Depend On Me

Begin (2)

Chapter 2: Begin (2)

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Despite Gabriel constantly acting like he had zero interest in dating anyone, he was in fact very interested in Elizabeth Raymore, his Boss that probably didn’t even know his name… He only ever introduced himself to the woman once when he first started working there and since then it’s not like he had any opportunity to strike up a conversation.

To him, she was by far the only woman he’d seen that worked so hard to achieve her goals in life. At first it might have started as simple admiration on his part. He looked up to her as a business person, since he too had aspirations of one day becoming a business owner.

However with time Gabriel began looking at her with different eyes. Whether it was because of her dedication, or strong character but it made him easily fall for her. Of course he had no intention of pursuing a woman that was obviously leaps and bonds beyond him, she would never consider dating a man that was so beneath her, he thought to himself…

Gabriel always thought of Elizabeth as a sort of shining star, a person that everyone can admire from a distance but never actually get close to… Thus he never made any moves but the more he tried to avoid thinking about her, the more he thought about her. So every once in a while when working he would glance at Elizabeth and admire her focus on her work and her beauty…

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Meanwhile…

Elizabeth was never one to easily get along with others. Despite her drive and professional prowess, she wasn’t a great communicator. And when it came to making friends, she was even worse than Ashton in that regard (her childhood friend since many, many years ago).

While Ashton could at least get along with those he chooses to and he was quite extroverted as well… Elizabeth wasn’t even remotely good at making small talk, nor pretending to like people she didn’t like. She wasn’t a full on introvert but she much preferred being by herself or hanging around with Ashton in their High School days... That was one of the things that made those two childhood friends so different from each other…

But she had several female classmates, that weren’t her friends exactly but pretended to be on many occasions… such as this one. Elizabeth was tricked to come to the bachelorette party by the host that told her ‘This is an emergency’ which of course made Elizabeth panic and run over to the woman’s apartment, she they told her the truth and basically forced her into changing into a dress and heading to the bar with the rest of the girls…

“Lizzy! Don’t be so boring and have a drink with us!” One of her ex-classmates said as she offered the woman a martini.

“I’d rather not, I drove here after all.” Elizabeth didn’t particularly like drinking, especially not in bars. She didn’t care she was surrounded by nothing but women, it didn’t mean it was safe for her to get drunk. She genuinely didn’t trust any of her ex-classmates that used to bully her, that were now pretending to be nice to her face while still probably badmouthing her behind her back.

“Such a party pooper!” The drunken woman yelled as she headed into a different direction…

Gabriel couldn’t help but get closer to Elizabeth and stare at her to try and determine if she was in fact his employer. However the lights were dim and it wasn’t easy for him to clearly make out the features on the woman’s face. When he finally had gotten close enough to see that it was in fact Elizabeth, she had also noticed him as well.

“Huh? Gabriel… what are you doing here?” Elizabeth asked as she tilted her head to the side. One look at the man’s uniform and she quickly figured out the answer to her own question. “Ah, I guess you’re working.” She continued.

‘She knows my name?’ Gabriel wondered to himself. “I work here…” He replied, and after the introductions were over another woman called out to the barman to serve more drinks.

“Do you want me to help you behind the counter? It looks like you could use the help.” Elizabeth suggested as she noticed the other was having trouble filling out those orders by himself.

Before Gabriel could open his mouth to reject the offer, Elizabeth was already standing behind the counter with him and helping him.

“I didn’t know you knew how to make cocktails…” Gabriel said in surprise. ‘She’s so fast as well…’ He admired her silently.

“Yeah, I used to work at a bar when I was 22, I needed to fund my café somehow.” Elizabeth said with a smile on her face. “This kind of thing isn’t easy to forget, it’s like a habit.” She continued as she served the women at the counter.

Gabriel once again felt his heart racing as he observed the woman working. Looking at a person who already achieved considerable success, a person that continues to work hard even though she doesn’t need to push herself so much anymore… If Gabriel had any doubts before, then now he knew for sure that he really was falling for the woman next to him…

As the night progressed both of them were having a great time talking to each other. Gabriel’s awkward and at times delayed responses didn’t seem to faze nor discourage Elizabeth who smiled as she spoke to him freely.

At times Gabriel was so anxious while around her, especially when their shoulders brushed against each other in the enclosed space behind the bar… So much so Gabriel accidentally spilled a drink on Elizabeth’s dress… “….!!!” He panicked and felt like his heart had dropped in his pants. He couldn’t breathe for a split second, thinking the woman was going to yell at him.

“Haha! Careful, careful! That’s a pricey drink, you know that, right?” Elizabeth laughed it off as she took a napkin from the counter and brushed away some of the alcohol that was poured on her skirt.

“I am so sorry…-” Gabriel tried to apologize but the woman didn’t seem to mind it really.

“Don’t worry! It’s just a small spill and it’s not going to leave a stain either so it’s fine.” Elizabeth acted surprisingly lighthearted about the matter at hand. But that was just the kind of person she was, she didn’t care about getting a bit of a drink spilled on her and she wouldn’t hold it against Gabriel either. “I’ve spilled many drinks while working as a bartender before… I had to pay for all of them as well… So I know it’s difficult to keep focus especially in a crowded bar.”

“…….” Gabriel didn’t know what to do at that moment. The woman seemed to be reassuring him. “Still your dress…”

“Eh? This thing? It’s nothing special, I bought it because my friends forced me to get it for the party tonight… I don’t really care about it much.” Elizabeth said as she looked at her wet skirt. “It is a bit uncomfortable to move around like this though… Do you happen to have a change of clothes?” She asked as she tilted her head to the side.

“Y-yes, please come right this way…” Gabriel said in a panicked voice and lead the woman to the dressing room where he gave her his change of clothes. “I’m sorry if they’re a bit sweaty or-”

“They’re just fine! Thanks a bunch. Hopefully my dress will dry before we head home.” Elizabeth said as she took the clothes in her hands and began unbuttoning the three front buttons on her dress.

Gabriel quickly turned around as to not look at the woman, he stood by the door, awkwardly staring at it. “I-I can go outside!” He said but the woman stopped him.

“It’s not a big deal… I’m already done…” Elizabeth said as she tapped the man on the shoulder.

Gabriel turned around to see the woman he liked wearing his clothes… “D-do they fit?” He asked, having no idea what else to do.

“They’re a little bit baggy but super comfy! I never noticed how tall you were, muscular as well!” Elizabeth remarked as she looked at the other a bit more carefully… ‘Now that I think about it… he’s kinda hot…’ She thought to herself but quickly shook off the idea and headed outside. “Come on, lets get back to work!”

“Yes!” Gabriel followed after the woman… It was somehow incredible to him. Not only did Elizabeth not think of him as someone beneath her, she also remembered his name, offered to help him with his work and didn’t even mind he spilled a drink on her and ruined her clothes. ‘If I’m not dreaming… then reality really is stranger than fiction…’ He thought to himself.

It was a bussy night at the bar but thankfully most of the ladies left rather early, others stayed till closing time at 2:00 in the morning…

After everything was said and done Elizabeth drove Gabriel back to his apartment, only for them to find a horrifying scene there…

His furniture, TV, most of his belongings and probably anything that had any monetary value had been taken from his apartment. It didn’t take the man long to realize who the criminal was, the girl he let into his apartment that day and Lexi along with her new boyfriend could have very easily robbed the place…

“By the looks of it only…” Gabriel paused for a moment then jumped at the sofa and ripped it on the side, then noticed it already had a hole on the opposite side. He had kept a stash of cash there for rainy days but it seemed like it was gone now. “That b***h… she really took everything…”

“Your savings?” Elizabeth assumed by the look of dread that covered the man’s face. She felt her heart beat quicken a bit, but it wasn’t because she felt sorry for the man, for some reason she’d been feeling like that for a while now. Maybe it was because she had too much fun in the man’s company while working behind the bar with him.

“This is why I didn’t want to let you in… you probably think I’m pathetic…” Gabriel felt like burying himself underground but he knew even that wouldn’t hide the shame he was experiencing at the moment. The one person he didn’t want to make a fool out of himself in front of was right there looking at him. He couldn’t bear to see her expression, he felt like he really messed up.

“I get it but… I don’t think you’re pathetic at all…” Elizabeth approached the man and put her hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot, and if you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine…”

“You already get the gist of it anyway…” Gabriel slumped to the ground, he felt like everything was over for him. The rent was due in several days and he couldn’t even pay that with his small paycheck he got that night, much less live off of that.

“Would you like to come live with me for a bit? I bet this place gives you a lot of bad memories…” Elizabeth suggested, of course usually she’d never ask someone to live with her like this but since she’d known the man for quite some time she felt like she could trust him…

Gabriel couldn’t believe the offer he’d just received from her but he accepted it, although with a lot of reluctance…

Which is what brought them to this moment in time…

“I’m… really thankful you allow me to stay here with you.” Gabriel said as he walked in a bit shyly into the woman’s apartment.

“No, problem.” Elizabeth quickly said as she took her heels off and put on her home slippers instead…