by Tia Lewis
Madeline wrapped her knuckles on a stack of books, her face scrunched in its fierceness. “I’m just sayin’.”
“I know you are,” I nodded again.
Quiet agreement was usually the only defense I had against her passionate rants. They were plentiful and aggressive, and I’d learned by the tenth grade to just wait it out.
Madeline huffed and grabbed one of the books, cradling it to her chest. She was a tiny little thing, even smaller than Alana, and though it couldn’t be seen from the opposite end of the counter, she had to stand on a step stool, wearing her favorite booted heels and lipstick like she always did.
Madeline grabbed a roll of sale stickers from the crowded shelf beside her, sitting on the stool she kept by the register and started slapping them on the stacks of hardcovers on the counter. Bookies was open, but she wasn’t in any hurry to kick me out, so I grabbed a couple of stickers to help.
She raised an eyebrow that I pretended not to notice. “Any particular reason you’re not off to work, Jade?”
I shrugged one shoulder. The diner was open—it’d been open for hours, but I just didn’t want to be there. Every day that Grayson didn’t show up was a disappointment, and I didn’t feel like having to deal with all those emotions so early in the morning. So I slipped out after making two dozen or so pancakes so I could hang out with Madeline and bring her some coffee and muffins.
“Jade?”
I grabbed an armful of stickered books and pointed toward the empty round table she usually had stacked with new releases. “This going over there?”
Madeline recognized my avoidance tactics and opened her mouth before closing it, pursing her lips expertly, and nodded. I walked over, neatly arranging them in nice little stacks.
The little radio was still playing morning talk shows, so reminiscent of AM radio that I nearly chucked it out the window. I hated talk shows, but Madeline loved them; it was one of the biggest rifts in our friendship. She laughed at one of the jokes the radio host said, and I grumbled under my breath. My brain cells were dying at an alarming rate, and I wanted nothing more than for her to turn the shit off.
Once I had all the books situated how I wanted them, I leaned on the counter, holding my chin up with my hands. Madeline ignored me and continued scribbling on a clipboard. From the angle I was at, it looked pretty official.
“Are you just drawing doodles since you don’t want to work?”
“Me? Never!”
We ran our businesses differently, and nothing amused me more than to watch her lazily walk about.
I watched her, and though one of her eyebrows was raised, she said nothing. She just rolled her eyes at another pun from the radio.
“When did we meet, again, Jade?”
“High school.” I stood straight, stretching my arms above my head and yawning. “You wore those God awful yellow gauchos every day.”
“I looked fly as hell,” she snapped, throwing the clipboard on the counter to cross her arms. Her lips twitched as she fought back her grin. “And like you looked any better?”
I sighed and nodded. “Too true.”
“But in all that time,” she hopped off her stool and frowned up at me, not seeming to care that she fell too short to actually hold any sort of intimidating stance. “You’ve gotten absolutely no better at lying.”
I groaned, not wanting to tell her why I was avoiding the diner, or rather, who I was trying to avoid. The nerves in my stomach were distracting enough—the little pinpricks and bees all swarming around inside me. If Madeline only knew, she’d make me tell her all about the brief meetings over and over again until I was willing to introduce her. She wouldn’t let up either, not until she got what she wanted.
But how was I supposed to introduce her to someone I barely knew?
Shit.
I had to tell her something, otherwise, she wouldn’t let up until she got some news which was worthy of me trying to avoid the diner.
Madeline bounced a bit, garnishing pleasure from making me squirm. “Just tell me,” she whined.
I sighed and shook my head, trying to clear the nerves that had raced up my body.
As my lips parted, I was interrupted.
Thank God.
The shop’s doors swung open, and a group of college kids made their way in, exclaiming how swanky the place looked.
Madeline’s gaze flickered between the customers and me, as I pushed away from the counter, saluting at her with a grin. “See you later!”
“Jade!” she hissed under her breath, but one of the kids was pointing toward a book on the shelf in front of her, effectively assuring that she wouldn’t be able to stop me from leaving.
“See you at home!” I called, slipping out of the door before it slammed shut from the group of kids. I could practically hear her mind screaming from outside of the building.
It was a bit chilly outside, but the weather was nice, and I liked to feel the wind swirl around and against me. I liked the crispness in the winter air. It woke me up just as well as any cup of coffee would.
I let out a desperate sigh. As fun as avoiding work was, I didn’t really have any other excuse to hang outside of Bookies. It would be lunchtime soon enough, and I should be there to help out and make sure that things ran smoothly. I shoved my hands into my pockets and turned toward the diner, rounding a bit too quickly with my head still tucked down and my gaze still set on the pavement, which turned out to be a huge mistake.
My eyes fluttered open to the soft blue sky before I’d even realized I’d fallen. My chest was wet and hot, and my back ached from slamming into the hard concrete.
“Oh, my God!” Two hands shot out and wrapped around mine, pulling me up. The grip was strong, and I was on my feet before I could recognize the person who I’d collided with.
Grayson Sparling stood in front of me, his eyes wide as his fingers wrapped tightly around mine. I nearly fell again. I was a fucking klutz around this guy.
His eyes darted about, eyeing me up and down, inspecting me for some injury. His grip tightened, and his gaze lingered on my face. “Diner girl. I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.” His hands were warm, and I had a hard time looking away from how perfectly rugged they were. The contrast of his darker skin against my pale wrists and forearms was a lovely sight, and if his face weren’t so appealing, I would’ve easily never looked away.
Grayson
I’d been wanting to see my green-eyed waitress again, but I didn’t expect to run into her quite so literally. “Diner girl. I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there, I was rushing to get to—” I drew in a deep breath, dropped my hands to my side, realizing I’d been probably holding her a tad too long.
“Rushing to where?”
“Funny, really. I was on my way to your diner.”
I could see her swallow hard, then clear her throat a few times before she could find her voice. “Well, I was on my way there, too.”
My lips turned down when I realized I’d ruined her shirt. “Let me get that cleaned for you, or we can stop at a store, and I can buy you a whole new one.”
She glanced down at the coffee stain on her shirt. “Don’t worry, I’m used to it. I think all my clothes have at least one coffee stain, or three.” She chuckled.
My brow perked and her cheeks turned red. It was a rather awkward moment, seeing as how we were both headed to the same place and we needed to decide whether or not we should walk together. It was an easy decision for me, but after spilling coffee all over her, she might not be as amenable to the idea.
“We can walk together—or?”
“Or, what?”
“Or, I guess I could walk five steps behind you the whole way there.”
“That would be a little creepy.”
I chuckled. “I guess it would. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to walk with me.”
“I don’t have to do anything. But I’d like to walk with you.”
“So, you’re sassy no matter what time of da
y it is?”
She shrugged and shot me a wink. “Pretty much.” Her cheeks flushed a bit further, but her embarrassment ebbed enough to lessen the tension between us.
“My apartment’s on the way,” she announced. “I’ll just stop and change before I go to the diner.”
“You’d be okay with a stranger walking you to your apartment?” The tension that had tightened around my shoulders relaxed a bit.
“You’re not exactly a stranger.”
“I’m Grayson, by the way. I don’t think we were properly introduced.”
“I know.” She flipped her hair and headed down the sidewalk, leaving me standing alone.
I jogged behind her to catch up, then laid my hand on her shoulder. “And you’re Jade.”
She glanced over at my hand. “Presumptuous, aren’t we?”
I pulled my hand away. I’d never met a woman who wasn’t keen to my advances. I mean fuck, I’m Grayson fucking Sparling.
“So, no last name?”
“Hunter. Jade Hunter.”
“Pleasure to finally meet you, Jade Hunter.”
She didn’t reply. Instead, she sank her teeth into her bottom lip to curb her smile, scrunching her nose as if she were concentrating on something difficult.
She was being adorably cute, and I couldn’t help but inch closer to her. I was stunned by the feeling radiating from the air billowing around us. I shoved my hands into my pockets, grinning back at her. If I’d left them out, I would’ve probably touched her hand, creeping her the fuck out.
“So, shall we?” I asked, taking a step forward.
We’d barely made it halfway down the sidewalk before my steps stuttered and I slunk back until we were walking side by side.
“I don’t know where you live,” I said, grinning. “Probably shouldn’t be the lead.”
“You usually are, aren’t you?” She winced as the words left her mouth. “I mean, in the movies.”
I rolled my eyes, “Yeah, I guess I usually am—in the movies, though.”
I almost crossed the street when I should’ve turned left, but she gently grabbed my elbow, leading me in the right direction. Again, pinpricks danced where our skin met.
“Sorry. There I go, trying to lead again.”
“I like when you lead.”
I perked my brows, enticed by her innuendo.
“Your movies, I mean.”
Her cheeks turned pink. I was amused by her insecurity coupled with her sass. I couldn’t quite grasp what kind of girl she was. Playful? Cheeky? Meek? No, she wasn’t meek. Either way, she intrigued me like no one else, and I’d be damned if I was going to let her off the hook without letting me in to find out more.
“I didn’t peg you for the romance type,” I said.
She shrugged. “In life? Or—”
“Movies. I meant movies.”
“Oh.” She laughed.
“What’s your favorite, though?”
She stopped walking, pulling her keys from her pocket. “This is me,” she said, unlocking the door. “Action movies, I guess.”
She opened the door and went inside the complex. I hesitated as to whether I should follow her or not, raising an eyebrow as I waited for an invitation.
“Are you coming in?”
The tension in my face left as I took my first step into her complex.
“Which is yours?”
“Three,” she gestured toward the door.
I headed over and leaned against the doorframe, waiting for her to unlock it. Her hands trembled a bit under my stare, the keys almost slipping from between her fingers.
Jade
I opened the door, nodding my head for him to enter. He pushed himself off the wall and shot me a dauntlessly appealing smile as he walked into the apartment.
“Why action movies?” he asked.
I followed in after him, stopping short in the doorway. Grayson Sparling was standing in my living room, and I needed to take a moment to enjoy that surreal fact.
I suddenly felt ashamed that the apartment wasn’t glamorous; if anything, it was just a few pegs up from an abandoned warehouse.
We had limited old furniture, and all of our décor was just off season holiday decorations. There were Christmas lights, and fake jack-o-lanterns, courtesy of Madeline’s eclectic tendencies, strung across the walls. Our only quality possession was a very tall pile of DVDs, a book collection, and a pretty decent kitchen.
Grayson, however, probably didn’t decorate his house with Dollar Tree Halloween décor, and he probably hadn’t been using the same futon since he was nineteen. Although I was well aware of the rule not to keep your furniture for more than ten years because of dust mites, I always felt as though it never applied to me, and even though I really liked my apartment, standing in it with someone like Grayson made it feel quite inadequate—dirty—embarrassing.
Eyeing him as he moved around, I clenched my hand around the edge of the door, digging my fingernails into the wood while he ran his knuckles across the wall as his eyes flickered across the pictures hanging side by side.
“Hmm.” My hand fell from the door as my nerves pooled in my gut.
After a few moments, he turned with a wide grin plastered across his face before throwing himself onto the futon.
“Well?” I closed the door, tentatively taking a step inside the room.
“I like it,” he declared.
My muscles relaxed a bit, but my eyes still rolled. I didn’t know what it was about this man that brought the sass out from depths I didn’t even know existed, but there it was—eye rolling and snappy comebacks, spewing at every turn. “Well, who asked you, anyway? I’m going to go change.”
His deep laughter followed me as I stomped toward my room, fighting back my own urge to smile.
Even from the other end of the hall and through a door, I could hear his boots shuffling against the floor, and the creaking of the futon’s frame as I quickly ripped my shirt off and redressed in the first thing I found hanging in my closet.
I raced out of the room so quickly the door slammed hard on its hinges, punching a hard sound through the small apartment.
Grayson jumped up from the futon. “What happened?”
I looked around the room sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I’m ready to go if you are?”
He inched slowly toward me, making my skin tingle from his proximity.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the freckles adorning his face, forgetting to breathe for a few seconds.
My eyes narrowed as I sucked in a deep breath to keep from passing out.
He stepped closer yet, and grazed the hem of my shirt, running the material between his fingers before nodding. “I approve.”
He took a step back, away from me, flashing me a satisfied smirk
“I don’t remember asking,” I said eventually, the words crawling out in a whisper.
He smiled. “No, I suppose you didn’t.”
I stood close enough to smell the cologne on his body, but not quite close enough to have an actual moment. He looked at me, his eyes flickering from my boobs to my eyes, and back down to my hips and legs like I was some kind of meat he was eyeing at the market. I bit my lower lip, trying to hold back my anxiety ridden sexual tension. I needed to interrupt the moment before it went somewhere I wasn’t quite ready for—or was I? “I guess I should get to work.” I didn’t want to leave, but the room was getting too thick to breathe and I really ought to get to work. “How long are you in town?”
His eyes narrowed, considering me. “Why, do you want to see me again?”
“Me?” I stepped back.
“Yes, you.” He tapped my finger with his. I could’ve died right there.
Grayson
My eyes narrowed on her cheeks, as I regarded the question, running my fingers through my hair, pulling the strands in an even more disarrayed position, before cocking my head. “Three months.”
“Three months?” she queried.
“I have three
months in town.”
“That’s nice,” she replied nonchalantly.
I nodded. “Loads of time for…” I trailed off, shrugging.
She tilted her head to the side. “For anything, really.”
My gaze softened, and a small smile pulled at the left corner of my mouth. “For many more late breakfasts?”
“Is that what they call it these days?”
I laughed. “Yeah, I wouldn’t know.”
“Oh, but I think you would.”
I wondered what her hair would feel like beneath my fingers, and if she liked coffee or tea, or if she had a favorite subject in school? It seemed like my thoughts could either slam to a halt or skid furiously from one thing to another and pretty much nothing in between in her presence. It nearly hurt my head to flop between.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she quickly silenced it without checking. She sighed. “I need to get to the diner.” I wanted to tell her that I wished she didn’t have to go, wanting to spend the rest of the day getting to know her better, but I didn’t protest, I just sighed as I watched her move toward the door. Unfortunately, my mind and body weren’t in sync, and my hand shot out, wrapping my fingers around her arm, pulling her back to me—crashing her into my chest. Her soft curves complimented my hard plains perfectly. I tilted my head down to gaze at her sweet lips.
I could feel the tiny breaths of anxiousness escaping her, making her cheeks flush.
“Are you embarrassed?”
“More like in uncharted waters.”
“How is it that a beautiful woman like you has never been pursued like this?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as forward as you.”
“Well, then, you’ve only met boys.”
My hand moved up her arm, sliding over her elbow and closing around her shoulder, lighting squeezing before my fingers ran over the exposed skin of her neck.
Jade
My legs nearly buckled underneath me. My arms shot out, wrapping around his waist.
Before I knew it, his lips descended, capturing mine, in a fast and quick motion. It was as sudden as fire, and before I could fall into the moment any further, it was over.