Chapter Three #2
I picked up a mug, needing to keep my hand busy. “You know, ask the question.”
“Oh, right. Yes, of course.” He chuckled, putting his glasses back on. “Are you able to work this Sunday?”
I moved to the espresso machine, my body mindlessly starting to wipe everything down. I loved Sarah, but she always left my coffee counter a mess when I was in class. My white towel was covered in coffee stains by the time I had an answer for him. “I have a shift Saturday night at the Buoy.”
“Another shift?” he asked, crossing his ankles. “That’s the third Saturday in a row.”
I nodded. “Yeah, but it pays my bills.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Margo, you know I’m immensely proud of you for everything that you’re doing, but I want to give you a word of caution.”
I already knew what was coming. With a sigh, I flipped the towel onto my shoulder and turned to face him. “Rossy, there’s no need.”
His head tilted to the side. “No need for what.?”
“Cardinal already gave me the burnout lecture.”
“And I see you are ignoring her advice.”
“I am not.”
“Right, and just for clarification, when was your last day off?”
My mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Dammit.
Rossy’s kind brown eyes scanned my face before he clicked his tongue. “That’s what I thought.”
“Well, I—”
He waved his hand. “I’m not here to scold you.
I am just looking out for your well-being.
Rest isn’t a reward, darling; it is a need.
” Before I could respond, the shop door opened, the bell above jingling.
I looked back, finding three younger women heading my way.
“I’ll leave you to it,” he muttered. “I have to run down to the stationery store anyway.”
“Hi!” the girl in the middle greeted, her eyes on the menu.
I ignored them for now. “Where is Carrie?” I asked Rossy as he slipped on his tweed jacket.
“Out to lunch with Grayson,” he answered, pulling out his pocket watch. “They should be back soon.”
They?
My stomach twisted at the thought of seeing Grayson.
Pushing that thought out of my mind, I got to work. “Hi, welcome to Rossy’s. What can I get you?”
The girl on the left finally managed to look up from her phone. Our gazes collided, her eyes going wide. “Uh, hey,” she greeted.
It clicked then. She had sat behind me during economics last semester. I shifted my weight, suddenly becoming uncomfortable. “Hey.”
Her friends, who were also nearly a decade younger than me, were no longer looking at the menu. Instead, they were staring at me like I was some sort of freak. “I didn’t know you worked here,” my former classmate said, pocketing her phone.
Great. She wanted to make conversation.
“Yeah, have been for a while,” I answered, instantly regretting my words as her friend next to her asked, “Do you know this lady?”
“Yeah, we were in the same econ class last semester,” she answered, smiling at me.
I didn’t have the strength to return it.
“Oh, are you getting your graduate degree or something?” the third girl asked.
Shame coated my tongue, rotten and foul. “Undergraduate,” I pushed out, pulling the towel off my shoulder and twisting it in my hands.
Then came the silence, awkward and palpable. It was as if all the air in the shop had been sucked out, leaving me to choke on the judgmental stares and mistakes of my past.
“Late start, huh?” the mean girl quipped, smirking.
“Amy,” my former classmate hissed, glaring at her friend.
“What? It’s the truth.” She rolled her eyes before meeting mine again. “There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. I think it’s really cool when older people go back to college.”
The girl in the middle said nothing, cheeks red as her eyes dropped to the floor.
I hummed, giving the bitch a wide smile. “Sure is. What can I get you?”
“Three PSLs please.”
Typical.
I snatched the tablet off the counter, punched in their basic order, and held it out to my former classmate for payment as the other two walked away, disappearing into the fantasy section. “Sorry about that,” she muttered, pressing her card to the screen.
I turned my head back to her as the recipe printed. “A word of advice,” I deadpanned coldly.
She nodded.
I leaned in, ripping the recipe from the printer and holding it out to her between two fingers.
“Don’t associate yourself with bitches if you intend to be a good person.
That shit rubs off quickly.” Her lips parted, my words hitting her right where I needed them to.
“You can pick up your drinks at the end of the counter.”
By the time all the Mean Girls 2.0 were sipping on their pumpkin spice lattes in the romance section, Cardinal and Grayson had come in. My eyes immediately went to Grayson’s face, scanning his dark features as he scanned the store, his hand on the small of his fiancée’s back.
“Hi, Margo!” Cardinal chirped, moving away from him and coming to me. Her blue eyes were brighter than usual today, the rich navy sweater she was wearing being the cause. “Congratulations on passing your exam! I jumped out of my seat when you texted!”
I lifted my chin and cleared my throat, feeling Grayson’s eyes on me. Keep it cool. Don’t give anything away. “Thank you. Glad it’s over,” I told her. “How was the lunch date?”
“It was good. I texted you to see if you wanted anything, but you never responded.”
“Yeah, I needed to get back into town before the rain hit,” I told her, giving her my back as Grayson approached.
“Margo,” he greeted, his voice deep.
I lifted my hand and gave him a casual two-finger wave, my eyes on the coffee bean grinder. “Hey. Cardinal, do you want your usual?” I asked, my cheeks heating.
“No, I’m okay. I’ll have one later.”
“How many is that?” Grayson asked, humor lacing his voice.
My friend hummed. “Three.”
“Sunshine, you keep downing coffee all day, you’ll never be able to sleep.”
“I don’t sleep anyway because you and Tic-Tac hog the covers at night,” she teased.
I cleared my throat. “So, no coffee, then?”
“I’ll take one,” Grayson answered.
Kill me now.
It wasn’t like I couldn’t face him. I mean, before his best friend took me home and made me see God, I saw Grayson as a friend. But now? I knew I couldn’t face him until the sting of Hayes wore off.
“Black?”
“Please.”
Two minutes later, I slid the to-go over to him, keeping my gaze on the stacks. “Here you go,” I muttered, ready to hunt down Sarah as an excuse to get away. As I started walking away, Cardinal called my name.
Dammit.
I clenched my teeth, kept my hands at my sides, and faced them. Just as I feared, Grayson was looking at me, his brows pinched together. Cardinal was shrugging off her coat, hooking it over her arm. “You okay, Margo?” Grayson asked.
“What? Oh, yeah. Just tired from my exams this morning.”
Grayson was a little taller than Hayes, and Cardinal was an inch or two shorter than me.
This meant that Grayson towered over her, thus over me, and when he took a step closer to me, every cell in my body wanted to bolt.
Grayson was good at reading people—I mean, hello?
He ran a private investigations company.
The bounty hunter who was good at reading people being engaged to my best friend was usually a good thing.
But right now? It was a horrifying thing—because he was reading me. “You look spooked.”
“Just tired,” I repeated, jerking my thumb over my shoulder. “I, uh, need to go ask Sarah a question.”
“Sarah is out this afternoon, Margo,” Cardinal kindly informed me, completely oblivious—thank God—to what Grayson was picking up. My arm fell in defeat, my shoulders slumping as my eyes tracked her every move to the counter. “Rossy should be here.”
Grayson was studying my profile now, his eyes like lasers, burning my skull.
“Right. I’ll go ask him. Can you watch the coffee bar for me?
Great, thanks,” I huffed out quickly as I practically ran away, turning down the history aisle.
Unfortunately, Grayson worked from home a few days out of the week instead of driving to Portland daily—today being one of those days.
After years of serving coffee in this small town, I also knew everyone’s schedule like the back of my hand.
Today was Thursday, and after he took Cardinal to lunch, he would go back to their house and work until six, then pick her up.
I just needed to hide out in the back for ten minutes and then I would be free to keep pretending that my love life wasn’t a complete and utter disaster.
But the rest of your life isn’t and that has to count for something, right?
I rolled my eyes at the little voice of optimism in my head as I yanked open the storage room door, stepping inside.
Just ten minutes.
Then I could get back to work.
That little plan went to shit when Rossy popped his head inside, a stern look plastered on his face. “Margo what on earth are you doing in here? There’s a line of people wanting coffee.”
“I was just—”
“This is what I was saying about burnout.” He gestured to me. “For God’s sake, darling, you have bags under your eyes. You look dead on your feet.”
I pressed my lips together, not wanting to tell him about the all-nighter I’d just pulled to make sure I passed my exam. “Rossy, I’ll be okay—”
He cut me off, clearly not interested in a word I had to say. “Look, if you can get the Red Snake men squared away, I’ll call Sarah to come take over.”
My stomach hit the floor. “Wh-what? The Red Snake men? What are you talking about—”
Rossy was scrambling, trying to pull out his cell phone. I watched in horror, visions of tan skin, golden hair, and dark green eyes flashing in my mind. Once the phone was against his ear, he pulled out his pocket watch. “Margo, go out, make their usuals, and then go home.”
I stepped up to him. “Rossy, clue me in. What are Grayson’s guys doing here?” I urged.
Had Hayes told them about us?
Was he in trouble?
Was I in trouble?
“Carrie invited them over for dinner or something. I don’t know, but please get out there,” he ordered, holding the door open for me.
Oh, fuck.
The house party was tonight.