Shattered (8 page)

We got ready for our night out in record time. Going to a coffee bar was not something that we needed to spend an exceptional amount of time getting ready for. There was a slight chill in the night air, so I threw on a pair of tight skinny jeans with a tight, form fitting sweater. Colby wore dark jeans and a black V-neck long sleeve shirt. He insisted on driving his Range Rover, and since we'd been nit picking fights with one another lately, I didn't put up a fuss.

Ada's Coffee Bar was located in the heart of the U-District, not far from my office space. It was relatively new, but I hadn't been to the place because I was told that the college kids overran it. Figures we'd be spending our night out there, considering Kelsey was only nineteen and couldn't legally get into any real bars. We pulled into the parking lot, and I watched as Colby's eyes rummaged through the crowd of young adults congregating outside of Ada's doors. He had a disapproving scowl on his face. Although I had reservations about the place, the vibrancy of the outdoor landscape made me anxious to get inside.

Walking into the establishment, I found a scene that I was not expecting. It was a mixture of coffee shop and restaurant all swirled into one, with a live band playing in the back that added to the eclectic vibe. There was a hostess at the front entrance who would gladly seat you at a table for a server to take care of you, or there also was the option of walking up to the coffee bar, ordering, and seating yourself in a designated self-service area. Colby chose to be seated, which meant we would be further away from the music. I thought he purposely made that selection.

We were escorted to a booth in the middle of the restaurant, and I couldn't help but take in the lively décor. The bright yellow walls were framed in orange trim, with red splotches of paint haphazardly thrown on the walls. All of the photos were of various coffee drinks, and I instantly smiled. Colby looked uptight and out of place. He turned his nose up to the establishment and whispered that this would be his one and only time coming to Ada's. I ignored him and took my seat, not wanting to feed his snobbish mood.

Shortly after sitting, Greg walked in with Kelsey on his arm. I had heard about her, but had never actually met her, so when I saw them strolling to our booth, I had to take a double look. Greg looked like he was walking his little sister to her senior prom. Kelsey was very pretty, but she looked nineteen years old. She was tall, had long stork-like legs that were masked in tight black leggings, covered in a pair of neon green denim shorts. Her black t-shirt was tucked in, a studded belt completing the ensemble. The outfit totally made me cringe, but I smiled because she looked like a ball of energy as they strode over to us.

"Hi, I'm Kelsey. You must be Day-lis," she said, completely wrong and with too much enthusiasm.

"That's Dallis, like the city, and it's nice to meet you too, Kelsey," I replied, shaking her hand firmly.

Colby and Greg shook hands and hugged. As I watched them together, I noticed that they were nearly dressed identically and could pass for brothers. Of course, Greg's jet black hair was the obvious difference between the two, but the piercing blue eyes, the height, and the sophistication were all on par with one another.

Kelsey was much more of an enigma to me. Her long, wavy brown hair could have easily been used to model in any shampoo commercial, and her green eyes were very easy to get lost in, but her perkiness didn't suit the stuffiness that usually surrounded Greg, and her voice was downright harpy. I tried to look beyond everything that was blaring annoyances at me and just enjoy a night out with my boyfriend.

"So, congratulations are in order I hear," Colby said, smiling warmly at Kelsey.

She beamed a smile that could have put the bright, yellow walls to shame, and eagerly held out her hand to show off her engagement ring. "Thank you so much. Isn't it gorgeous?"

I looked at the ring and was nearly blinded by the huge, square rock, weighing down her tiny, delicate finger.

"It's very pretty." I smiled, then blurted out the question burning on my mind that my filter failed to catch. "How did you two meet?" My tone was very accusatory, but accusing of what, I'm not sure.

Everyone fell silent for a split second and I instantly wished I could take back my thoughtless question. Greg cleared his throat and then answered for them.

"I went for a business lunch at Purdue's Bistro where Kelsey was a waitress."

"Was?" I asked inquisitively.

"Yes," she squealed. "I stopped working there about two months ago when I moved in with Greg."

I was utterly confused, but Colby was smiling at the two of them with a look of admiration and I suddenly felt like they were all in on a conversation and the awesomeness of it had flown over my head.

"I just want Kelsey to focus on school, so the waitressing job had to go," Greg said in a manner that made me want to hurl. Looking over to her didn't help matters; she was gazing at him with stars in her eyes.

"When will you two be getting engaged?" Kelsey asked. "Greg says you've been together forever."

"Hopefully soon," Colby quickly answered. I shot him a disapproving look.

"There's no time limit. When it happens, it happens," I said, correcting his incorrect assertion. "We're content for now." I rubbed the side of his arm and he swallowed hard, but we didn't say anything further.

The conversation was rubbing me the wrong way, so I was thankful when the server walked up to take our order. He didn't look like any servers I had ever seen. In fact, if I had known any better, I would have said that he wouldn't have passed his interview had he interviewed at any other spot other than Ada's. The sleeves of tattoos blanketing his arms would have instantly turned an interviewer away. He wasn't a bad looking guy, and after wading through the gallons of ink on his body, I found him to be quite attractive, but the tattoos were something that sort of turned me off. He was about 5'10, with dark hair, styled into a spiky point, and had crystal blue eyes that rivaled even Colby's. He smiled warmly when he reached the table, his long, thin face accentuated by the gleam in his eye as he looked directly at me. I smiled back, feeling the goose bumps rise on my arms from his presence.

"Hello, I'm Grayson. What can I get you all tonight?" he asked in a tone that I thought would make my panties melt. I looked around the table to see if anyone else had noticed, but there was no change in their expressions, so I tried to hide my ardent stare.

"I'll have a pumpkin spice mocha," Greg said.

"I'll have the same," Kelsey eagerly replied, holding on the Greg's arm as if a category five hurricane would sweep her away.

Colby looked over the menu and asked for an apple cinnamon cappuccino, while I went for the vanilla spice frap. Greg asked for a serving of ham and cheese croissants to accompany our drinks.

We sat and talked, listened to the band a little and finally, somewhat settled in, chowing down on the food and enjoying the constant flow of drinks. The place only got more crowded as the night went on, and I noticed that the crowd diversified a bit, older adults were piling in amongst the college crowd. Kelsey went on and on about how she had no idea what she wanted to major in, but that she had time because she was going to school on her dad's dime and all he cared about was that she passed her classes. The more I listened to her speak, the less I despised her. I realized that she was a product of her upbringing and it wasn't completely her fault that she was a trophy wife in the making.

Drinking coffee after coffee, I finally decided on water to take some of the bite from the frap out of my mouth. The actual coffee-bar had gotten busy, so Grayson had taken the helm behind the counter and a waitress by the name of Emily took care of us. She had about four different colors in her hair, but even with her eccentric look, she had a face that oozed innocence, and that made me really like her.

As she brought waters out for the entire table, the local band started playing what I assumed was their big hit, and Ada's went wild. Those hanging out at the coffee bar and near the front entrance hurriedly made their way to the stage area, jumping up and down, bobbing their heads. Emily came walking out with four waters on a tray, but just as she made her way to our table, a couple of caffeine-amped guys bumped into her, causing her to spill the waters--most of which fell on Colby.

I watched Emily as her face flushed bright red, and she immediately went to wiping down Colby and the surrounding areas that were now filled with water. The guys who had caused the spill never even stopped.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," Emily said, her face an embarrassed mess. I grabbed napkins from the holder and tried to help Colby wipe off the water now soaking his jeans. His anger boiled over and I watched him stand and shake off the excess water.

"Move! Stop apologizing!" he yelled. I thought Emily would break down in a puddle of her own tears.

She moved away from Colby, but continued to clean the spill from the table and floor. A co-worker of hers came up with a mop and assisted her in the clean- up. Grayson came walking over from behind the counter and pat Emily on the back, effectively signaling for her to leave our table.

"I'm very sorry about this, sir. Emily is new," Grayson said, trying to calm Colby down.

"I don't give a shit. You probably shouldn't have the new girl serving on a busy night then," Colby snapped back.

I watched in disgust as Colby acted as if someone had tried to murder him. True enough, having large glasses of water spilled on you isn't the ideal night out, but it was only water and Emily had apologized profusely.

"She is capable. Everyone makes mistakes, sir," Grayson said with a bit more authority in his tone.

"Look at this!" Colby shouted, pointing to his watch on his wrist, "This is God damn Armani. How do you suppose I get this fixed, Barista Boy?"

Greg stood up and pulled Colby away from Grayson. They both glared death stares aimed at one another and while Colby was acting out his anger and frustrations, Grayson held his in. I looked around and noticed that in the midst of the commotion, my purse had fallen to the floor and some of the contents had spilled out. I quickly gathered everything that lay strewn beneath me. As I was coming up, my eyes locked with Grayson's. The fury that had filled him just a minute before had already subsided. Our gazes locked for a few seconds more, my fingers tingling as I tried to throw everything into my purse. I was lost in him, but I quickly remembered the hurricane we were dealing with, and after painfully tearing away from his gaze, I tossed a fifty dollar bill on the table and ran out to find Colby.

Anger radiated through me as I made my way out to the parking lot and found Colby sulking over by his car. He'd made a spectacle of himself, and probably destroyed the confidence of a young waitress in the process. Just as I was about to say something to him, Greg and Kelsey came strolling up, looking confused by the entire situation.

"Hey man, I got it handled. That dude in there said if you want your watch replaced, they'll be glad to do it," Greg said, looking exhausted after having to deal with Colby's aftermath.

"Really?" Colby asked sarcastically. "How in the hell is this place going to replace an Armani watch? The watch probably cost more than this dump."

His words and the smug look on his face incensed me. I'd known Colby could be an asshole, but the way he carried on about a bit of spilled water on a watch that probably wasn't even damaged turned my stomach quite a bit.

"Thanks for handling that, Greg," I said to him, trying to send everyone on their way, "and it was nice meeting you, Kelsey."

"Oh yes, I enjoyed hanging out with you, Dallis. We'll have to do it again soon," she responded in her high octave voice with a smile that matched. I politely smiled back, but didn't answer. I just wanted to get Colby as far away from Ada's as possible.

The ride home was filled with an awkward silence. Both of us wanted to say something, but neither of us did. I looked over to Colby who was focused on the road. I thought long and hard to myself before finally breaking the silence.

"What the hell got into you tonight?"

"You can't be serious, Dallis," he replied. "Some fucking clown head waitress spills water all over me and you're asking me what got into me?"

"She said she was sorry. It wasn't even her fault, Colby. Some guys bumped into her, making her spill the water. I doubt she did it on purpose." He looked over at me as irritation flashed through his eyes, but he didn't say anything. "This was your night out. You planned this. And now I'm left to deal with your jackassery," I said, feeling the venom inside of me beginning to spill out.

Colby looked over to me and then back to the road. After a few quiet seconds, he finally broke his silence. "You are so unreal, Dallis." I looked at him to see if his face would give more away than what he was saying, and luckily, it did.

"You're pissed off about something more than that damn water, aren't you?" I asked, suspicion rising in my voice.

He rolled his eyes, but didn't answer my question.

We pulled up in front of the townhouse and just as the car stopped, I hopped out and made my way to the front door. I hastily opened it and made my way indoors, boiling on the inside. Colby walked in calmly behind me and watched me as I stomped over to the stairs.

"You made me look like an asshole, Dallis," he said, in a calm and calculating manner. I stopped in my tracks and looked at him, dumbfounded by his words since he had clearly been responsible for making himself look like an asshole. "You made me look like an asshole in front of Greg and Kelsey."

Shaking my head as I walked back down the stairs and into the living room, I came face to face with Colby, who looked empty and despondent. "You're pissed off about Greg and Kelsey's engagement, aren't you?"

"No, that's absurd. I'm very happy for them."

"Well then you're mad because it isn't us?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes as I crept even closer to him. He stood in his tracks, watching me intently, but not saying a word. "Go ahead and admit it, Colby. You're throwing a temper tantrum because I'm not ready to marry you. The spilled water was just the icing on the cake."