Chapter 3

This was awkward. Ann sat across from the two gentlemen while watching them having a drink with their coffee. The uneasiness was obvious on Guppy's face as he tried to hide his chubby face behind the small cup. Only the slurping sound filled the air.

Ann tapped her fingers on her thighs, pressing her lips together. She was such a creep. She watched Woozie sipping the black coffee, seemingly pleased with it. While Guppy the poor man was growing more and more uncomfortable.

Guppy lowered the teacup with an eyebrow arched at Ann. He seemed to understand she had something to say. Ann nodded expressively. "Could you please give us a moment Guppy?" Her finger gestured towards Woozie and herself.

Guppy glanced at his boss. When Woozie kept quiet but gave a curt nod later, Guppy stood and took the coffee with him. He strolled towards the kitchen.

Ann blew out a tense breath. She turned to Woozie, keeping her hands on her thighs. "How did you know I live here?" She asked. That was the first question that popped to her mind when she greeted them outside. She had a feeling she was being stalked. She refused to jump to conclusion though unless she heard it from Woozie herself.

Woozie placed the cup back on the saucer. He leaned back and lifted his left ankle placing it on his right knee, his fingers steeple. "I asked your friend Lucy if I can come visit you. She told me where you live."

It was true, he did ask Lucy for permission to go visit Ann. Of course, he left out the part where he ordered Little Lion Jr. to follow Lucy. Imagine if he told her that. Chances were he was never going to see Ann again. She'd had run miles away from him.

He wondered if he felt lonely…that he needed a female companion. But the past few years Woozie had lived gloriously. He hooked up with different kinds of chicks before he met Ann yet none of them can give him the odd feelings that Ann gave him. It was bizarre. And it irritated him.

"Luce and I are housemates." Ann stated.

"I see. No wonder you were at the convenient store." Woozie pointed. He recalled very clearly the first time he encountered Ann.

So the convenient store down the street from his betting shop was Lucy's store. Now he knew where to find Ann if she wasn't at the coffee shop. Shit…did he plan to seek her out if she was not at the coffee shop?

What has gotten into you, Woozie? You are slowly losing your mind over a woman here!

No. He was far too distracted. And this shall not continue anymore. Woozie brushed his fingers through his hair. He needed to snap his attention back, focus on business and money. Forget women. Woman was no important to him.

"I'm sorry for ditching you at the airport after you dropped me. I just needed some time to calm down." Ann spoke softly.

Shit. He was addicted to her voice. He came here hoping to hear that little voice of hers. Just to make sure she was safe.

This was getting dangerous.

"It's okay. I'm sorry for putting you in that situation. I must scare you to death considering how I openly shot fire at those bastards." He cleared his throat. "Just so you know. I had to do what I had to. If not, we'll both be dead by now."

Ann nodded slowly. "I understand." She noticed his expression changed. It looked like he was angry. His relaxed face had replaced with a maddening one. Was he feeling okay?

"Boss, it's time." Guppy came around the living room, standing beside the couch.

Good. It was time to release the built-up stress. Woozie nodded. He couldn't be more than happy to get out of here. He stood and followed Guppy's footsteps.

Ann watched them left in a hurry and wondered why. Maybe they had business to do? She stood and helped open the front door for them. Guppy nodded to her first as he stepped out. It happened in a slow motion, watching Woozie walked out of the apartment without saying a word or sparing a glance at her. Her heart tugged at that, but Ann chose to ignore it.

"Bye." She mouthed. They didn't hear her. By the time Ann peeked her head out they were already gone.

Ann shut the door. Confusion coated her face. What the hell just happened?

Lost another race.

Woozie leaned against his Pink Elegy, his other car Pink Fortune was sent to the garage to get fixed. His arms folded in front of his chest with his head down. Luck was not on his side it seemed.

The adrenaline still pumping through his veins, he needed another race, another rematch.

CJ patted his Light Blue Banshee and gave a loud whoop. He presented a brotherly punch to Woozie's shoulder, "Ouch." Woozie said weakly.

"What? You gon' say I'm bad luck again?" Carl threw Woozie a challenging look.

Woozie scoffed. Turning his head away, drowning in his own thoughts. He can't concentrate shit. That cost him lost two matches. If he raced with his men he always win. But for some unexplained reason he can't win against CJ. Last time he almost won, but CJ's car soared out of nowhere from the sky and landed in front of his car, crossing the finishing line.

CJ leaned his back against Woozie's car and gave a shove on his shoulder, this time gently. "Ay, what's wrong with you? You look like shit, man. Any trouble in Fierro?" Woozie kept quiet. There was no trouble at all. Except maybe one…but he wasn't about to have a heart to heart conversation with his friend about that particular matter, it was embarrassing.

"Ay. Ay, Woozie!" CJ nudged Woozie's rib when Woozie didn't respond. Woozie let out an uncontrollable chuckle, obviously ticklish. "I'm fine, Carl. Everything's fine." He sighed. He looked up the sky, even though there was no visual.

"A'ight, I talked to Guppy, and he told me about this coffee girl you was obsessed about."

"I wasn't obsessed with her!" Woozie retaliated, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Wait, Guppy told you that?" Footsteps can be heard shuffling away from them. Woozie glared at his assistant. "I'll have a word with you later, Gup."

CJ grinned at them both. Guppy nodded reluctantly. "Yes…boss."

"Give him a break, Woozie. He care about you that's all." CJ palmed his friend's shoulder.

Woozie sighed again. "I'm just not feeling myself these days. Maybe I ought to visit Las Venturas, go gambling and let off some steam." Woozie turned to Carl, feeling slightly energetic. "Race you there?" Woozie challenged.

"Hah. I'll fly you to dust!" Carl promised smugly. He jogged to his Light Blue Banshee and jumped in. "I see you there, Woozie." The car grated against the mud, letting out a loud vroom before it powered forward. Then CJ was gone with the dust.

"Come on, Guppy. To Las Venturas!" Woozie opened his car door.

"What about Ann?" Guppy questioned tentatively.

"What about her?" His voice changed. It was cold and void of emotions.

Guppy realized it was a red alert, so he quickly changed his tactics. "I mean, your coffee…boss. She's going to deliver it this evening right?"

"I'm sure she still needed time to calm her nerves." He thought for a while. "She won't be there. Let's go!" He jumped into the driver's seat. Guppy ran to the other side of the car and clambered in. Woozie skillfully drove down the trail of mountain, finally out from their hang out spot.

He blocked out any other sound such as his inner voice even his own heartbeat, focusing only the vehicles and the sound of the road. Hopefully once he got to Las Venturas, his mind will be clear of any distractions. And Wu Zi Mu will be Wu Zi Mu again.

Ann had just finished cleaning the counter. She wore her waitress uniform and a red bandana on her head. The coffee shop was as quiet as the grave. She had spent an hour cleaning the coffee shop. The black coffee that was supposed to be delivered for Woozie sat by the booth, untouched and getting colder.

She finally got over her panic state and managed to go to the betting shop to deliver the coffee. Only to find Woozie and Guppy were not there. And so she was forced to take the coffee back.

What was that all about? Her mind flashed back to when Woozie was in her apartment. Things happened too fast and too sudden, only had she calmed she managed to retrace back to what happened earlier. Did he…was there a possibility that he could have worry about her?

That was why he came to visit? Was it really Lucy who told him where they lived?

Wait, she was thinking too much.

The door flung opened and a lot of men dressed in black entered the shop. "Yo! Woozie told us this is the place to get nice coffee. You got any recommendations?"

Her heart started fluttering. This was the first time there was so many customers here in her shop!

"Y-Yes!" She rushed back to the counter to grab several menus and passed some to the men in black. More men entered the shop. It made her super nervous because most of the customers here were men. Not to mention they must be the Mountain Cloud Boys.

Be cool, Ann. Be cool.

A steady smile plastered on her face as she served the gang with the same enthusiasm she put on when Woozie and Guppy were here.

3 hours later the shop had finally quiet down.

Ann was clearing some plates and glasses at this one particular booth when she found a small piece of paper stuck between the cushion. She pulled it out and was stunned to see it had number written on it with a 'call me' jotted below the number.

She gave a quick shake of a head with a silly smile on her face.

Ding!

Another customer!

Ann spun around and was about to greet gleefully but the sight of what's in front of her left her speechless. Her brain was jammed at the moment.

John, her ex-boyfriend, in the flesh—casually stood in front of her as if his appearance was welcomed here. "What do you want?" Her voice laced with ice. She wasn't ready to see him face to face but how dare he showed up like this?

"Heard you opened a new café, thought I should stop by to say hi." His lips curved slightly. Like this old trick of his can shake the earth and make the ground fall.

Ann rolled her eyes and turned away, ignoring him. "Whatever." She continued her task wiping the table. "Come on, Ann. Don't ignore me. Remember all the fun times we had?"

She threw the cloth on the table and twirled around to face him. She leaned back against the booth and raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure you wanna go there? Cheater?"

His expression darkened. "I told you so many times. I didn't cheat on you." He made a menacing step forward, slowly cornering her. "Go away." She tried to push him away but his body was big and tall, completely towering over hers. "John, move!" She shoved him as hard as she could and when John staggered back she quickly ran out of the shop.

"Oof!" She had bumped into another rock-hard chested man. "Whoa. Easy." He held her arms, steadying her. "Woozie!" Ann huffed in happiness. She never felt so glad about seeing someone. But the presence of John made her feel relieved that Woozie was here.

"Ann! Don't you run away from—" John stopped. He glowered at the man before him.

Woozie placed his hand around Ann's waist, earning a little gasp from her. He clutched her tight, embracing her and shield her away from the strange man.

"Are you okay?" He asked Ann with that soft voice of his. Ann nodded. Her mind went haywire. She was too shocked at the fact that having Woozie's hand around her waist made her stomach do funny flips. "Woozie…" She bit her lower lip.

"Leave at once." Woozie warned the man. He can still feel that guy's presence. He hasn't left yet.

"Fine. Whatever. You can have her." John finished with a spit on the ground that made Ann crinkled her nose in distaste.

Woozie released their embrace. Ann pushed some strands of hair behind her ear and smiled gratefully at the man in black. "Thanks, Woozie."

Woozie shifted his foot hesitantly. He cleared his throat before asking. "Shall we go inside your coffee shop? I have something to say." Okay…this was unexpected. Ann opened the door to let Woozie go in first. He murmured a thank you as he entered the shop.

Once inside Ann turned the sign from Open to Closed. She supposed if Woozie wanted to have a word with her it may be something of importance.

They stood near the counter. Huh, Guppy was not around. He usually goes wherever Woozie goes. That would make Guppy…Woozie's bodyguard, right?

"I need you to do something for me." Woozie managed to push the words out. He yanked open his collar impatiently. This action of his sent another chill down Ann's spine. Damn, he's hot! Ann thought secretly.

She did not see this coming, but all of a sudden she found herself trapped in between Woozie's arms. His hands were on both side of the counter with her standing in the middle, trapping her, not giving her any room to escape. He was doing what John did earlier. Funny enough, she didn't find it intimidating.

She got…excited instead.

"Woozie?" Her eyes widened, jaw dropped, and she can't seemed to find the strength to breathe out the burning air in her lungs.

"Please…" His lips hovered over her left earlobe. "Woozie!" Ann yelped. Her hands somewhat found their way pressing the front of Woozie's chest as he leaned in closer. "What—"

"I can't seem to get you off my mind." He breathed in deeply. "I need you…"

"Need me?" Ann exhaled lowly.

"I need you…to set me free." Woozie ducked his head down. His forehead lay on Ann's shoulder.

God, he smelled so good. Ann breathed in some air and prayed her knees won't weaken under this man's spell. What was he saying? He needed her to set him free? Set him free from what?

Woozie breathed out once again. Fuck this shit. If he was man enough to talk into her to deliver his coffee, he should be able to tell her how he felt for the past few torturous weeks.

"I want you, Ann." Woozie finally laid it out. He squeezed his eyes shut, thinking that maybe by shutting his eyes, he was shutting his ears as well. God knows how nervous he was about this. He feared of her rejection.

The trip to Las Venturas proved to be in vain, he still couldn't get her off his mind. So he decided to do something stupid. He booked a flight back to Fierro. Driving back here would take too long— It wouldn't do good as his mind wasn't thinking straight. He couldn't concentrate on the driving that was why he had to take the plane. If he didn't come here to meet Ann now, he feared he would go insane.

"Please, say something." He struggled for a calmer self and not the mad version of him because her silence was killing him. Why didn't she say anything? Was she thinking of a way to say no to him? If she did, what would he say then? What was the next move?

"Woozie…what's going on? What made you say this?" Ann braved herself to push his chest, hoping he will budge. Relief washed over her when Woozie straightened himself and took a few steps back, dropping his hands at his sides. At least he wasn't a stubborn jerk like John.

"I want you to be with me." His face matched his tone. Seriousness painted all across his face feature.

Ann bit her thumbnail and stared intently at the man in front of her. He was asking her to be his girlfriend…was that what he meant? "You mean…as in boyfriend and girlfriend?" She winced. She wasn't sure if she was ready to be in a relationship. Let alone being in a relationship with a mafia boss!

Woozie inhaled deeply before releasing a low sigh. "We don't have to label it. But if you want to, you can call it whatever you like. I just want you near me so I won't go crazy thinking about you all the time."

Wow. Never in her wildest dream would she imagined a Triad would make a confession to her.

Ann kept her stare on Woozie, silently debating whether or not the next thing she said would affect their relationship.

A/N: Sorry for the long update! Hope you enjoy Chapter 3! :) AlexArmin36, I know what you mean :D Woozie is my favorite character on GTA SA! Thanks for the review! And to Amateur Sketch, I'm terribly sorry for the long delay. I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)