Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
ANNIKA
If this was me a year ago, heck, even four months ago, I would awkwardly try to avoid his side of the street for the rest of my life.
But I didn’t move here to run away from my responsibilities.
I moved here to face my fears. To discover what I want in life.
The first step was taking a job I never thought I’d even get an offer for. All because I decided to try.
Even though Reid and I have a rocky past, he’s the only other person I know in this town besides Chloe and our landlord, Sheela.
Besides, it isn’t like we dated for years.
It was a couple of dates and a little kid crush.
I believe we can move past our history and start new now that we are living in the same town again.
So, I ignore the voice in my head that is yelling at me, “No, don’t go to him,” and decide to stop at the coffee shop across from the wellness center on my lunch break.
I am going to be a bigger person and make amends.
This whole new journey I am on is to figure out what I want. And I want to be his friend.
The last time I got coffee with Reid, he had an iced black coffee with whipped cream on top.
I thought it was the weirdest order, so it always stuck out in my head.
I even ordered it a few times myself since, and it’s actually really tasty.
The sweet, whipped cream mixes with the coffee, so you get these two intense flavors with each sip.
It is bold of me to assume he still likes this order, but indecisive Annika is taking a back seat.
I take his drink and march across the street.
The same receptionist is working, and she immediately recognizes me.
I guess this town is small enough for her to remember.
That and probably because I’m the first person to ever run out of there after a massage.
“Hi, good afternoon!” I give Claire a bright smile to hopefully erase the weird impression I left last time. “Is Reid working today?”
“Hi, nice to see you again! Yes, he is. Would you like me to get him?”
“That would be great.”
“No problem, feel free to take a seat. I’ll let him know you are here.”
I wonder what she’s going to tell him. “Hey, Reid, that crazy chick from the weekend is back, and she’s asking for you.
” I half expect him to just bolt out the back door.
What if he thinks I’m stalking him? Oh no, that idea never even came to mind.
He must think I’m on a mission to ruin his life.
I wonder if it’s too late to leave. I can back out and go back to the studio.
I could avoid this side of the street easily.
Except the Human Bean gives you little chocolate-covered coffee beans with each drink, and I would miss that a lot.
The door to the back area of the wellness center opens, and Reid strides out.
He’s wearing the same black cap he wore this weekend, and instead of a matching cotton outfit, he’s wearing a relaxed dark green button-up shirt that’s perfectly fitted around his muscular arms and shoulders.
He has slim dark jeans on that I wish I could see what the back looks like.
Goddamn. Snap out of it, Annika, friend, remember I want to be his friend.
I can tell he is unsure what to do, but he walks over to where I’m sitting and quietly takes the seat next to me.
I feel the air around him press into the right side of my body.
I’m suddenly glued to my chair and have lost all of my ability to speak.
He is looking down at his shoes. He still wears worn-out Converse. Me too.
He smells like fresh air and spice. No more pine tree smell as he did in college. This must be his Oregon scent. I open my mouth, and still, no words come out.
“What did you order?” He knocks me out of this fantasyland I’m living in my head and points to my drink. The whipped cream started to emulsify with the iced coffee.
“Oh, this is for you, a truce.” A truce? Who says that?
He cracks a grin and says, “I didn’t realize we were in battle.”
I hand over the drink, and he holds it up while inspecting it. His eyes flick up to me as he raises the coffee to his mouth. Who knew keeping eye contact with someone as they drank an iced coffee was my biggest turn-on?
“Did you order me…” He takes another sip. “A cold brew with whipped cream on top?”
“Yes, yes I did.” I can’t decide what to do with my legs, so I keep crossing and uncrossing them.
I think he notices because he looks at me fidgeting.
I take a breath and try to summon the confident Annika I was this morning that made this plan.
“Your coffee order is the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard of. ”
This confession must have broken through because I can see Reid relax an inch. He leans back a little in the chair and keeps drinking, closing his eyes.
I shift in my chair again. “So…truce? Can we start fresh? You’re the only person I know here besides Chloe.” He turns his head to me, closing off his wall again.
“Wait, wait.” He gets up and shakes his head. “Why did you even move here? Of all the places in the world.” Ouch. I don’t think I was supposed to take offense to that, but I can’t help but feel hurt by his words.
“I got a job offer and decided to take it. I wasn’t vibing with SD anymore.”
“I’m pretty sure there aren't any marketing firms in Auburn Hills. Where do you work?”
“Oh, yeah, no, marketing was a bad call for me. I decided it was not what I wanted to do after all. I work at the photo studio on Main Street, Golden Hour Studios. I’m a film photographer.”
“You’re kidding? You ditched your degree to take pictures?
” Again, I can’t tell if he’s making a dig at me.
We haven’t spoken in years. The last time I knew Reid, he was the nicest boy in the world.
Maybe I ruined him. He might be an asshole now.
I sit up straight a little, and he starts to backtrack.
“I just realized…what I meant was, why the change? I don’t think I remember you liked photography… ”
It seems like he was about to say when we dated. I realize I was only taking an elective class when we went out.
“I took up photography later in college. I was crazy, stressed with school and started going to the campus therapist. She recommended I start a hobby. I found an old film camera at the flea market, and it just went from there. I applied to this place on a whim, and when they offered me the job, I didn’t realize it was in Oregon.
But here I am, and of course, Chloe came with me. That’s the short version of the story.”
Reid nods through the story, like he is tucking each word into his mental journal.
“I’d love to hear the long version.” Reid meets my eyes again, and his entire face smiles. The corners of his eyes curl up, and I can tell I have another friend in this town.
The butterflies awaken in my stomach, looking for an exit, filling my chest and fluttering up to my head. “I’d like to tell you. How about you, Chloe, and I get some drinks this Friday, and the three of us can catch up.” Perfect. I’ll use Chloe as the buffer while we start this new friendship.
“Sounds like a plan. Hey, can I bring a friend?”
“Of course!” I say a little too cheerily, but I can’t hold in my excitement that the coffee truce worked.
He gets up to leave, but before he heads back to the center, he turns to me and says, “Thanks for the coffee.” He takes another sip without breaking eye contact. I’m screwed.