses.

“Hey, what are friends for right?” Liam said winking at her, Emily felt the moment was right for her to confess her feelings but she was stopped by Liam’s ringtone, The caller’s name was displayed boldly on the screen. LOML.

“Hello kitty boo, how is it going?….. Oh you are at the airport already? That’s awesome!! I’m coming to pick you up right now”.