Page 11 of Demure
But when her mother’s name flashed on the screen a second time, she groaned before reluctantly pressing the talk button.
“What is it now,mamá?”
“That is how you answer the phone when speaking withtu madre?”
Sierra rolled her eyes, knowing she had just made a huge mistake. Before she could even answer, her mother was off on a tirade in Spanish, attacking everything from Sierra’s decision to move abroad to her choice to leave religion. Sierra was pretty sure she even called her a vegetarian heathen at some point, but she couldn’t be sure as she had to hold the phone a few inches from her face, so her mother’s screeching didn’t break her eardrum. At some point, the line went completely dead, and Sierra knew her mother had likely hung up the phone in exasperation.
As she finished the last bites of her sandwich, she walked over to the trash, only to see Aodhan standing along the other side of the building, staring at her intently. Sierra grimaced, realizing he likely overheard her one-sided phone conversation. Sierra tried tothink of something smart to say, but nothing came to mind, so she decided it was better to say nothing as she tossed her wrapper in the can.
Aodhan opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but before he had the chance, a blonde student approached him. “Well, I haven’t seen you leaning around here before,” she said as she leaned on the wall between them, blocking Sierra’s view of Aodhan.
For some reason, anger flickered within her stomach, but just as that thought reached her, she brushed it off , reminding herself she didn’t care about other women looking at Aodhan, and headed inside. What Aodhan did or who he liked was none of her concern. She tucked her coat away in the staff area and headed back to the mundane task of reshelving books.
Just as she rounded the corner, Aodhan was standing there, no longer wearing his coat. How had he passed her? Had she been moving that slowly?
Confused, but resolving not to let this man infuriate her anymore, Sierra began shelving books, only for Aodhan to walk over and begin shelving right next to her without a word.
By this point, Sierra was tired of the drama between them and decided to leave it be, continuing her shelving without looking over at him. The air between them buzzed with electricity, and Sierra’s shoulders tensed, worried about what might happen if either of them said anything. Sierra glanced at Aodhan once or twice, but if he felt the tension between them, he didn’t say anything. He looked like he respected her resolve and remained quiet as they continued to shelve, side by side, until the cart was empty.
Sierra headed to get another cart, watching as Aodhan walked up to Tyler and began helping him shelve his cart. Apparently, he was just being helpful to everyone. Sierra couldn’t explain it, but she felt a little sad at the thought that he hadn’t been trying to be nice to her specifically. She quickly brushed it off. Therewas no reason Aodhan had been helping her other than because it was his job. Just as it was his job to help Tyler as well.
Sure, Aodhan was attractive, but he was a jerk, and Sierra wanted nothing to do with him. But even as those thoughts passed through her mind, her resolve was melting. She didn’t like Aodhan…right?
Chapter Eight
It was Monday night, and Sierra was inspecting herself in the mirror as she prepared for her date. Despite what she had told herself before, she had started speaking to a new guy on Tinder last night when she got home from work, and he had asked her out on a dinner date tonight. Even though she knew she would likely regret it, Sierra had said yes.
Plus, he was buying, and she was really ready to eat something that wasn’t a sandwhich that she didn’t have to cook herself. They were meeting at a pizza café. Sierra loved pizza.
Adjusting the collar on her skin-tight black turtleneck shirt, she made sure it was even as she hung a pair of small silver hoops from her ears. Her dark hair fell in waves past her shoulders and over her average-sized breasts. Thanks to the student diet of sandwiches and skipped meals, Sierra’s stomach was flat, but due to her Hispanic heritage, she had hips that meant she had to wear form-fitting clothes or risk looking like she was trying to hide a pregnancy. The black sweater she had chosen fit the bill perfectly, clinging to her curves to show them off.
Paired with dark blue skinny jeans and knee-high black leather boots, Sierra knew she looked good. Her date, whose name was Paul, had seemed like good company during their text conversationlast night, and she hoped that he proved to be the same charismatic guy in person, but she wasn’t holding her breath.
Grabbing her small clutch purse, which usually lived inside her messenger bag, Sierra slipped on her gray peacoat and headed out to the restaurant, which was only about 15 minutes by foot from her home. That was the best part about living in the center of Dublin; everything was close, and there was no need to even consider driving a car.
She arrived at the restaurant on time and found Paul right away, as he had taken it upon himself to arrive early, it appeared. He didn’t look exactly like his picture, but close enough that Sierra wasn’t going to be mad about it. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. While he wasn’t as fit as other men—Aodhan,her mind reminded her even as she pushed the thought aside—he was lean and attractive. He had commandeered a table for two in the corner, and Sierra slid into the empty seat across from him.
“You must be Paul,” she said with a smile on her face.
Paul’s eyes roamed over her as he returned her smile. “I am, and you, Miss Sierra, look just like your photo. I am impressed.”
While it wasn’t the best greeting and bordered on those flimsy compliments Sierra hated, she liked that he had been on time, unlike some other people she had been on a date with recently.Aodhan. “Thanks, I guess.”
Paul placed a hand on hers. “So sorry if I offended you. I’m very direct. It can scare girls away sometimes, so I apologize in advance.”
Sierra looked down at his hand resting on hers and decided she didn’t hate the warmth that radiated from his skin onto hers. “No worries. I am also direct.”
“Awesome.” He picked up the menu. “All we have to do now is pick a pizza. What do you like? You’re American, right?”
Sierra picked up her own menu, her eyes falling on the ‘American’ pizza on the menu, which was loaded with every kind of meat imaginable. It was typical for them to assume all Americans love meat. “I am, but I am actually vegetarian, so if we could picksomething with less meat or do half and half, that would be great.”
Paul’s eyes met Sierra’s. “No worries, I’m not a big meat eater anyway. Why don’t we get the Veggie Delight?” His slight Irish accent made her smile, it was endearing.
“Sounds amazing.”
“It’s done.” He waved to a waitress who quickly came over to take their order. Paul ordered a large veggie delight pie and a plate to split it. Sierra ordered a water to drink, and Paul ordered a beer. After the waitress left, he turned back to her. “I’m glad you like pizza.”
Sierra shrugged. “I’m pretty sure if you don’t like pizza, they kick you out of America. It’s a prerequisite to living there.”
