Chapter Thirty-Three
T he smell of ground coffee beans was nearly euphoric.
I had been burning the candle at both ends trying to keep myself together, and I was tired.
I even let Luke wrap his arms around me so I could lean against him while we waited in line at The Bean.
This was one place in town where I sincerely admired the décor.
Old books and whitewashed floors and lots of windows—plus the caffeine. Lots of caffeine.
With the largest mocha I’d ever seen warming my hands, Luke and I sank into the plush grey sofa in the corner.
“How are you not going to be ill drinking that thing?”
“Because I’ll be insanely productive the rest of the day. Whipped cream and chocolate make me happy, not ill.”
He gave me a head shake, but he was still smiling.
“Whipped cream and chocolate make me happy too in the right setting,” he assured me, his smile turning into a smirk.
I ground my teeth to keep from blushing. Or hitting him.
“You’re disgusting.”
“What? You’re allowed to like toppings and I’m not? I think that’s sexist.”
“God, you think you’re so funny,” I chastised.
Nevertheless, I let him kiss my cheek before returning to my beverage.
The chime sounded on the door at the entrance to the shop as it had been all morning, but this time Luke’s body tensed, causing me to look up.
The sight I encountered was much more likely to make me ill than the 72 grams of sugar in my drink.
“Okay then, I guess this had to happen sooner or later,” he muttered next to me. In line, Zack had his hands in Liv’s back pockets while she ran her nails along his hairline. Well, at least I wasn’t overreacting. My nightmare had been pretty accurate.
“It’s fine, we can go,” I assured him, moving to stand up .
Really, I just wanted to continue the morning without anyone punching anyone else.
“Under no circumstance will you or I be inconvenienced by trash like that.”
Luke appeared to make himself at home on the sofa and relaxed into his usual grin. His teeth were pretty. He was pretty, but I vowed not to tell him that.
It became clear by the sudden absence of giggling when Liv first spotted us. Rather, she cleared her throat several times and ordered her coffee quietly. Zack appeared to have made no such discovery, or perhaps he just didn’t care.
“Luke, we can honestly just leave. Let’s go to my house and watch a movie or something.”
“Sure, as long as I get to pick the movie. And after I’m done enjoying this exceptional cup of coffee.”
Ugh .
Much to my dismay, my hands were sweating as the new couple paid for their drinks. Zack’s eyes flashed with something I couldn’t name when he finally registered our presence. Liv just bit her lip.
“Rhodes! Long time dude, how’ve ya been?” Luke asked without faltering.
“Fuck you, Miller,” Zack ground out, his voice low, clearly trying not to draw too much attention. “Better yet, go fuck her . I’m sure you’ll find it—”
Luke was out of his seat with more speed than a human of his size should be allowed, and he was shoving Zack out the door before he finished the sentence.
“You and I need to chat,” I could hear him growl on his way, his cup of coffee forgotten on the table. Any trace of my worry disappeared into a cloud of I’m-with-him when Zack’s fear came to the surface of his face.
I let Luke handle his business without spectating. Well, with minimal spectating because I was only human, and I needed to glimpse what was going on. I instead tried to focus my attention to the red-headed she-devil in front of me.
“Enjoying your adventure with Psycho-Steroid Ken?” The question was laced with as much syrupy malice as I could pour on.
Liv smiled. “You were always such a bitch. It was just funnier when you weren’t bitter.”
I almost spit out my coffee.
“Yes. I’m so bitter about losing out of the fun of being assaulted in a parking lot. However will I recover? I know! With a super-hot boyfriend who doesn’t try to beat the shit out of me. Total bummer.”
Purposefully, I ended with a light smile and kept my eyes on Liv’s. I tried to ignore the slight panic induced at the fact that I just called Luke my boyfriend. Hopefully he was cool with that.
“Whatever, Vanessa, I really don’t have time to exchange witty insults with you in a coffee shop.”
This was, of course, code for “I don’t have anything to best you with.” My grin grew.
“And before you hear it from Kim, or anyone else, and think you have some sort of dirt on me, I’m leaving FFC and going to cosmetology school. You can celebrate later.”
Despite trying to maintain my nonchalant expression, surprise crossed my face at this admission.
I wanted to ask why, but I assumed I knew based on the fact that Liv never did any work or studied.
Like, ever. The two guys reentered The Bean at that moment.
Luke’s face read happy and worry free. Zack’s did not.
“Let’s go, babe,” Zack commanded, circling Liv’s wrist. They exited without further comment. Luke plopped down next to me and resumed drinking his beverage.
“Well?” I asked impatiently once they were gone.
“Well what? I won him over with my undeniable charm. He saw the light.”
“Truth, please?”
“Can you just trust that I handled it? ”
“Oh, I do, your faces were very clear about the victor and the loser, but I wanna know how.”
He grinned at that.
“I just let him know that the next time he opened his mouth, he should consider what it would feel like to be randomly drug tested at his next practice. Game over.”
“I think I like you, Luke Miller.”
“I think I like you, Vanessa Roberts.”
“I may have told Liv that you were my boyfriend in one of my bitchy remarks. Just thought you’d wanna know.”
My tone was light, but waiting for whatever reaction came next made my stomach drop.
“Boyfriend, lover, protector, knight in shining armor, whatever. All of it works for me.” And then he winked at me.
It served its purpose as I immediately pressed my lips to his and kissed him in a manner not appropriate for the only coffee shop in a town as small as ours.
And for the first time maybe in forever, I didn’t care what anyone thought.
I was exactly where I wanted to be.