28. Theo
THEO
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Hu Gh: Please take me off your emailing list!!! I don’t want no more emails!!!
Comments:
Jade Clark: What email list??? Are you okay??
Hu Gh: FACEBOOK KEEPS EMAILING ME!
Mollie Wilson: That’s not the group’s fault. Hit the unsubscribe button and you won’t get any more!
Hu Gh: Not your fault?? Then why did it have this group on it?
Mollie Wilson: Oh dear God. Can someone explain marketing emails to Hugh?
Jackie Anne: Didn’t you work in marketing?
Mollie Wilson: I did. But I’d like to stay sane, thank you very much.
When two men walked into the shop in the afternoon, I immediately had a bad feeling about one of them.
Most people looked at the scenery when they walked in for the first time. Sometimes they studied the menu closely. But when a man with light hair came in, his eyes were on me and only me.
It was unnerving, to say the least.
As I helped other customers, I tried to put it out of my mind. They were more than likely here for the farmers market. He could have recognized me from somewhere else, or he could simply have been looking through me, not at me.
Those were the things I told myself as he slowly inched closer in line.
He was with another man with darker hair, one who looked at the menu just like he should.
“So, you must be the famous Theo,” the man with lighter hair said.
“F-famous?” I kept my voice level, but shakiness broke through. “How have you heard of me?”
I hoped it would be a simple mention of the coffee shop, but braced for the worst anyway.
“You know our friend Piper, right?”
I blinked. This wasn’t what I expected.
But it also wasn’t great.
“I do. She comes in to write.”
“You talk to her often?”
“Joey,” the man next to him said. “We’re just here to try the coffee.”
“I’m just having a conversation, Mitch.”
I’d heard those names before. She mentioned Joey was protective and I needed to play it safe.
The problem was, I had no idea how to. Playing it safe with Piper meant staying away from her, but I was terrible at that. All I’d done was break my own rules this entire time.
I had a feeling her friend would see that.
My entire body tightened and I had no idea what to say.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to.
“What’s your order?” a voice asked. “We have almost everything.”
I startled when Kelsey leaned on the counter next to me. Her smile was tight, and I had no doubt she’d heard Joey’s tone.
“An Americano with oat milk for him,” Mitch said with a smile. “And I’ll have a caramel macchiato.”
“Theo here makes a mean macchiato. Better than I ever could. He’ll make it and I’ll ring you up.”
I looked at her with a raised brow. “I can—”
“You’ll make it and I’ll ring them up,” she said again in a pointed tone. She eyed me closely, and it seemed like she was picking up on my tense posture.
I’d dealt with rude customers, but the way Joey looked at me felt like he hated me. Usually, I refused to leave the front, but this time, I was happy to do it.
“Yeah. I’ll do that.”
Shuffling over to the bar, I made their drinks. I could feel eyes on me as I did, but I focused on my job.
And when I set them down, both men grabbed them and left.
At least Mitch gave me a friendly smile.
“What was with that guy?” Kelsey muttered.
“He knows Piper, and he’s protective.”
“You wouldn’t hurt Piper. Hell, you wouldn’t even hurt a fly.”
I tensed, thinking of my past.
“You’re really shaken by him. What, are you worried her friends won’t like you?”
“That’s exactly it.” His glare reminded me why I’d been determined to stay away from her in the first place. When I was with her, it was easy to forget about the tattoos and my age. It felt like we fit.
Others wouldn’t agree.
“I think I need a minute,” I muttered.
“Take all the time you need. I’ve got things here.”
I took a shaky breath the second I was in the fresh air. Piper had somehow convinced me to kiss her, filling my head with ideas that we were simply two people who liked each other.
But it wasn’t true.
I heard footsteps through the alley. Foolishly, I hoped it was Piper. She would know what to say.
My luck had clearly run out. Instead of the woman who was nearly always on my mind, it was Joey.
“Hi,” he said, his voice flat. He paused to take a sip from his cup. “Good coffee. I see why Piper comes here.”
I had a feeling he was not here to talk about the coffee. “Thanks.”
“You know, Piper is my closest friend, and I care a lot about her.”
“I figured that out.”
“I’m going to give you a word of advice,” Joey said, crossing his arms. “Piper might seem like she’s fine, but she’s not. She’s had too many terrible things happen to her, and I’m not letting you be one of them.”
“I don’t plan to be.”
Joey’s lips pursed. “The best way to do that is to leave her alone. You know that, right?”
“I do.” I said it slowly. I wanted to fight it, but what standing did I have? I was too old for her. I had connections to her past.
What the hell was I doing?
“Good. She’s a little too delicate for someone like you anyway.”
Joey turned, and I should’ve let it go, but one word silenced all of my other thoughts.
“Delicate?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m sure you’ve noticed.”
“That’s not what I’ve noticed at all, actually.”
“I know her far better than you do.”
“And you think that woman is delicate?” I shook my head.
“She’s had a lot happen to her.” He turned to glare at me. “Things you wouldn’t be able to handle.”
“I know.”
He blinked. “You what?”
“I know what happened to her. She told me.”
“When the hell did she do that?”
“When I found out isn’t the point. What matters is that she’s been through hell, and yet, she gets up and tries to be better every single day. That’s not the definition of delicate.”
Joey scoffed. “And you’ve not seen what it does to her to do that.”
“I have, actually.”
He blinked. “What?”
“Unlike some people, I’m capable of seeing it all. Her worst days are terrible, and she gets back up and tries again. Most people would quit, but not her.”
Joey frowned and shook his head. “She’s miserable.”
“Not from my angle.”
“I don’t think I like your angle.” He glared and stepped closer. “I know what kind of man you are. You’re covered in tattoos. You’re way too old for her. And judging by the way you won’t look me in the eyes, you know it.”
“I do.”
“So stay away from her.”
“Is that what she wants?” I asked.
Joey paused. “It doesn’t matter—”
“Don’t tell me what she wants doesn’t matter because it does. You do realize your friend is a fucking adult, right? She’s capable of making her own choices.”
“Clearly they’re poor ones.”
A flare of anger made its way into my chest. This time, I made myself hold Joey’s gaze. “Do you know what she did when I found out about her past? She begged me not to look at her differently. At the time, I couldn’t imagine it.” I looked him up and down. “Now I see where she got the idea.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “You don’t know me.”
“But I know her, and she’s not what you think. Let’s talk when you see the woman she is. Not the one you think she is.” I shoved past him, forcing every muscle in my body to move.
He nearly fell over to get out of my way, but he yelled after me, “Hey, I wasn’t done with you!”
“But I’m done with you. And you’re not Piper. It’s very easy to say no to you.”
When Piper didn’t come in, I wondered if Joey had tried to talk some sense into her. I was torn between giving her space and going to her apartment.
I told myself I should do the first one.
And then I was climbing up the stairs to her apartment after close and a run to the diner.
Her door flew open right when I got to the top of the steps, and I was dragged in a second later.
“Whoa! Are you kidnapping me or something?”
“Shhh,” she said, shutting the door. “I have a feeling Joey might still be here, but he would’ve parked where I couldn’t see him.”
“And you’re hiding me?” I asked.
“It’s for your own good. He did good today, but I have no idea how long that’ll last.” When she saw nothing through her window, she turned to me. “Sorry I didn’t come in.”
“It’s okay.”
“How was your day?” She didn’t sit still, and her eyes went from me to the door, as if someone could knock at any moment.
The last thing she needed to know was Joey’s shitty threats.
“Fine. Better now that I’m seeing you.”
That got Piper’s eyes away from the door. “Really?”
“Yes. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to hang out since you had a big day—”
“You don’t count.” She rolled her eyes before noticing the bag in my hand. “What do you have there?”
“Dinner.”
She perked up. “Really? For me?”
“No, for me.”
Her bottom lip poked out. “That’s rude.”
“I’m kidding. It’s for you.” I handed the bag over.
“Thank you,” she said. “Do you have some time to hang out?”
“I do.”
“Good.” Piper went into the kitchen and got out two forks before leading me to the table.
“Do you need one for each hand?”
She rolled her eyes. “I got an extra one just in case you wanted to share. Have you eaten?”
“No. I, uh . . . forgot.”
Piper laughed. “See? It’s easy to do.”
“It is.” It didn’t help that I’d been going back and forth on what Piper and I were.
I was glad I came here instead of hiding out.
“Then we’re sharing. Where did you get this from?”
“Center Point Diner.”
Her face lit up. “I’ve been meaning to go there.”
“It’s really good. And the portions are huge.”
“Even better.”
Piper gestured for me to dig in, but I only grabbed a bite of the hash browns. She went for pancakes first.
“This is so good,” she said the second she took a bite.
“Tammy never disappoints.”
“Seriously. I’ll have to be brave and go there sometime. Maybe you could come with me.”
I paused before saying what had been on my mind. “People might have thoughts about that.”
“What thoughts?”
“That we shouldn’t be together.”
She frowned, eyes narrowing. “Who would say that?”
I almost said “Joey,” but the word wouldn’t come out. “People who care. Or have opinions.”
“I don’t care what they think. I care what we think. You and me. No one else. I want this. Do you?”
Sometimes, the way she could be direct still shocked me. I had to clear my throat before speaking. “I do.”
“Then we’ll be fine.”
“There’s another issue.”
“And what’s that?”
“You’re here because you want to find a place to stay, right? I can’t promise that I’ll be staying.”
“You’ve been here for a decade.”
“That’s stolen time. I’ve gotten close to people finding out, but it’s only because I’m lucky. And luck runs out. The last thing I want is for you to get swept up in it with me.”
Piper crossed her arms and frowned. I was sure she was going to fight me on this. “What if I want to be?”
“I don’t know if you’d want to. You like it here. I’d never take that from you. So, maybe we should—”
“Don’t say it.” Her voice was firm.
I stopped. “It’s not an option I like either.”
“What if we just . . . figured it out as we go? That’s what I’m doing with the touching thing. And we can do it for you too. You don’t want people to know? Then we don’t tell them. You wanna go slow? We go slow. But the point is, you like me, and I like you. I would like to explore that.”
“And if I have to leave?”
She looked down for a moment. Piper liked Strawberry Springs, and moving here had been hard for her anyway. I would never ask her to change any of that.
“Then we figure that out if the time comes.”
I stared at her. Figuring it out meant it would end.
But so would everything else.
I was so torn. Usually, I could tell myself no and live with it. She was different, though. So different it made me want to throw myself into the fire and let myself love her, even though everything could fall apart.
My answer came out of me before I could stop it. “All right then. I guess we’re doing . . . this.”
Piper blinked. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Okay, uh—” She paused. “I’ll be honest, I don’t know what’s next.”
I laughed. “Neither do I.”
“Today was long. Would it be terrible if we just watched a movie?”
I rubbed my eyes. “Can it be a TV show? I feel like I’m too exhausted for a movie.”
She nodded and nearly darted over to the TV. I followed slowly, waiting for the regret to hit me.
It never did.
Kelsey had only just put her apron on when the words blew out of me.
“We need to adjust the schedule.”
She paused and then blinked. “Okay. Whatever you need. Are you planning on cutting my hours or something?”
She seemed nervous, and I didn’t blame her. I kept us on a similar schedule for months. And technically, what we did worked.
But there was a new thing for me to adjust to.
“No, not at all. I was considering giving you more.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Thank fuck. I’ll take all the hours you’re planning on giving me.”
“Good. Because I need time off.”
She frowned. “You need time off . . . regularly?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“For . . . Piper.”
Kelsey’s eyes lit up. “Really? Are you guys hanging out more now?”
“Yeah, we are.”
“And are you together?”
I tensed. That had technically been left undefined, but not by Piper.
“We’re seeing where things go.”
“Yes!” she said, pumping her fist. “I knew this would happen. Finally.”
“Don’t get too excited,” I rushed to remind her. “It may go nowhere.”
She only laughed. “I’ve had to watch the two of you stare at each other for way too long. There is no way it goes nowhere. Come on. Let’s go figure out the new schedule for you and your girlfriend.”
The word hit me hard. It wasn’t what I’d accepted.
Yet I didn’t correct Kelsey.