9. Chapter 8
Mel heard a squeal from the table in the corner and jerked their gaze away from the door.
Something about that man had been familiar, though they didn’t think they’d ever seen him in here before.
Or at least they hadn’t been the one to serve him.
They hadn’t been able to see his eyes at first but had noticed the blond hair falling over to one side, some of it in front of his face, his lips pulled up in an easy smile.
He wasn’t tall, and he wasn’t skinny. Though when he moved, it had been with a certain fluid grace.
A jock, they were sure of that. Just like Mark and his cronies who had always made their life miserable.
Mel hadn’t even gotten his name. They’d been too busy judging him. Maybe that had been a mistake. No, Mel knew it had been. Who were they to judge someone who just came in for coffee?
He’d taken the drink Mel made up and named on the spot just to get a rise out of him, with little more than a laugh. Mark definitely wouldn’t have done that.
Denny was hurrying up to the counter, so Mel shoved the thoughts of that customer away. They could think about it later. Or not at all. Since they probably wouldn’t see him again. Jay came out to relieve them, and Mel hurried over to intercept Denny.
Too late. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Denise practically threw herself against the counter.
“Tell you what?” Mel asked, guiding Denise toward the table where Sonia still sat.
“That Rhys Molson was a customer here,” Denise nearly squealed. She rarely squealed over anything. Unless it was baseball.
“I don’t know who that is,” Mel said, though the name did tickle at something in the back of their head.
Denise gaped at them. “You don’t… He’s the starting catcher for the Deltry Ocelots.
You just served him coffee. I didn’t even see him until he was leaving.
Why didn’t you tell me he was here?” Denise slumped against the table, drawing a few looks from customers and at least one chuckle. “He was my bisexual awakening.”
Mel pinched the bridge of their nose. “You’re barely sixteen. And most girls credit that to another female.”
Denise shrugged one shoulder. “I always knew I liked girls. He was the first time I was attracted to a guy. Those thighs…”
“Okay, that’s enough from my little sister.” Mel caught Denny’s flinch, and remembered how they’d reacted the night before to their mom’s use of ‘girls’. All thoughts of why they might know that name were swept away. “Not sister?” they asked, keeping their voice gentle.
Sonia put her book down and leaned into Denise. Mel wondered if Denny confided in her already. If so, they were glad their younger sibling had someone. And had been able to figure things out easier than Mel had.
Denise ran a finger along the edge of the table. “I don’t know. Is that okay?”
“Of course it is.” Mel said firmly. “You’re barely sixteen. You don’t have to have yourself figured out yet. Even if you were sixty, it would be okay. Do you want me to change how I refer to you?”
“I don’t know,” Denise said again. “Maybe. I don’t like she and her, they feel like slaps. I don’t know what else fits either. And I don’t like my full name. You used to call me Denny. I liked that.”
Sonia still called them that, despite their mom’s many attempts to change that. It was a simple thing. “You have time to figure that out,” Mel told them. “I’ll grab some sandwiches and cold drinks for us. We can talk more.”
“You can tell me all about Rhys. He likes to flirt. Everyone says so. I wish he’d flirt with me.”
“He’s at least ten years older than you, Denny.” As soon as they got a chance, Mel would look this Rhys Molson up. And see how much of a problem this was going to be.
Molson Out on the Town
Rounding the Bases Again
Catting Around Catcher
Each headline made Mel feel a little sicker. Especially when every article included a photo of Rhys with a different woman. Mel knew what men like him were like.
They’d just never been attracted to one of them before.
Well, attraction didn’t mean a damn thing. Mel was attracted to a lot of people, and it didn’t mean they had to act on it. They had enough on their plate right now.
Apparently that included keeping their younger sibling’s heart and faith in humanity intact. Mel knew what it was like to learn your role model wasn’t a decent person. Maybe they couldn’t completely protect Denny from that, but they would do the best they could.
There wasn’t much they could do. So, they finished clocking out instead of thinking about a man who couldn’t be good for them.
Thank god they were rarely more than physically attracted to a cis man. Absolutely nothing for them to worry about here.
They headed to the front of the coffee shop. Frank sent them a look as if he’d realized just what they’d been doing in the back. It didn’t usually take them that long to finish out their shift.
They waved to him and headed over to their sibling’s table. “Come on,” Mel said as they reached the twins. “I need to get over to the center.”
“I still can’t believe you didn’t introduce me to Rhys Molson. ”
Was Denny really still pouting? “I already told you, I didn’t know who he was.” If they had, they still wouldn’t have introduced their impressionable sibling to a player like that. They’d seen enough people like him.
They were not prudish, not even close. They knew a user when they saw one. Someone just like Mark and all his buddies. A freaking jock. They wanted nothing to do with that.
“Just because you have a crush, doesn’t mean Mel has to introduce you,” Sonia said.
“You have a crush,” Denny retorted. “On Roory,” they said, drawing the name out.
“No, I don’t,” Sonia said. “I just like them. That’s different. They’re nice.”
“Rhys is nice too.”
“You don’t know that,” Sonia said. “You’ve never even met him.”
“Yeah,” Denny said darkly. “But I could have.”
After that, Denny was silent as they headed over to the center. Just stared down at their phone, the whole time. Mel wasn’t sure if their sibling had given up on the whole thing or if Denny was still pouting about it.
They had other things to worry about. Like the kid they saw hanging around the corner of the former warehouse turned youth center. Not for the first time, though it might be the closest he’d come so far. Mel put a hand on each of their siblings’ shoulders. “Go inside. I’ll be right there.”
“What’s he doing standing out there?” Denny asked. “Hey, Liam, what do you want with us?”
Sonia nudged her. “You don’t have to be mean to him.”
“I’m not mean,” Denny said. “It was just a question.”
Sonia looked at Liam. “You can come inside.”
Mel watched as the boy, Liam, paled and spun on his heel. Well, damn. “Go inside, you two. I’m going to try to talk to him.”
“What did I do wrong?” Sonia asked, her voice strangled. “I was trying to let him know he’s welcome here.”
That was exactly the problem, from what Mel had been able to gather when Liam did show up. He’d never been welcomed anywhere. He had a lot of hard edges, and Mel thought under it, a lot of fear. They hadn’t quite been able to get through to him yet, not when they tried to take it head on.
“I don’t know why you’d do that,” Denny said. “You know what he’s like at school.”
“I know what you’re like at school, too,” Sonia said. “That doesn’t keep you from being welcome here.”
Mel left them alone as they hurried after Liam.
Maybe their bickering would be over by the time they got back.
But, first… “Damn it,” they swore as they got to the corner.
Liam was already turning the next corner.
No way they would ever catch him. They’d have to let it go for now and hope he returned another day.
He was welcome here, no matter what he might think. If only Mel could find a way to make that clear.