Why You Shouldn't Lend A Bad Boy Your Clothes

by Philline Harms

  “Sorry,” he said in a surprisingly deep voice. “You must be…Julius?”

  “Jules,” I said, chuckling a little despite myself.

  He scrunched up his nose and held one hand out for me to shake. “Sorry…again. I’m Darryl, the manager. You’re probably asking yourself how the hell I got that position right now and honestly, so do I…Anyway, come in!”

  I walked past him into the tiny office, looking at the small desk that was cramped with empty coffee cups, houseplants, and papers. The rest of the room was occupied by shelves filled with all kinds of books about coffee plantations and all that.

  Darryl was standing in the doorway, still looking a little embarrassed. “Uhm, do you want anything? Coffee?”

  “Only if it isn’t inconvenient,” I said politely.

  Darryl stopped me with the wave of his hand and shouted something over his shoulder. Then he turned back around to me, closed the door behind him, and crossed the room to sit down behind the desk.

  “So, Jules…What makes you want to work at Starbucks?”

  In the midst of my speech about how much I loved coffee and Starbucks and working with people, the door opened, and Red entered, her boots clacking loudly against the floor. I grinned gratefully at her as she simply shoved a few documents off Darryl’s desk and set a cup of my favorite coffee down in front of me. She winked at me and left quickly, not without her hand lightly grazing Darryl’s shoulder in passing.

  Once the door fell shut behind her, I looked back at Darryl, who was still gazing at the door.

  “She’s impossible, isn’t she?” he muttered and finally focused his attention on me again.

  I shrugged, sipping my coffee. “I think she’s pretty amazing.”

  Darryl laughed, showing dimples. “I know she is. So, when would you like to start working here?”

  It took a few seconds for me to grasp what he just said. “You mean…I can…I’m hired?”

  Darryl nodded, looking amused by my surprise. “Yeah. You’re by far the most promising out of all the applicants…Besides, Jade would have my head if I turned you down.”

  “Oh, uh…thanks. I can start working anytime really. I don’t mind. It’s not like I have any hobbies anyway,” I said, still slightly in shock.

  “Okay…Then how about next Monday at four? That’s when Jade is here, too.”

  I nodded happily. “That’s perfect.”

  “Alright. Let’s get the paperwork over with then,” Darryl said.

  Fifteen minutes later, I was officially hired and leaving the office.

  As soon as Red saw me, she stormed towards me with a curious expression. “So?”

  “I got the job,” I said and laughed as Red hugged me tightly, squeezing all the air out of me despite her size.

  “I knew it,” she squealed when she finally let go, still beaming at me.

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “Of course you did. Since when are you together with—”

  “I’m not together with him!” She protested, then reconsidered. “Well, maybe a little. You know me. I like my men how I like my coffee—”

  “If your next words are hot and black, I’m going to slap you,” I said, hiding a grin.

  She shut her mouth and stuck her tongue out at me, her tongue piercing flashing for a second.

  “What did you give him to make him hire me?” I laughed.

  Red shook her head. “I didn’t do anything. That’s all on you. I mean, perhaps I let your name drop in a few conversations, but…” She shrugged casually while wiping over the counter with a rag. “Anyways, Darryl is cute though, isn’t he?”

  “He’s not really my type.”

  Red heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, I know. Your type is dark-haired sex god who spends all day keeping up his bad boy reputation and smirking mysteriously.” Before I could start wondering how the hell she knew all that, she said, “Your boyfriend is over there. He’s been staring at you longingly for the past five minutes.”

  I could feel my cheeks heat up immediately and looked over at Hunter, who was sitting all by himself. He was slouching in his chair, hair falling in his face. Right now, he looked utterly disinterested, but I could see the corner of his mouth quirking up when we locked eyes. Seconds later, he rose to his feet and made his way towards us.

  I swallowed and looked back at Red. “Hunter’s not my boyfriend.”

  “What do you mean? Why else would he be here waiting for you?”

  “Because I asked him to pick me up?”

  Red cracked up laughing at that, rolling her eyes. “Jules, if Hunter really is the player you described him as, he wouldn’t just…obey like that. Believe me, he’s—”

  Before she could finish her sentence, Hunter reached us, and she broke off and smiled at him instead.

  I grinned up at Hunter when he came to a stop next to me, standing so close our arms were brushing. “How did it go?”

  “I got the job,” I said happily, watching as Hunter’s face lit up. Then I pointed at Red. “Jade, this is Hunter. Hunter, this is Jade, my—”

  “Wife.” She finished, smiling sweetly.

  Hunter turned around to me with a put-on scowl. “I’m scandalized! All along, I was hoping you liked me when you were cheating on me with a tattooed Starbucks goddess?”

  “Did you just flirt with us both…with only one sentence?” Red asked slowly, looking almost impressed. “Fuck, you’re good.”

  Hunter laughed, delighted. “Why, thank you.”

  I snorted, rubbing my temples. Hunter’s attention immediately was back on me.

  “Do you still have a headache?”

  Surprised by his concerned look, I nodded. “Yeah. I always get them when I’m stressed.”

  Hunter considered this, then he said to Red, “Well, it was nice meeting you. Jules and I should probably head home now.”

  I didn’t really know why Hunter was so eager to leave all of a sudden, but then I just shrugged and hugged Red. “Bye. See you for our first shift together!”

  She laughed, breaking away from me. “Yep. You two have fun!” When I walked past her, I suddenly heard her whispering in my ear, “Go get some.”

  I didn’t turn around to her. Instead, I flipped her off behind my back, and her laughter followed us outside.

  “So she’s the reason why you love going to Starbucks so much?” Hunter asked with a cheeky grin when we sat in his car.

  “Yeah, right.” I snorted. “We both know that I’m not into…that stuff.”

  “That stuff meaning girls?” Hunter laughed as he swiftly merged into the traffic.

  “You know that answer,” I growled.

  “True,” he said, unfazed. “Red is pretty hot though.”

  He was probably right about that, though hot wasn’t on the list of adjectives I would use to describe her. It was true; she looked pretty, especially today. Her vibrant red hair had been tied to a bun, and a few curls framed her face. Her green cat-like eyes and a few freckles stood out in her pale face. She was curvy, and her arms were covered in tattoos. Of course, I acknowledged all of that, but I never thought of her in a way I’d think of Hunter. And for some reason, it bothered me a lot that Hunter had apparently been checking her out.

  I felt the smile fading from my face and quickly turned my head to look out of the window and hide my grumpy expression.

  Hunter chuckled quietly. “Don’t worry. She’s nowhere near as hot as you.”

  Rolling my eyes at him, I muttered, “You don’t have to say that, you know.”

  He looked at me, amused by my sulking. “I mean it.” He laughed and rested his hand on my knee. “Somehow you’re even hotter when you’re jealous.”

  Against my will, my cheeks flushed, but I didn’t look away. “Stop being so smug. Of course, I get jealous when you shamelessly flirt with other people! You would, too,” I muttered.

  “Jules, if there’s one person who has absolutely no need to get jealous, it’s you,” he said, smiling to himself, and pu
lled up on the driveway in front of his house. When he saw me looking at him with a confused frown, he explained. “I thought we could hang out a little longer at mine…in private.”

  I wasn’t sure if I imagined the suggestive tone in his voice when he said the last part or not, but something about it made my heart leap.

  I followed him silently up to the big house where he unlocked the front door and let me enter before him. The only time I had been inside here was when I brought him home after he got plastered at the party, so now was the first time that I saw the house in the light of day. The entrance area was bright and open, and all throughout the house, the walls were painted in shades of white, and light furniture was everywhere. The interior didn’t seem cold though, thanks to the many paintings and house plants.

  Hunter turned around to me with a grin as soon as the door fell shut behind us and pulled me closer with his hands locked behind my neck. I gasped in surprise, taken aback by the sudden proximity of our bodies, even though I had somewhat expected it. Since we tried to keep our weird relationship as low-key as possible at school—obviously, they knew there was something between us after the whole video-incident, but I didn’t want to feed the rumors even more—we could barely hold back when we were in private.

  Hunter kissed me as if it was everything he had been thinking about all day. While his mouth was expertly driving me insane, his body pressed harder against mine until I could feel his heart beating fast against my chest through the fabric of our shirts. My hands were clinging to his shoulders, desperate to get more of him, even though I had no idea how we could possibly get any closer.

  Hunter was the first to break away. To see his cheeks reddened and his eyes wide was somehow weirdly satisfying.

  “Sorry.” He laughed breathlessly. “I need to stop attacking you like that every time we’re alone.”

  “You need to stop apologizing every time,” I retorted. “Do I honestly look like I mind?”

  Hunter shook his head, grinning. Then he asked, more serious now, “Do you still have a headache?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

  Instead of answering, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen. While he was rummaging through one of the cupboards, I sat down on one of the counters, watching him curiously. My breath hitched when he turned around to me, and I saw what he was holding in his hands. For a second, I felt like I was going to throw up.

  “I’ve got some Advil. Maybe it’ll hel—” Whatever he saw in my eyes made him stop. “Jules, are you okay?”

  I forced myself to breathe slowly and tightly gripped the edge of the counter, my knuckles white against the wooden surface. It was an overreaction, and I knew it, but the memories and images swirling through my head once again made it impossible for me to stay calm. I should have laughed it off, said something, anything, but all I could do was swallow the lump in my throat, my eyes still fixed on the pills in Hunter’s hand.

  Hunter carefully set them down and walked up to me. I looked away, only now realizing that my eyes were tearing up, and I wiped my face with my sleeve.

  “Hey…What is it?” he asked.

  His voice sounded awfully concerned, and when I finally looked up at him, I saw that the expression on his face was guilt. As if this was his fault.

  “Sorry,” I said and cringed at the way my voice was shaking. I cleared my throat and tried again, faintly this time. “I…sorry. I’m not…I don’t know why—”

  “You don’t have to explain,” Hunter said softly and stepped closer.

  It was an impulse, something completely irrational. But somehow, as soon as he was within reach, I pulled him closer, burying my face in the crook of his neck. At first, Hunter stood frozen in shock, then he wrapped his arms around me, lightly caressing my back while I tried to calm my breathing and held onto him for dear life.

  “Shh, you’re okay. It’s alright…” he whispered into my ear, his voice a steady murmur that was strangely soothing. “Calm down, Jules. You’re fine. You hear me? Everything’s okay.”

  Nothing’s okay, I wanted to shout. It hasn’t been for years. But all that came out was a shallow breath.

  It took a solid ten minutes for me to pull myself together. Hunter held me tightly the entire time, whispering quiet reassurances until I finally let go of him.

  “Sorry,” I murmured again, staring down at the floor.

  Hunter gently took hold of my chin. For a moment, I was scared he might tilt my face upward and force eye contact like he sometimes did, and right now, there was too much raw emotion evident in my eyes, feelings I usually kept guarded. To my relief, he didn’t. Instead, he lightly traced his thumb over the outline of my lips.

  “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to,” Hunter said quietly. “I just need to know if you’re alright. Are you?”

  I exhaled a deep breath and finally looked up at him. “I’m okay, really. Just give me a moment.”

  Hunter looked slightly relieved and nodded with a reassuring smile. Then he turned around and walked over to the cupboard, quickly putting the Advil away and out of my sight. Shortly afterward, he took something else out, making a triumphant noise.

  Showing me a small bottle, he asked, “Is it okay if I touch you?”

  I nodded, surprised that he was sensitive enough to ask. Usually, I hated being touched after a breakdown, but this was different. Something about the softness in Hunter’s face made me believe that this could actually help.

  Hunter carefully dropped some of the liquid to his two fingers on each hand. I winced when his cold fingers suddenly touched my face. Hunter immediately stilled when he saw my reaction, ready to pull his hands away.

  “What is it?” he asked worriedly.

  The concerned look on his face was definitely something I had seen too many times today, so I let a shy little laugh slip past my lips.

  “Nothing. Just cold.”

  Hunter nodded, clearly relieved, and began to slowly rub circles onto my temples, moisturizing them with whatever was on his hands. I inhaled deeply when I recognized the scent of lavender.

  He nodded encouragingly. “Lavender oil. Inhale some more. It has a soothing effect. And it helps against headaches.”

  I closed my eyes, letting the rhythmic massaging of his fingers calm me down. “How do you know all that?”

  “My grandma used to know a lot about herbs and essential oils. When my sister and I were little, those were the only things she’d treat us with when we were sick. It really does help.”

  “You have a sister?” I asked, surprised, and peeked at him through half-closed eyes.

  A tender smile tugged at his lips as he said, “Yeah. Olivia. She’s two years older than me. She moved out last year to go to Stanford.”

  “Stanford?” I asked. “She must be incredibly intelligent then.”

  “Oh, she is. A model student, bookworm, smartass…She’s pretty much the exact opposite of me.” He laughed.

  I was surprised to find that I was smiling too. Maybe it really was because of the lavender oil, or maybe it was because of Hunter. The fact was that I was feeling way better already, which was unusual after an episode. My shoulders had relaxed, and my hands were laying still in my lap while Hunter was applying the oil to my temples with feather-light touches that sent shivers down my spine.

  Without thinking twice, I took hold of both his wrists, and while Hunter was still about to say something, I kissed him softly. I felt him smiling against my lips when I opened my mouth to grant his tongue entrance.

  I squealed and instinctively wrapped my legs around him when he picked me up and off the counter. Instead of putting me down like I had expected, he carried me out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and to his room.

  “What are you doing? Hunter, you’re going to break your back or something! Put me down!” I whined.

  Hunter just rolled his eyes at me and said, slightly out of breath, “Jules, you’re a flyweight. I carried heavier things than you.”


  I huffed but rested my head against his shoulder while he walked into his room. “Poser,” I muttered under my breath but apparently, still loud enough for him to hear.

  A mischievous grin lit up his face. He pushed the door close behind him with his foot and finally let me down, only to push me up against the door, trapping my body beneath him.

  “What did you say?”

  “Nothing,” I replied with a grin, putting two hands to his chest to push him away.

  He didn’t budge an inch. The only reaction I got out of him was a sinister smirk. “You’re pretty sassy for someone who’s caught here all alone with me…”

  Coming from somebody else, these words would’ve made me panic instantly, but right now, all I did was raise an eyebrow at him.

  “What are you trying to do, scare me?”

  Hunter didn’t reply to my question. Instead, he said, “I wonder if you’re ticklish…on your neck?”

  Before I even got the chance to answer, his lips were on my neck all of a sudden, grazing the skin right above my Adam’s apple.

  I immediately shivered and narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s not fair!”

  “I never said I played fair.” He chuckled and locked eyes with me as he leaned closer again, placing a lingering kiss right below my left ear.

  I broke away, startled as a strange, wanton noise escaped my mouth. Blushing, I slapped a hand over my mouth. The grin on Hunter’s face was even brighter than the shade of red on my cheeks.

  He lifted my hand away from my mouth and pinned it over my head, along with my other wrist. Then asked quietly, “Is that okay?”

  When I didn’t react right away, he flicked a look at my hands that he was holding above me. I made a vaguely approving noise and tipped my chin up in silent invitation.

  Hunter looked at me for a moment before he leaned in again, gently biting down on the exact same spot that had caused me to moan earlier. This time, I didn’t try to stifle the sound. Instead, my eyes fluttered shut, and I leaned my head against the wall behind me.