by Kelly Oram
Most of what makes Libby so attractive comes from inside. Oh, she’s got great physical qualities, too—beautiful skin, big bright hazel eyes, lips that make your mouth go dry at the thought of tasting them, and a knockout smile. But more than that, she’s got the fieriest personality of anyone I’ve ever met. She’s got a wicked tongue and a crazy sense of humor. She’s smart, funny, and confident. Or, at least, she was confident before Owen Jackson came along. Since Libby started dating Owen, she’s not the same person she used to be.
I was still festering over the encounter when Libby’s best friend, Avery, came in with her boyfriend and a bunch of her friends from school. All of them looked grim-faced, and the quiet one—Tara—was in tears. “Tough loss?” I asked Avery when she and Grayson came up to the counter.
I’d hired Avery to work at Jo’s about seven months ago. She was my most reliable employee and my favorite person to work with, because she was the only employee younger than me. Sometimes it was hard being a manager over people who were a lot older than me. Imani was tolerable because she liked me, but she was still a mother hen. Avery, on the other hand, had become a real friend, and I didn’t have very many of those.
I scheduled Avery to work with me as often as I could. We almost always worked the Saturday and Sunday morning shifts together, but she’d asked for the day off since her school science team had their big state competition today.
“I wish it were that simple,” Avery said with a sigh. “Brandon and Levi took the third place trophy, and Aiden and I managed an honorable mention.”
I was confused. “That’s good, isn’t it?”
“It’s really good,” Avery agreed. “Which only made it worse for Tara when Libby didn’t show up today and left her on her own. Tara’s so shy that when she had to run her table by herself she freaked out and couldn’t get through her presentation for the judges.”
Harsh. The poor girl. “That sucks.”
Avery nodded. “It was bad. I don’t understand what happened. Libby would never just flake. We’ve been trying to call her all day, and she hasn’t answered. I’m really worried.”
“I’m sure she’s fine, Aves,” Grayson reassured her, tucking her tightly against him. “Her car probably just broke down or something.”
I felt sick to my stomach. I knew Libby was on the science team with Avery, but I hadn’t put the pieces together when I’d seen her before. Avery caught the shift in my mood. “What is it?”
I couldn’t think of a nice way to break it to her. “Libby was just in here, about ten minutes ago with Owen. It sounded like they were, um, pretty busy all day.”
“Oh, no.” All the blood drained from Avery’s cheeks. She pinched her eyes shut and took a couple of deep breaths.
When Avery looked at me again, there was a shiny layer of moisture coating her eyes. This time, instead of wanting to kill Owen, I wanted to shake some sense into Libby. I felt awful for Tara but even worse for Avery, because I knew what it was like to watch someone you love hurt herself. Avery must have seen all the same changes in Libby that I had. Avery was so caring and selfless; she was tearing herself up with worry over her best friend, and Libby didn’t have any idea that she was hurting her.
“Would you do me a favor and not mention that to any of my friends?” Avery asked, once she’d composed herself. “Tara’s been hurt enough for one day.”
“Of course.” I pulled out a plate and pushed a warm scone, fresh from the oven, across the counter to Avery. Then I poured a mug of hot chocolate and piled it high with whipped cream. “For Tara. There’s something about the combination of hot chocolate and deep-fried pastry that makes any situation better.”
Avery took another deep breath, as if attempting to hold back tears, but she managed to smile at me. “You’re the best, Adam.”
As Avery and Grayson joined their friends, I thought about Libby and how much she’d changed over the last year. It started with her clothes, and then for reasons beyond my comprehension, she dyed her hair an obnoxious platinum blonde that looked terrible on her. After that, her attitude and her confidence slowly started changing, too. Now she was thoughtless, selfish, and constantly hurting her friends. I wanted to blame it all on Owen—and I did blame plenty of it on him—but Libby had been the one to screw up today, not Owen. Owen might have been ruining her, but she was letting him.
I liked Libby, but Avery was my friend and I didn’t let people jerk around with my friends. I was going to have to say something to Libby the next time I got the chance. Imani startled me from my thoughts. “Hey, Adam, the delivery truck’s here. Did you want me to take care of it?” She flicked a concerned look toward Avery. “Is everything okay?”
I nodded. “They had a rough day, but they’ll be all right. Avery’s got it handled. I can do the deliveries.”
The delivery guy, Sam, had already unloaded the first set of boxes by the time I made it out the back door with the inventory list. “Hope you’ve got a lot of space cleared,” he said as he pushed a dolly of coffee beans through the door I held for him. “The drop-off’s a lot bigger than normal.”
“Yeah, we’re switching brands of coffee, so we needed everything. Come on back this way. I cleared a spot for it all back in the break room this morning.”
As I reached the break room, I heard a loud moan on the other side of the door that didn’t sound like a cry of pain, if you know what I mean. I swung the door open, and my fear was confirmed. “What the hell!”
“Oh, damn,” Sam said, peering over my shoulder at Libby and Owen in their very compromising, mostly naked positions.
Libby was so startled that she fell off the couch and landed with a soft thud on the floor. “Sorry!” she squeaked as she scrambled to locate her misplaced shirt and bra.
Slapping a hand over my face, partly to keep my temper under control but also to stop myself from staring at parts of Libby I had no right looking at, I took a deep breath. “This isn’t a damn motel.” It was impossible to keep the anger out of my voice. “You both have one minute to get dressed and get the hell out of this store before I call the cops.”
When Owen told me to “Chill, man,” I spun around and stormed out of the room before I got myself fired for assaulting a customer. It didn’t matter that the jackass was almost a foot taller than me and had who-knows-how-many pounds of muscle on me. If he said one more word, I’d do my best to ugly up that pretty face of his.
The door slammed shut behind me, and I grimaced at Sam. He was trying to wipe the grin off his face, but I couldn’t find the humor in the situation. Maybe if it had been anyone but Owen and Libby. “Looks like it’ll be a minute before we can unload,” I said. “You want a cup of coffee or something?”
Sam’s smile finally cracked wide open. “Sure.”
I led him back to the front of the store, where Imani met us with a curious expression. “Imani, could you get Sam whatever he wants?”
“Sure.” She frowned at me, waiting for an explanation, but I was already headed over to the couches in the corner where Avery and her friends were sitting.
Tara sipped from her mug with shaking hands, flanked on either side by Brandon and Levi. “Thanks for the hot chocolate,” she whispered when I arrived.
“Not a problem. Sorry about today.” I glanced at Avery. “Can we talk?”
Seeing the grim look on my face, Avery scrambled to her feet, pulling Grayson up with her. I led them across the shop near the restrooms, and ducked into the small hallway that led to the back of the store. “What’s wrong?” Avery asked.
Her timing was perfect. The words were barely out of her mouth before Libby and Owen tumbled out of the break room, giggling and kissing. They didn’t see us as they crashed against the wall. “The sneaking around in public thing was super hot,” Owen said, just before shoving his tongue in Libby’s mouth again. When he released her from the kiss, he added, “Let’s go somewhere else. What about the movies? It’s the middle of the day. We’ll find an empty theater.”
“You’re in a skirt. We could be discreet.”
Classy. What a douche.
“Libby,” Owen groaned. “We can’t leave things like this.”
I cleared my throat loudly to gain their attention. They snickered again until they realized that Avery and Grayson were standing there with me, gaping at them in shock.
“Avery!” Libby gasped. She pushed Owen off of her and tried to straighten her clothes and hair. “Hey! Hi! I didn’t think you were working. I didn’t see you when we came in.”
Avery’s little hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. “I wasn’t working today. I had other plans. With you. Remember?”
Libby frowned, clearly still forgetting about the science fair. Before Avery could say anything else, Grayson spoke up. “Dude,” he said to Owen. “I thought you had some family thing you had to be at all this weekend.”
“I did,” Owen said. “I mean, I do. I was…we were just…”
“Fornicating in the break room,” I offered when his voice trailed off.
Owen shot me a glare, but he was too embarrassed to want to start anything. His face flamed bright red, and he cringed as he met Grayson’s eyes. Grayson smirked at him. “You could have just told me you wanted to come see Libby this weekend. It’s not like Avery and I don’t know you guys have been dating for almost a year.”
Owen’s blush was so deep his face was almost purple. “We’re not dating,” he muttered. “We’re just…friends.” He cringed again.
As much as I’d been trying to keep a poker face, my eyes doubled in size. Libby had been seeing him for almost a year, and he wouldn’t even admit that they were dating? He wouldn’t even admit it to Avery and Grayson that he hooked up with her? The guy was worse than I thought.
Libby’s shoulders hunched. She glanced at the ground, trying to hide how hurt she was. Seeing her hurt, again, by the jerk, I glared at Owen. “Friends?” I didn’t really have a place in this conversation—I didn’t even really know Owen or Libby, but I couldn’t keep my temper in check any longer. “If you were really her friend you wouldn’t come down here whenever you feel like it, take what you want from her, and then leave again without agreeing to any kind of relationship. You aren’t her friend. You’re just using her.”
Everyone seemed shocked by my outburst, and now Owen was finally pissed enough to make a move toward me. Stepping up to me, he poked his finger into my chest. “This doesn’t concern you, ass wipe. Why don’t you stay out of our business?”
I didn’t budge. He was bigger, but I’d been in my fair share of fights. People underestimated me. “Why don’t you take your business the hell out of this store. And don’t come back, or I’ll call the cops.”
Owen’s hands balled up and so did mine. Grayson pulled Owen back by the shoulder while Avery set her hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, Adam,” she whispered. “I’ll make them leave. I’ll make sure they don’t come back. Grayson, will you take him out the back door?”
Grayson nodded. Flashing me an apologetic smile, he pushed Owen down the hall and out the back door into the alley behind the store.
“Adam, I’m so sorry,” Avery said again.
“What are you sorry about?” Libby snapped. “He’s the one causing the trouble.” She glared at me. “What’s your glitch, anyway? It’s not like we hurt anything.”
Didn’t hurt anything? Libby was too frustrating. Seeing the pain on Avery’s face, I couldn’t let Libby get away with any more of this garbage. I completely lost it. “Right. You didn’t hurt anything. Except your best friend. And your science team. Your partner is out there, sitting on a couch in tears right now, heartbroken because you blew her off today. How do you think she’s going to feel when she realizes she had to drop out of the science fair because you were too busy screwing a douche that doesn’t really care about you to show up?”
All the blood drained from Libby’s face. Slowly, her hand came to her mouth and she covered a small gasp. She whirled around to face Avery, panicking. “Avery…” Her voice cracked from the overwhelming guilt. “I am so sorry. Owen surprised me last night, and I completely forgot.”
Avery finally looked at her—glared at her—with glossy eyes. “We called you all day long.”
Libby winced. “I sort of fell in the hot tub last night. My phone was fried.”
“Tara couldn’t make it through her presentation,” Avery said. “She dropped out of the competition. She’s devastated.”
Libby swallowed so loudly I heard it. She shook her head and whispered, “I screwed up.”
When Avery looked at her shoes, unable to say anything, I responded for her. “Yeah, you did. More than you know.” I was still a mass of barely controlled rage. “Do you know how many health code and safety violations you broke today? How many laws? Do you know what will happen if Sam decides to report what he saw? Jo’s could be put under investigation. There could be all kinds of fines and lawsuits. They could shut this place down.”
“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I won’t do it again.”
“You’re damn right, you won’t. You and your friend are both banned from this store for life. If I see you in here again, I’ll call the cops. I can’t afford to lose my job because some selfish slut likes to get her jollies off in public.”
I knew the words were a mistake the second they escaped my mouth, but it was too late to take them back. I was just so frustrated, and I’d never been good at controlling my temper—especially not when I was angry. But I’d liked Libby Garrett for so many years, and I hated what she was doing to herself. I hated the person she was becoming.
Libby reared back as if my words had slapped her, and her face turned slightly green. I wanted to apologize, but I didn’t know how to when I couldn’t take it back. For all that I’d been hurtful, I’d still spoken the truth.
A heavy silence settled on the three of us, and then Libby spun on her heels and left. I heard the shocked cries of her friends when she wandered out into the front of the store and felt bad for not remembering to make her leave through the back. Tara didn’t need this today.
I glanced at Avery, lifting my brows in question, wondering if we should go out there and mediate that disaster, but Avery wasn’t paying attention to me. She’d leaned up against the wall as if it were the only thing keeping her from collapsing, and hung her head in her hands. When I realized she was crying—like, hard, ugly sobs—I dragged her into the break room.
Adam
Avery plopped down onto the couch and got her sobs down to sniffles. I didn’t know what to do; I’m not great with emotional girls. I’ve only ever spent a lot of time with one girl, my kid sister Kate, and she’s tough as nails. She never cries. “You okay?” I asked, feeling sufficiently helpless. “You want me to go find Grayson for you?”
I grabbed a napkin from the counter and handed it to her. After she wiped her nose, she shook her head. “I’m sure he left with Owen. He’s going to try to talk to him, but I know it won’t do any good. Why would Owen change when he’s getting exactly what he wants? He doesn’t care about Libby. He just uses her, and she refuses to see it. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
She looked up at me through glistening eyes. The devastation on her face was heartbreaking. “I’m so sorry, Adam. I never thought she’d do something like this. I swear I won’t let it happen again. I’ll make sure she doesn’t come back. I’ll even quit if you think I should. I don’t want you to get in trouble. If anyone is responsible for what happened, it’s me. I’ve brought her back here before. She knew this room was here, and that it would work for…” She sucked in a sharp breath. “It’s my fault they came in here.”
I sank down next to her and patted her knee. “It’s not your fault,” I said, even though it wouldn’t make her stop blaming herself. I knew all about taking the blame for other people’s bad choices—I was the king of it. It took me years to learn that I wasn’t responsible for the things other pe
ople did. I wished I knew how to help Avery understand that as well. I could ease her mind about one thing, though. “I don’t think there will be any trouble. I don’t even know if all that stuff about health codes is true. I was just pissed off.”
My brain kept replaying my last words to Libby over and over again. I wouldn’t forget the surprised look of hurt on her face anytime soon. I didn’t think I’d forgive myself for it, either. I released a sigh as heavy as the mood in the room. “I was too hard on her. I freaked out and lost my temper. I’m sorry.”
Avery shook her head. “No. I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. No harm done, anyway. Sam got a good laugh out of it. Honestly, they’re lucky it was me who found them. I almost sent Imani to do the deliveries, and she would have called the cops.”
Avery sighed again. “Thank you for not turning them in.”
“Of course.”
We sat in silence for a minute, both of us de-stressing. I leaned my head on the back of the couch and let my eyes fall shut. This day had exhausted me. I started to drift off until my boss came in, ready to take over for the night shift.
Josiah Medlock is in his early sixties and owns Jo’s Cup o’ Joe. He’s the most soft-spoken, kindhearted man I’ve ever met. He gave me a job when I was fifteen, even though I was a high school dropout. He’s never judged me, and has always shown more faith in me than I deserved.
He made me the store manager last year when I was eighteen, despite the fact that I was his youngest employee at the time. He said it was because I was smart, reliable, hard working, and honest, but I think he just has a soft spot for me because he has an estranged son he never sees.
Over the last four years that I’ve worked for him, he’s watched over my sister and me. He’s become the closest thing to a father either of us has ever had. If there was anyone in the world besides my sister that I truly loved, it was Josiah. “Rough day?” he asked.