Chapter 28 -

It was odd finding Gwendolyn Jefferson seated on a bar stool, instead of her usual spot behind the counter where she served drinks.
She sat way close to Topaz O’Connell who leaned in now and then to whisper something into the young girl’s ear. This, Wren found adorable because of the way it made her friend giggle and blush, and she hated that her presence may interfere in their own little bubble they have created.
But she had no choice.
Surprisingly, Wren didn’t hear whispers as she walked toward the counter, and that could be blamed on the fact that the pub was empty, which left her wondering what was going on.
Throughout the years when she basically just took a peep, right unto when she began frequenting the pub, she had never found it empty as it was today.
Only five or six heads could be spotted. Well, seven if you considered the teen who currently acted as Gwen’s substitute.
“Hey. What the hell is going on here?” the blonde questioned with a frown as she pulled a stool, causing the lover birds to pull away from each other.
“Uh, nothing. What are you talking about?” Gwendolyn’s voice replied in an agitated tone that cause Wren to furrow her brows in confusion.
Wren Austin gave her friend a questioning look who bowed her head in embarrassment and subsequently allow the blonde to look past her friend to Topaz, who gave her a knowing look, followed by a smile.
“I’m not quite sure why you’re being timid with me” she began, then turn her attention to the teen who sat behind the counter with a bored expression written on her face and requested that a bottle of beer be served to her.
“What I meant was, why is it so empty in here? Have the population of Craigsburg finally found something more worthy of their attention than alcohol?” Wren finalized, giving an appreciative smile to the teen who handed to her a bottle of beer.
“Oh, uh… I’m not sure either” Gwen uttered.
“Okay” Wren replied quietly before bringing the bottle to her lips. She noticed the awkward tension and fidgeting going on between both girls and it made her smile.
“You don’t have to stop on my account. Just pretend like I’m not here” Wren teased, taking another gulp of her drink.
Wren felt her friend blush, while Topaz smiled and spoke up.
“Always so sassy Wren,” Topaz O’Connell said.
“It is what it is” the blonde replied with a shrug, taking another gulp of her drink.
“But unfortunately, I have to leave,” Topaz said, making Gwen pout. Topaz felt her heart tighten, she hated before the cause of the pout on Gwen’s face.
Topaz leaned into Gwen and placed a quick kiss on her lips. It made the dark-haired girl smile and blush at the same time. Her heart began to pound and her insides swirled in excitement.
“Don’t be upset. I’ll see you later” she added when she pulled away from the kiss, but her fingers still lingered on Gwen’s chin. Then she turned her attention to Wren who stared at the scene before her with a flabbergasted expression.
“Besides, you two have a lot to talk about and I doubt you will want me around considering it has to do with the O’Connell” Topaz teased, giving Wren a knowing smile and a wink to Gwen who blushed again.
Gwendolyn’s eyes were literally peeling off Topaz’s clothes as she walked out of the pub. The dark girl watched her lover’s hips sway, making all illicit though creep into her mind and as a reflex, she bit her bottom lip.
“Damn. I’m not gay, but if someone looked at me like that, you bet your ass imma turn gay for them” Wren teased, calling her friend back to reality who tried to hide the flush on her cheeks.
“Shut up” Gwendolyn dismissed, calling out to the teen who scrolled through her phone for a bottle of beer.
“Tell me. When did that happen? This morning? Because I know for a fact it didn’t happen yesterday and neither did it happen for the past days” the blonde called out, now turning so her full attention to the dark-haired.
Gwendolyn tried not to blush, but it was practically impossible as she was still over the moon over what had happened. She too was bemused at Topaz’s action.
“I could say the same about you. Your glow hurts my eye and I refused to believe it’s the client you had” Gwendolyn dismissed the question that was directed to her.
“I have no idea what you are talking about” the blonde feigned oblivion.
“Yeah. And Peter is gay” Gwen said sarcastically.
“Right? It’s no wonder he kissed Jesus on the cheeks. Motherfucker was aiming for the lips” the blonde clapped back, giving her friend a side stare as she emptied the bottle before her.
“Wren! That’s blasphemy” the dark-haired expressed.
“Hey, it wasn’t me who called Peter gay” Wren defended.
“That was meant to be sarcastic. You know, like-“
“I know how sarcasm works, Gwen” Wren Austin cut her off.
Gwendolyn Jefferson rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Anyways, tell me about your talk with Giovanni. Did you two ‘fiddled your pickles’?” Gwendolyn questioned.
“Did you really just refer to sex like that?” the blonde questioned with a frown.
“Just answer the bloody question Wren” Gwen spat earning a teasing smile from her friend.
“The talk was good. As good as it gets. He wants to take me out for a date” Wren Austin replied as though it was no big deal to her when in reality, she was freaking out.
“He asked you out on a date? Fuck yes! Does that mean you forgave him? Are you two back together?” Gwendolyn tried to hide the excitement in her voice but failed miserably.
“Wow. One question at a time” Wren stated. “Yes. I don’t know, and No” she replied respectively to each question.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Gwendolyn asked.
“It means I don’t know. I don’t know if I forgave him. What I know is I loved every instance of the night we shared. He made me feel alive you know?” she uttered.
“Yeah” Gwen murmured.
“But of course, this bloody job had to ruin my moment of euphoria. Imagine how ashamed I felt leaving a man in my bed to go and entertain another man all in the name of ‘work’. God, I’ve never hated Hunter as I do now” Wren sighed.
“Yikes! Sucks to be you. How did he react to that?” Gwen iterated.
“How do you think? He asked if I considered the night we spent together to be just another night with a client?” Wren stated.
“And what was your reply?” Gwen questioned.
“I brushed it off” came Wren Austin’s reply.
Wren sighed defeatedly. Looking back at the conversation, several words crossed her mind. Things she could have said to Giovanni to prove that the night they had was the best night she's had in forever. Instead, she had given him a dry response.
Gwendolyn Jefferson looked at her friend with pity in her eyes. She hated seeing the blonde torn between two walls. If she could, she'd take that weight off Wren's shoulders. But she was no magician and the only thing she could offer was a homey hug.
Wren Austin didn't know how much she needed a hug until she felt Wren's arms wrap around her. For the first seconds, she stood still but then she settled in and hugged Gwendolyn really tight.
And it wasn’t long before tears came running down her cheeks


---------