The resturant had closed early and Denver was just doing some last minute cleaning , some of the other chefs were also cleaning up with hin too when..., " boss....what do you hink of expanding his place....?", Cyrus( the vegetable sous chef) asked , "expanding?", Denver questioned a little curious, " yeah....business is doing well and the area is a little small, if we branch out , we will have more customers....", the othes nodded in agreement, slow hums of positivity echoed through, Denver scoffed , " I never really thought of that though.....should we do that?....", he asked,his questions leaning more on the curious side, there was a wave of silence for a while , " then we have to look for someone to manage it or....do ou guys want your manage it yourselves ?", everyone looked at Denver , some confused, bewildered, hesitance and relunctance mixed in to an extent that it could nit be deciphered, Thompson took a step closer , " hey Denver ....what are you saying right now...", Thompson voice softer, uncertain, almost in disbelief , Denver placed two of his hand on the counter as he fully leaned his body in, a tight smile on his face barely visible but....it was still there.
" You guys have been the reason why this resturant is what it is today..., he looked up at the small gathering of his staff , a mixture of emotions on everyones face , " though we are small, you all still manage to make it work and it is very encouraging...., you guys made this resturant what it is today so....", a bright smile lit up on his face , Denver barely smiled and seeing him smile like this was.....breathtaking, " you all deserve this....", he removed his apron , " Denver....", " just take your time and think about it...you all deserve ", saying that he took his coat, flashed a goofy smile , waved at them and he walked out the door leaving an astonished niche crowd.
" Wh.....what just happened ....?", one of the women blurted out, " I don't know but it sounded like boss Denver was....telling us to manage the next branch of Skylife....", a soft and hesitant voice echoed through , " or....was he indirectly firing us?", asked the meat sous chef, a woman in her early twenties who looked timid spoke out, " he has been different for a while now...", " tsk.....", Thompson cupped the side of his waist , " what are you thinking Denver...", he muttered under his breath.
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The evening breeze softly blew across and it was comforting reminding Denver why he didn't take his car , at the peak of his comfort his phone rang, he dug into his coat pocket slightly fumbling in before he caught hold of his phone , he looked at the screen....it was Kathryn, then he remembered the other day he had promised to call her but he didn't, his mind had been too occupied that he had forgotten.
He swiped in picking the call, " Kathryn.....sorry for not calling.....", " it's okay , I wasn't really expecting you to call", then there was silence , it wasn't akward, it could be said that it was leaning in to be comfortable, " so...how did it go....did you resolve it with your girl..", he voice sounded empty, like she was forcing herself to say those words, " yes.....I did..", Denver said , though they weren't in the same space you could easily tell that the tension was somewhat silent like it held something more, both waiting for the other to speak, " I've left for France and...I'm not coming back anytime soon,....", " Kath.....", " I've liked you for a very long time.....Denver", it was sudden, unexpected, she scoffed , you could hear that slight pain in her voice as she scoffed , " tsk...I feel so pathetic", Denver was surprised but as he recalled everything , all her actions towards him, it was quite obvious he had been the clueless one here, all this while she must have been so hurt , to her he must seem inconsiderate, " I'm.....", " I didn't call you to apologize to me, it's not a crime to not like someone , I just told you.....to get it off my chest".
At the end of the phone Kathryn was looking at the sky , her suitcase behind her , she angled her hand to the already setting sun, closing one of her eyes as if to get a clearer view of the sky, different shades of hue patterned the sky like some piece of art in a museum, the orange, red and yellow sky blended in to a perfect mixture.
She sighed softly, " I will only be satisfied if you had liked me just once but.....I know that would have never happened , all I can do is to pull out from a competition I was already not a contestant on...", she sounded relaxed now, that burden she had held in for too long , she had finally gotten it out of her chest, Denver eyes softened , " I was an absolute for not noticing how you felt, ...I'm sorry Kathryn", he said, he was truly sincere, " even if you did notice...you would have still rejected me or you will date me but...your heart won't be there", she chuckled softly , " don't feel guilty.....it's not your fault, who knows I may find even prettier guys out there...",she chuckled softly as she coated it as a joke but she knew she was lying to herself , there was a comfortable stretch of silence before Kathryn spoke once more, " just...be happy, you are a good person Denver...", a short span of unspoken silence then Denver spoke , " have a good life.....Kathryn....", Denver spoke softly, Kathryn smiled as she grabbed a hold of her suitcase, a soft female voice rang through the speakers of the airport , telling passengers that their flight would soon arrive, she began to move, a warm smile playing on her lips, " you too Denver...have a good life", and with that , like a synce, both knowing that there was nothing more to say, the phone was cut leaving a refreshing start to a new beginning.
Denver sighed, he didn't know how to feel about all this , eventhough she had told him about her feelings , he genuinely wouldn't have accepted it , he was happy that he was able to clear it through without hurting her feelings . He looked up at the apartment , the person his heart always belonged to was where he wanted to be.
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The elevator door chimed open and Denver stepped out, the lights slightly flickering and then he caught sight of a delicate silhouette beside his door,dressed in plain white shirt and shorts , her hair packed as she stood there waiting for him, looking at her feet, he took gentle steps close to her , he was curious , this was a first, she waiting by his door was something he didn't expect. Rhea looked up at him showing it was quite obvious that she had been aware of his presence , a smile pulled at the corner of Denver lips as if wanting to tease her, " hmm...so what shouldI make do of this.....?", he asked softly as he leaned onto his door facing her, Rhea smiled softly tilting her head a little , Denver moved closer squinting his eyes, " you look so pretty....hmm, did you get any new hairstyle", he said as he softly brushed the side of her hair, Rhea gently held out his hand, spreading his palm and gently coaxing unto his fingers , she leaned her cheek unto his palm , feeling his warmth and the roughness of his palm, she closed her eyes as if letting it all sink in, it was comforting.
Denver could feel his heart pulsating, the softness of her face against his palm and how adorable she looked did things to him, he could feel the back of his neck getting hot, his eyes lowered down to her lips , how could someone be this.....perfect, he couldn't resist anymore as he leaned in and kissed her and Rhea responded almost immediately , his hand wrapped around her waist somewhat possessively as he pulled her closer, he departed a little , their lips still in contact , and a slight breath of unsatisfaction from both sides echoed in the quite halls, his eyes dazed, a flicker of undying affection wavered in his eyes as if something was trying to break out, something dangerous that he was trying to suppress, he walked he back slowly , backing her to the wallas he placed his hand at the back of her head to prevent her from hitting her head on the wall, he leaned in again and kissed her...., his lips parting hers and taking her all in, Rhea hand slid from his shoulder to his waist , their bodies felt hot, Denver lips traced from her lips to her chin, then the lobe of her ear, Rheas breath was heavy as she felt her legs could hardly stand if not fro Denvers support, she panted slightly as she leaned her head on his chest making Denver to pause all his actions realising her emotional shift, " hah...", he sighed, he had almost...., he hugged her ,it felt like she was melting into him , " Denver.....come to my home tonight", Denver pulled away , his hands grasping her shoulders checking if she was sick , drunk or probably didn't know what she was saying, she probably didn't know what she was saying,how could she be so careless, different thoughts ran through his mind, she sure knew had to make someone go crazy.
" It's not anything you are thinking about right now.....I am very much sane and...I'm not sick....I....", she took a step closer , her voice somewhat desperate while Denver was still flustered, she tugged onto his shirt , " I want you to come to my home".