"I don't know it seems kind of stuffy in here." Austin said as they exited the building. It wasn't stuffy at all it had been perfect and open. The wall space had been vast and would have accompanied his music nicely.
Ally shook her head causing him to smile. "You've said that about the last three places, and I happen to think they are all perfectly fine."
"Hey is that anyway to talk to your client?" He teased. Yes he was doing it on purpose. There really was nothing wrong with the places she had chose, they actually had been to his liking. He just enjoyed spending time with her. The more time he spent with her the more intrigued he became. Never in his life had he met someone like Ally.
She smiled. "I think we're beyond that."
He laughed. "True. So what next?"
"That's the last place for today. We can try again next week." She said walking to his car. "It'd be a lot easier if you told me what you're looking for."
He smirked watching as she climbed into his car. "I'll let you know when I see it."
"How did things go with Ally today?" Cassidy asked as she stuffed spaghetti into her mouth.
"Still looking." He smirked taking a sip of his beer. They would keep looking for a while he was enjoying her company too much, and she seemed to be enjoying his as well. She was easy to get along with and she made him laugh.
"You know she ran the list of places she was taking you by me. They were pretty good." Cassidy said eyebrow raised. Sometimes he forgot how well his sister knew him.
"It's my gig, I want to find the right place." He shrugged.
"Don't be an ass to her Austin."
He chuckled. "She's nice. Unlike some of your other friends."
Cassidy rolled her eyes. It was a lie he'd never really met any of her friends. "You like her." It was a statement not a question.
"She's different than most girls I meet." He said honestly.
"Well if you looked for women in other places than bars…"
He laughed. If his sister only knew. "You know I don't do relationships Cass."
"Really? I think you and Ally could work well together." She said putting her fork down and looking up at him.
He frowned, but a part of him wondered if she really thought that, and was she giving permission for him to date her friend. Not that he needed her permission, but he would hate to put a strain on their friendship. "I thought she was in a relationship."
"She is." Cassidy sighed. "I just think she could do better." She looked at him pointedly. "Elliot is an ok guy and all, but he holds her back instead of pushing her forward. I just think they've known each other for too long, their comfortable and afraid to move on."
"Still don't understand why you're telling me this and not her?"
Cassidy just shook her head in frustration. "What are you doing tomorrow night?"
"It's Friday night." He always went out to the bars on Fridays well he went there just about every night but that was beside the point.
"I'm going to a party. A friend's birthday party. You should come." she said smiling.
"No thanks. Wouldn't want to end up taking one of your friends home by accident." He smirked. He would love to take Ally home, but she wasn't ready for that again. At least not yet.
"It's an open bar and… Ally will be there." She said with a smile.
"An open bar?" And Ally. That could be good. Although Ally didn't drink, not that it mattered. He enjoyed spending time with her. He knew he would see her sometime next week, but the thought of seeing her sooner sounded very appealing.
Ally paused as she saw Austin sitting at the bar with Cassidy. Why was he here? "You ok Als?" Ethan asked realizing she had stopped.
"Yeah." She smiled walking toward Cassidy and Austin again and giving herself a mental shake to keep it together. She needed to stop thinking about him and his hands, his voice, and his body. Why did he have to be so good looking?
She and Ethan got to Cassidy and Austin at the same time Tilly did. Tilly put her arm on Austin and leaned into him. She immediately felt a wave of jealousy go through her, and than hated herself for feeling that way. She was with Elliot.
"Back off Tilly he's not available." Cassidy hissed.
Tilly scoffed and crossed her arms but leaned in toward Austin. "I'll catch up with you later." she smiled. She than turned an icy glare toward Cassidy. "So Cass is your teacher not doing it for you anymore, or are you just broadening your horizons." She smirked as she walked off.
She watched Cass's face contort to anger and saw the way Austin looked at her. "Ally, Ethan." Cassidy said turning to them. "Ethan dance with me." Cassidy said getting up and grabbing Ethan's arm, and hulling him away. Ally watched as they made there way off to the dance floor.
"Hi." She said slowly turning back to Austin. She wasn't quite sure how to read the look on his face. He looked murderous.
"Is Cassidy dating one of her teachers?" He asked frowning.
"Huh what? I don't know." She lied looking around nervously.
He sighed and leaned into her. "You're a horrible liar Ally." his breath was on her neck causing a sudden heat to rise in her.
"I know nothing." She said sitting down next to him fixing her gaze on the bar in front of her. At least if she stared at the bar she didn't have to stare at his hazel eyes or those dimples or that sexy body. Oh my god what is wrong with me? She should get far, far away from him. Elliot was here somewhere.
"Of course not. So how long has that been going on?" He asked causing her to look up at him. He obviously wasn't going to let it go.
She sighed. "He's not her teacher." That was the truth, he use to be her teacher.
"You didn't answer my question. Isn't there some American rule about teachers and their students." He frowned.
"It's not that bad." She shrugged trying to play it down. "I mean she's in grad school Austin."
"Of course not love. He's not like ridiculously old is he?"
She laughed. "No." Dallas was probably Austin's age or a little older.
"Is he here?" he asked serious turning on his stool to survey the crowd. His knee accidentally brushed hers and she couldn't help the tingles it gave her. It was just his knee she really needed to get a grip.
She looked around instinctively, the hotel was crowded. "I don't know there are a lot of people here." She answered honestly.
"I don't like the idea of some older guy taking advantage of my little sister." He said taking a sip of his beer.
"So you look down on guys who sleep with younger women?" She teased.
He opened his mouth to say something and then caught on to what she was saying. She was younger than him. He'd walked right into that one. Although he hadn't taken advantage of her. "You know what I meant. He's in an authoritative position." he said trying to recover.
"Oh." She said her smile wide and brown eyes full of light. "Does it count if he's not her teacher?"
He was about to reply when he saw the guy walking toward them. He'd never met or seen her boyfriend before but judging by the way he was walking toward her this had to be him. He watched as he came up and wrapped an arm around her kissing the top of her head. To say he was jealous would be an understatement. He wanted to rip his arm off of her and punch him in the face. He gripped onto his beer bottle before he did anything stupid. He was going to have to start drinking something stronger.
"Hey Als I've been looking all over for you."
"Elliot." She said her face red as she shifted uncomfortably. He watched as her gaze flicked from her boyfriend to him. She took a second to recover before she put on her sweet smile. "This is Austin." he noticed her cheeks burned even redder as she introduced him. "Cass's brother, I'm helping him set up a show."
"Right." he said although he looked like he had no idea what she was talking about. "Elliot." He said holding out his hand.
He accepted his hand as he glanced at Ally. She was so obviously uncomfortable with the situation. Her boyfriend didn't seem to notice her unease. He hated Elliot instantly even though he had no reason to. He wondered if she had told him about her indiscretion.
They fell into an awkward silence and he took a sip of his beer. He would definitely be taking full advantage of that free bar tonight.
Ally sat awkwardly she could hear the music in the background but around her was just a deafening silence. It was awful and she just wanted it to end. She was thankful that Elliot was too busy ordering a drink to notice the tension. She just wanted to escape from the situation.
"Hey Als."
Her friend's voice snapped her back into the moment. "Kira." she said jumping off the stool and hugging her. "Help." She whispered into her ear.
Kira gave her a confused look as she pulled back. "This party is great Als you did a good job."
"Thanks." She said holding her friends arm and refusing to let it go. She was not going to be stuck here with Elliot and Austin by herself.
"So I'm confused is this your party or Trish's." Austin said to Kira.
Ally stared at him confused for a moment. And then it hit her. He didn't realize that they were sisters Kira was a different person, which meant he hadn't paid attention to her enough to know that though they were step sisters and completely different.
"You probably haven't met Trish." Elliot was the one to answer though and here she thought he hadn't been paying attention. She really needed to get it together. Focus Ally.
"You should meet Trish my step sister it's more her style." Kira smiled shifting her eyes from Austin to her. "I'm Kira."
"Austin." He said holding out his hand.
"Cassidy's brother." Kira smiled staring at Ally. She wanted to crawl into a hole and die right now. "I've heard about you." she said causing Austin to smirk. She could kill the both of them right now. Kira was supposed to help her not make it more unbearable. "I'm going to the ladies room." Kira said looking at her eyebrow raised.
"Me too." She said all too quickly as she led the way to the bathroom. She maneuvered through the crowd quickly and finally let out the breath she'd been holding as she walked into the bathroom. She wondered for half a second if leaving Austin and Elliot alone together was a good idea, but at this moment she didn't Als. She doubted Austin would say anything to Elliot anyway.
"Wow he is hot. And he has an amazing body." Kira said shutting the door behind her, and turning to her with a grin.
"I can't go back out there." She said going to the sink and staring at herself in the mirror. How did this happen to her?
"Als." Kira said quietly. "Talk to me."
"I just don't know what to do. I feel like Elliot and I keep drifting further apart, especially since I'm keeping what happened with Austin from him. I can't stop thinking about Austin, and it doesn't help that I have to spend time with him. Now they're both out there together. Ugh." She screamed in frustration. "I can't believe Cassidy invited him."
"I know you love Elliot, but are you in love with him?" Kira asked slowly. "Because that makes a difference."
Ally bit her lip as she thought about Kira's question. Of course she loved Elliot, but was she in love with him?
She jumped as the door to the bathroom swung open. Cassidy walked in shaking her head and looked at Kira. "Oh good I thought I saw you come in here. I'm going to murder your cousin Kira."
"What did Tilly do now?" Kira asked tiredly. If it wasn't one thing it was another with Tilly, and it was always Kira who took the heat for it.
"She told my brother about my relationship with Dallas." Cassidy turned to her. "How did he take that by the way?"
She shrugged. "He asked some questions, but I don't think he was to mad." She answered honestly. Somehow they had gone from his questioning of Cassidy's relationship to flirting. That always seemed to happen, no matter how innocent it all started.
"Oh he's mad trust me." Cassidy sighed. "I shouldn't have invited him here."
Kira frowned. "Why did you invite him?"
"It's your fault." Cassidy said pointing at her.
"What? Why?" She asked feeling her cheeks burn. Why was it her fault Cassidy had invited him.
"He likes you Ally, and I haven't seen him hung up on anyone since Brooke. I'm so tired of him picking up all these skanky girls from the bar. He deserves happiness." Cassidy replied.
She frowned. Who was Brooke? Why did she care? Why was Cassidy trying to play match maker, she had a boyfriend. Wait did she say Austin liked her as in liked liked her? Kira was the first to speak. "Who's Brooke?"
Ally looked at Cassidy interested in the answer even though she shouldn't be. Cassidy shook her head sadly. "My brother's wife."
Horror filled her. She slept with a married man, estranged or not that was just so wrong. "He's married?" She squeaked out.
"Oh no not Austin. My other step brother Dean." She huffed. "The little bitch was with Austin first, but then she moved on to Dean. At one point she was seeing them both at the same time that is until Austin caught them." Cassidy rolled her eyes. "She tried to get back together with him, said that she loved them both and couldn't choose. Thank god Austin didn't fall for that crap. Although Dean was dumb enough to put a ring on her finger. Shame too, we all use to be so close."
Austin wanted to strangle his sister for inviting him to this party, and then strangle Ally for abandoning him with her boyfriend. Sure it was probably awkward for her, but now he was stuck with the guy who got to spend every night with her. He envied Elliot so badly; he wondered if he even knew how lucky he was to have a girl like Ally. He was just thankful Elliot had not attempted a conversation with him; no good would have come from that. He did not want to talk about Ally with Elliot.
He let out a sigh of relief as he saw the two women finally coming back from the bathroom. What was it with women and bathrooms? What could they say in a bathroom, that they couldn't say in the company of others? Although he already knew the answer
"Hey Als I'm going to get out of here. Are you coming?" Elliot asked getting up from the stool.
He swallowed trying not to watch, but he couldn't help himself. She bit her lip her eyes flicked to him for half a second before going back to her boyfriend. "You know I have to make sure everyone is out by one and the cleanup crew comes. I'll walk out with you."
He watched as they walked away smiling at the fact that she wasn't going home with him tonight.
Ally walked out into the cool night air and folded her arms across her body trying to keep the warmth in. "You sure you can't come home with me Als? I don't think anyone would notice. We haven't spent the night together in forever."
She bit her lip and looked at the cement. She hadn't spent the night with Elliot since she had seen Austin again. It wasn't like anything was happening with her and Austin either, she just well she didn't know. Her whole life had all of a sudden gotten really confusing.
"Als come home." Elliot pleaded.
"I'm working." That was the truth. She was technically working even if she was also here for pleasure. Sure everything was set up and she probably could sneak away, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
"Is this how it's going to be all the time? How are we ever going to have a life together with this job of yours?" Elliot snapped anger blazing in his blue eyes.
"It's not like it's every night." She said defensively. She loved her job and she hated having to defend it. The way he was talking you would think she was a whore or something.
"Not yet, but as you get more clients it could be. I want us to be together to spend time together like we use to. With your stupid job we can't do that." He said staring at her intently.
"My job is not stupid." She spat back. "And if things really pick up I can always hire someone else."
"Hire someone now." He yelled.
"I don't have the money for that. Unlike you I don't have everything handed to me on a silver spoon." She said. It wasn't Elliot's fault his parents were wealthy and his dad was the mayor of their hometown. Out of all her friends she was the only one who had, had to pay for her schooling. She had student debt coming out of her behind and she did need the money right now. Her mom had tried to help her, but she had her own bills to worry about. This was just one of those things someone who led a privileged life just didn't understand.
"Than let me help you Ally. Move in with me. We can do this together." He said taking her hand. The look of sincerity in his eyes was almost enough to make her say yes.
"I can't." she said pulling her hand out. "I need to do this on my own Elliot. Please understand that." It wasn't that she didn't appreciate what he was offering. She wanted the satisfaction of succeeding on her own.
Elliot's face turned angry and cold. His blue eyes narrowed at her. "I proposed to you, asked you to move in, I would give you anything. I want to put us first and you keep refusing me. I can't do this with you anymore. Either you put us first or… or were over."
She felt tears prick in her eyes. He wanted her to choose between him and her job. She thought back to Kira's question about love and it all clicked. She loved Elliot she really did, but she wasn't in love with him. He couldn't be in love with her either. You didn't give someone an ultimatum if you loved them. "This isn't right Elliot. You can't make me choose. I've wanted to do this my entire life, you can't ask me to give up my career. I can't be in a relationship with somebody who doesn't accept me for who I am."
"Fine I hope your career is worth it." he said glaring at her for a minute before storming off.
Ally hugged herself and sat down slowly on the cold cement stairs. She was numb but not because of the cold. They were really over. In some ways it hurt, but in other ways she felt like she could finally start living
A/N Thanks for reading, alerting and adding to your favorites. Let me know what you think. And I'm not to sure on the next update but probably Saturday if I'm not busy.