Chapter 9

"I can't believe it Asli!"

I was surprised when Ezgi suddenly opened the door of my room and burst in with a very loud voice. It took me seconds to wake up from my slumber and get out of bed.

"What?" "What happened?" I said in horror.

"You're late for work, do you know what time it is, girl? I swear you're going to be fired." He was talking and looking for something in my closet. I took a deep breath when I found out what his problem was. I lay back on my warm bed and pull the duvet over my head. God, I couldn't believe I woke up at seven on this wonderful day.

Ezgi grabbed the duvet that I had pulled up to my head and pushed it towards my feet. "Are you still sleeping?" He was looking at me with one hand on his waist, his eyebrows knitted together.

"I'm working this afternoon, Ezgi," I said, hoping he'd leave me alone.

"How so?" he said, shrugging his shoulders. "You were working the morning shift?"

"It is," I said in a murmuring voice. "A friend from work got the cure. You see, I'll go to his place."

"Yeah," he said in a sad tone. "I wouldn't have woken you if I had known."

I opened my sleepy eyes. His shapely eyebrows would almost curve downward. When I opened my arms wide, Ezgi immediately entered my arms with her wonderful smile. "It doesn't matter," I said. He reached out for me. We both pulled the covers over us and stared at the ceiling.

I could never be angry with Ezgi. He was at the top as the only person I loved and valued in my life. I was grateful to him for coming to Turkey with me and not leaving me alone. He had always been my best friend and my best family.

"Well," I said, "how's it going, the course or something."

"Very good. I'm learning all the techniques, girl. I have big dreams." He was making big circles with his arms up.

"Like what?"

"Let me finish this course successfully, I will make wonderful paintings and open an exhibition," he said excitedly.

"You're talented. I'm sure all of your pictures will go scrambling."

He pulled the duvet up to his shoulder and turned to me. "We'll be rich, I won't make you work." I burst out laughing loudly when he said that.

"So you're going to take care of us," I said to be a partner in his game.

"I guess so." We both started laughing. Well, one of us had to work after all.

"Anyway, I'd love to stay and laze around with you, but I've got work to do." As he got out of bed, I lay comfortably on my beautiful bed. After all, I didn't have a very big bed. Ezgi went in front of the mirror and made her hair into a ponytail.

"Ezgi," I said, "have you ever talked to Tolga?" I would have cracked if I hadn't really asked.

I could see in his reflection in the mirror that he was frowning. "No. Why would I see him?"

"You seem like you have good chemistry," I said scathingly.

"Is not it?" He left the mirror and walked towards the door. "If I see him, I'll take the first step to talk." And he blew an air kiss and left my room. "I have to get ready, see you tonight." He hadn't forgotten to call.

I was struggling to get some more sleep, but all my sleep was gone. I lazed in bed for a few more hours and went downstairs. It was already out. I prepared myself an appetizer and ate it up.

At three o'clock, I entered the cafe. It was cloudy and I was glad I hadn't been caught in the rain. I didn't want to spend the day drying my hair and clothes. Buse left because it was the morning shift. Instead, there was Sevde and she was busy fulfilling the orders of the customers.

Ateş was doing what he always did in his usual place. "Hi" I said as I put on my apron.

"Hi" He didn't even look at me again. Still.

The fire had been working here all day. Some nights even the cafe was closed by fire. It was almost as if he remembered this place as home.

Since we used to greet Ateş on a daily basis, we could no longer talk. Apparently someone wasn't in the mood for flirting today.

Sevde put the tray on the counter and sighed. "Looks like it's busy today," I said.

He shook his head up and down. He placed one hand on my shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "It was your lucky day."

"Oh, what do you say?" I grinned unhappily. I took a tray from the counter and started collecting the blanks from the tables.

We worked intensively with Sevde for a few hours. When things calmed down a bit, we made ourselves a coffee of tiredness and took a rest behind the counter.

When I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, I pulled out the phone to see who the caller was.

"Sir Ezgi"

"Hi honey, what are you doing?"

"I'm working, Ezgi, what are you doing?"

"Actually…" I frowned as Ezgi paused for a few seconds. He was going to say something that would make me angry again.

"Tell me, Ezgi," I said impatiently.

"I made an agreement with Tolga to do something in the evening," he said in one breath.

"Tolga?" I asked, but my voice must have been a little too loud because Ateş was staring at me with his eyes fixed.

"Yes," said Ezgi in a rather cheerful voice. "Do you think this could be a date?"

I averted my eyes from Ates and turned around. "We'll talk about this later, Ezgi," I said, trying to speak in a low voice. "Don't be late for the evening."

"Okay I love you."

"Me too" I said. I immediately hung up the phone and tucked it into my jeans pocket. I couldn't figure out the relationship between Tolga and Ezgi. Though I don't think even they have much idea what the relationship between them is. I think Tolga might have intended to take things seriously with Ezgi by taking over this business. Or he might just want to spend a night out with Ezgi. I should definitely talk about this with Ezgi tonight.

When I turned around he was still staring at me. I raised an eyebrow and looked at him. He wasn't the only one in the world who had a friend named Tolga. He must be living in other Tolgas here.

"So you met Tolga," he said. I didn't expect him to ask so frankly. Of course, I did not have the eye to immediately lower the sails into the water.

"Are we talking about the same Tolga?" Ateş revealed his sly smile, " I know all your lies, " as always .

What? I raised one eyebrow as if to say.

"Yes, we are talking about the same Tolga," he said, still laughing. Was it right for me to find a boy so cold and unattractive attractive?

I said, "Don't be so sure, Mr. To help him, I grabbed a duster and went over to dry the glasses. We stood side by side, and I was now realizing how small I was standing next to him.

"Actually," he said, leaning into my ear. His breath tickled my ear. "I'm pretty sure Asli."

While I was looking at the glass in my hand in shock, I came to my senses when the door of the cafe opened loudly. We both turned our heads towards the door.

When I dropped the glass that I had been trying to dry for five minutes, this time all eyes were on me, not on Cesur who came through the door. Even Cesur's eyes found me instantly.

I immediately threw myself back to protect myself from the shattered glass that came out of the shock. Realizing that Ates was behind me when my back hit his chest, I literally got my hands and feet together. He wraps one arm around my waist and pulls me into a corner away from broken glass.

"I'm so sorry" I said. I certainly couldn't understand what I was thinking or what I had just been through, how I had been so unstable. By no means did I dare to look at Cesur, who was still standing at the door.