Chapter 26
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
JULIETTE
I’m not sure why I ordered three pastries. I don’t know if I’m trying to buy Alex and Elodie off with baked goods or what I’m doing. When my name is called, I gather all my things and carry them over to the table.
Alex and Elodie’s eyes widen at my approach. Sinking down onto the chair, I place the pastries in the middle of the table. “I just ordered a few things. I didn’t know what anyone wanted, if anything, but it smelled too good to just leave there,” I murmur.
Elodie laughs, but I can tell she’s not laughing at me. Her eyes are dancing, and then she flicks her attention to the table. “I’m going to happily take half of this apple thing,” she announces. “Donuts are usually my thing, but I won’t turn down any pastry.”
“I should be watching my waistline, but I worked my ass off yesterday in more than one way, so I’m going to take half this cinnamon roll,” Alex states.
Reaching for the blueberry muffin, I bring it to my lips and take a bite, hoping they can’t tell that all I can think about is Slade. They each take their pastry, and then Elodie’s gaze searches mine, and she stops midbite, but it’s Alex who speaks, which surprises me.
“You got laid.”
My gaze flicks to him. He only said three words. I swallow the muffin, which seconds ago seemed so moist and delicious but suddenly turns to sawdust in my mouth. I press my lips together,
Elodie hisses at Alex to be quiet. But he doesn’t even look away. His gaze is fixed on mine as if there is nobody else in the world. I don’t know how he’s figured it out so fast. I haven’t even said a word, and he’s already figured out that I had sex.
“You don’t have to say anything at all. Alex has no boundaries and thinks other people don’t either,” Elodie says, but I don’t miss her lingering look. She wants to know. But she’s not going to ask.
Instead, she asks me about the work. If I enjoy it and if I would think about staying on. I can’t believe it. “I did an okay job?” I ask
Elodie laughs, her eyes dancing. “You did great. Whatever you don’t know, you’ll learn. You were on time, you worked hard, and you’re fun.”
“Fun?” I ask. “I’ve been accused of being a lot of things, but never fun.”
Alex snorts, and when I look over to him, he opens his mouth, then snaps his lips closed before he shakes his head once. Elodie clears her throat, leaning forward. My attention shifts to her and I arch a brow.
“Fun, Juliette. Plus, I think that you might like it here.”
Admitting it out loud shouldn’t be scary, but it is. Terrifying, actually. What if they don’t feel the same way about me that I do them? What if they don’t think that I’m amazing the way I think they are?
“I love it here,” I whisper, and the words do scare me, but not in a bad way. It’s more excitement than actual fear.
“I bet you do,” Alex grumbles.
Elodie lets out a sigh. “You’re not going to harass her. She’ll tell us if she wants to,” she snaps.
Alex snorts. “She doesn’t have to tell me shit,” Alex announces. “I already know who she did. I just want to know if it was good.”
“You do not have to respond to that,” Elodie states, then she turns to Alex. “I cannot believe you just said that.”
I shift in my seat, unsure of what to say or how to say it. Because Alex saw the way Slade looked at me, the way he watched me across the room. Anyone and everyone saw that. There was no hiding it. So now I need to figure out what exactly to say in response to that.
Picking up the blueberry muffin, I lift it to my lips and take another bite. I chew but don’t even taste the pastry. I can’t. All I can do is think about my future, about Slade, and about these two people whom I want to be my friends so badly I can taste it.
“Does this mean I can stay on?” I ask.
“I would love for you to,” Elodie says. “And Alex would, too.”
Alex leans forward. “My wanting you to stay comes with terms and conditions,” he says.
“It does?” I ask, lifting my brown sugar drink to my lips.
Wrapping my lips around the straw, I wonder if this is going to be good, but when the sugar hits my tongue, it’s like it has a direct line to my veins. Wow. That’s probably more sugar than I need in a full day, but it feels very worth it.
“Yeah,” Alex says, his lips twitching into a mischievous smile. I already know what he’s going to say, but I make him say it anyway. “I want to know, was it as good as that look Loot gave you from across the clubhouse promised?”
No.
It wasn’t.
I lean forward and decide if I don’t tell them, Alex for sure will annoy it out of me. I can already tell that’s just his personality. I don’t get the feeling that he’s going to do anything nefarious with the information. I just think he wants to know anything and everything about everyone.
He’s what my grandmother would call a Nosy Nelly. I get it. I’ve got a lot of secrets, and while I might not be great about hiding the fact that I do have them, I’m pretty good at hiding what they are, mainly because I’m embarrassed as shit about them and how stupid they make me seem.
“It was better than he could have ever promised. Better than I could have ever dreamed to imagine. The best I’ve ever had.”
Silence.
And then… they smile.
“Wow,” they say simultaneously.