Just One Moment: A Black Alcove Novel

by Jami Wagner

“I know what I said. That was before I knew she had no respect for other people’s belongings.”

  “You really think she did it?”

  “She was standing right here.” My hands go palm up. “In this very spot when I got off work last night. Who else could it be?”

  “Bummer, I was really hoping we could do this double date and best friend couples thing.”

  “That’s your concern right now?”

  “Well, I sure don’t think she did it. I’m sorry, man, but Sky doesn’t seem like the type to break and enter.”

  “Well, I didn’t think so either, but then again I didn’t know she was homeless.”

  “Sky is homeless?”

  His shocked expression confirms my suspicion: no one knew she was sleeping in the park. This may not have been the first time she’s done something like this.

  Skylar

  “Tell me everything,” Alex says. “How did you end up with Luke last night?” A half-grin appears on her lips.

  Oh, this girl is confused.

  “Not in the way you’re hoping right now.”

  She frowns.

  “If I tell you the truth, will you promise not to act different around me?”

  “I’ll promise to try,” she says.

  I open my mouth to get the next words out when I hear “homeless” practically yelled outside. Sounds like Luke wants to make sure everyone knows the worst of me. I better get my side out to at least one person before he makes me look worse than last night already has.

  “I heard someone breaking in because I was sleeping in the park because I didn’t have any money to stay in the motel again last night.”

  Her brows dip together.

  “I have no money, and until Mrs. Warren offered me the room upstairs, I didn’t have a place to live. Homeless, I believe, is what people call it.”

  Her arms wrap so hard and so tight around me, I fear for a moment my ribs might snap. When I grunt in an effort to catch my breath, she lets go.

  “I always knew something was up. You couldn’t seriously do yoga in the park every morning.”

  I laugh. “I’ve actually never done yoga in the park.”

  Alex forces a smile, but it doesn’t last long. “Why didn’t you tell anyone? Or at least me and Beth?”

  I shrug. “I thought about it, but I still don’t know what I’m going to do or where I’ll end up, so I didn’t want to keep track of a fake story.”

  “Yeah, but how did you become homeless?” Her hand slaps to her mouth the moment she says the last word. “I’m so sorry, that was totally out of line.”

  “It’s okay. I just don’t want many people to know, so if you promise to keep it between us, it might actually be nice to tell someone.”

  “All ears. I won’t tell a soul.”

  “I’m from Seattle where my father is a very in demand lawyer. Last I knew he was working on some kind of deal—I don’t know specifics because, according to Maxwell Atwood, women aren’t meant for the office. But the only way it would go through was if I married the son of the family he was negotiating with. I didn’t want that, and my father told me if I didn’t marry, he’d cut me off. So I left and here I am. Told the guy at the bus station to pick a place, and this is where it got me.”

  “Wow.”

  Not exactly the reaction I was going for when I revealed the summary version of my screwed up past, but it always shocks me when I think about it too, I guess.

  “So, you have money, you just don’t want it?”

  “Not if I didn’t earn it.”

  “Huh, that’s interesting, and I think we should come back to this, but first, can I help you with anything? I still have some stuff in my brother’s garage from when I moved out of my place and into Conner’s. If you need furniture, you can have it.”

  I start nodding immediately. When Mrs. Warren brought me up here last night, I wasn’t exactly disappointed to see only a bed and a closet with a few sets of sheets, but I really did think there would be at least a chair or a table.

  “That would actually be great, but only until I can save up enough money to buy my own.”

  “Don’t be silly, you—”

  “Alex, I came here to start my own life by making my own way. This is definitely a bump in the road, but I can’t take handouts from everyone.”

  She stares at me a moment, her lips popping out. “All right, you can pay me later for whatever you decide to use. So go shower and change and we can head to Logan’s. He’ll be so excited to have his garage back.”

  “Okay, I just need to go by the gym. That’s where all my stuff is.”

  “You don’t have anything with you?” she asks.

  “Just what’s in my backpack,” I say. Crud. “It’s fine. Please don’t cry. Let’s go.”

  “Go where? You’re supposed to be cleaning this up. You know, the mess you made,” Luke says as he steps back inside the store.

  “Seriously, guy, let it go.”

  “It’s Luke, not guy.”

  He crosses his arms in front of me as he plants his feet in the doorway. His arms are large and firm, and I can see the veins popping out of them. His brown shirt is caught on his belt, revealing that his jeans hang low on his hips in what I’ve always thought was the sexiest way. “Luke, she needs to shower and change. Don’t be so mean,” Alex says behind me.

  “I—” he begins.

  “Just hurry back. I’ll stay to help until we have to leave for class in an hour,” Conner suggests.

  “Fuck,” Luke growls, his fingers practically pulling the hair off his head. “I forgot about class today.”

  “Actually, we need you to help us, Conner,” Alex says quietly. “We’re going to get some furniture from Logan’s for Sky’s new apartment, and you will probably have to do most of the lifting.”

  “No, no, no.” Luke shakes his head. I don’t miss the way his hands clench before they rest on his hips. “This takes top priority, and that apartment is temporary.”

  “That’s not what your mom said.” I cross my arms and mimic his stance. Luke’s nostrils flare as his eyes never stray from mine.

  “Luke, man,” Conner steps up and puts a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll still help you when I get back.”

  “Me too,” Alex adds.

  Luke’s gaze doesn’t soften. His eyes slowly move down my body and back up. The intensity radiating off of them actually makes me step back.

  “We’ll all go and get back sooner,” he says to Conner.

  “But what about class? I would like to help, but I’d also like to get this stupid degree before I turn fifty,” Conner says.

  “We’ll get everything moved before class,” he says to Conner and then points at me. “No more excuses to get out of taking responsibility for your actions.”

  “Yes, sir,” I spit out, saluting him and walking through the door without letting him get in another word.

  “Luke isn’t normally like this.” Alex rushes out behind me. “He’s actually one of the kindest guys I know besides Conner.”

  “Could have fooled me,” I say, avoiding eye contact with her. My heart is thumping loudly, and my fingers are beginning to shake. Luke’s nailing every nerve I have with insults. I won’t stand for it.

  “I’ve also never seen him so worked up before.” There is a hint of humor in her voice. “You must bring out a whole new side of him.”

  That makes two of us.

  “The guy seriously thinks I vandalized his store. He can’t speak to me this way forever. Today, yeah, he’s still fuming off last night. I’ll give him that. But sooner or later, he’ll have to change his attitude. Especially when he figures out that it wasn’t me.”

  “I agree. Let’s make a plan to prove him wrong,” she says.

  “I don’t have to prove anything to him.”

  “Okay, maybe not prove, but you could help him figure out who really did it, and perhaps you two could eventually be friends.”

  I stop, twisting to face her.<
br />
  That’s a brilliant idea.

  I’m done allowing people use me or treat me like I’m not worth enough. I’m not taking the fall for the person who did this, and I damn well deserve to be treated with respect from Luke. The friends part, though? I don’t think that will ever happen.

  I climb inside the back of Conner’s truck as we wait for the guys to join us. Luke slams his door closed when he gets in and then glares at me though the rearview mirror. He doesn’t speak the entire drive. Not even when Alex tries to include him in conversation. I want to kick the back of his chair like a little kid right now, but I also want to laugh because he is more worked up than anyone I have ever met.

  I should remind him that he only gets one life, and I hope he chooses to not act like this forever. But then he glares at me again so I don’t say a single word. I have more important things to worry about than what choices he makes in life. I have a vandal to find with no idea how to go about it.

  Chapter Five

  Skylar

  The next morning, a ridiculous amount of banging from the entrance to this apartment echoes through the room as though the door is about to fall off the hinges. I force myself out of bed—it turns out I’ve really, really been missing a decent bed and a night’s sleep for a while now—dragging my feet until I reach the door. Since no one else in my life has the need to ruin such a delightful moment of the day for me, there’s only one person this could be.

  “What?”

  “Um.” Luke stands in front of me. His eyes go wide and he spins around. “You need to get dressed and come downstairs. We have a lot to do.”

  “You being my boss isn’t part of the deal.” I cross my arms and lean on the doorframe, fully aware I’m in a t-shirt and my panties. Yesterday, after we moved some new stuff into my apartment, Luke and Conner went to class at the local college. I convinced myself that his school schedule was going to allow me to work on the store alone. I apparently was wrong.

  “I own this place; of course I’m your boss. No one should have to tell you that.”

  He makes a valid point, but no. I’m not taking it.

  “Well, then you need to talk to me with respect, the way a real employer would.”

  “I think we passed the respect part of our relationship the moment you broke in.”

  I groan. “Still think I’m a criminal, huh? That sucks for you.”

  “Just get downstairs.” He takes off down the steps, letting the door at the bottom slam closed behind him. Either slamming doors is his thing, or he doesn’t know his own strength. Probably the former.

  How much is this apartment worth to me? I mean, I’d almost prefer to be homeless again if it means I don’t have to work with him. Almost.

  After we’d moved the table and chair up here—there wasn’t much room for anything else—Alex and Beth magically stopped by later with clothes they just had “lying around” or “were going to donate.” At first I was embarrassed, but they insisted until I couldn’t find it inside to say no anymore. I did need more clothes, and if I were going to take anything from anyone, it’d be those two.

  I step into a torn pair of shorts, something I saw and immediately cheered because I could cross it off my list. The word torn has three underlines underneath it and is written in all capital letters. I’ve always wanted to wear something with a hole it. Anytime I’ve seen a girl with ripped anything, I always gotten this happy, carefree vibe from her. I convinced myself it was because they held enough confidence to wear the clothes they had, and I wanted that. There was a time or two I almost ripped a good pair of clothes just to make a hole. But I never could bring myself to do it. I didn’t want to deal with my mother’s cold stare. Just knowing I get to scratch this off the list now puts me in a cheery mood.

  Turns out, these are my favorite pair of shorts, too. They are little short, but I don’t care—I love them. Maybe that’s because I can picture my father’s eyes bursting if he saw me right now. And Mack—ha—if the public could see me now. I smile as I twist my hair up into a bun, sticking a pen through it to hold it up, and then put on a long-sleeved, white and yellow plaid fitted button-up. I want to go barefoot, but know there are still broken pieces of glass on the floor down there. I slide on a pair of flats and head for the door. There is no point in showering or putting on makeup because it’s just Luke.

  I do, however, spritz myself with the vanilla spray Alex gave me. She said she doesn’t like it and wouldn’t use it, but I think that was all a lie to get me to take it. Worked, too. It smells so heavenly, I’d have taken it with or without her excuse.

  Once I brush my teeth, I head down the steps, chanting silently to myself to not roll my eyes at him. The guy says the stupidest things when it comes to this idea that I broke in, and he actually believes himself. He is wound up tight, this one. What’s that saying? He probably just needs to get laid.

  I find him walking across the room with a box of books. Why, hello, biceps. His flawlessly toned body and chiseled jawline are hard to deny. We may not get along, but he is freaking nice to look at. As of right now, this is the only perk of working with him.

  “Are you going to help or just stand there and stare at me while I do all the work?”

  “Well—”

  “Just start moving those books to this corner while I work on piecing this shelf back together.”

  I salute him, which just causes him to groan in annoyance. I feel the same way, jerk face.

  I grab a book then another. The cover isn’t one I recognize, which, let’s be honest, I don’t know every single cover, but for some reason I find myself flipping it over to read who the author is.

  Edgar Allen Poe. I pick up another book by the same author.

  “Who’s the Poe fan?” I ask, turning toward Luke sitting with his board. His head snaps up and his eyes narrow when he spots the book in my hands.

  “I said those books,” he snaps, marching over, pointing at a different pile of books than the one I’m in front of and yanking The Cask of Amontillado out of my hand. I step back, watching and waiting as he grabs the remainder of the collection. He doesn’t even look at me when he storms off, but it’s all right. When he saw what I was holding, his eyes didn’t narrow at me like they usually do. Instead they focused on the books like if he didn’t grab them right away, he’d never get them back. I have the urge to ask him if he’s okay, but my instincts tell me that wouldn’t be the smartest move right now. Instead, I just head for the other pile and move the books in silence.

  It takes me a while because I feel the need to alphabetize them as I move each one. Once I’m done, I look around the store space. It’s one large room, aside from the door that reads restrooms. They have posters of upcoming releases on the wall, and judging by how they are placed, the posters serve as a guide to which books are in what section of the store. With a little makeover, this store could be a popular place.

  “It would be really neat if you maybe made one of the back corners a reading nook. It’s actually really common for bookstores to have a spot like that. Maybe even add a table or two and sell coffee. Or what if you had book signings? That would be cool. You could add some couches in different parts of the store, or those cute little round chairs in the corners so people can read parts of the book before they decide if they want to buy it. Or you could have some program where kids under a certain age can come in and read for free,” I suggest, getting carried away with my vision. But Luke is on his phone. Texting, I assume, since the last few times I’ve looked at him, he’s been looking down. He sighs and shoves the phone in his pocket. He must do it with more force than the ordinary person because it tugs on his jeans, revealing a glimpse of the spot just above his hipbone.

  Yep, that area is toned, too.

  “Buy furniture, add a coffee shop, and remodel every corner of the store? Do you hear yourself? If you focused on more than what you think, I’m not really in a place to redecorate. Most people don’t just have money whenever they need it. You of a
ll people should understand that, right?” He dismisses my ideas fast. My heart races as I swallow and look away from him. I only wanted to do something helpful, but he’s right. I didn’t think about money … I just assumed. “I’ve got to head out, think you can manage without me?” he asks. I try to hide my shock. He’s leaving me alone. Here. Finally.

  “And what do you want me to do?” I ask, since clearly anything I do will most likely piss him off.

  “I don’t care.” He steps for the door. “Actually wait, that’s a lie. I don’t want you in here without me.”

  “That’s going to be hard, don’t you think, since I live up there and all.” I point to the ceiling.

  “Then you’ll have to wait for me to get back.”

  “That’s the first joke you’ve made the entire time I’ve known you.”

  He blinks, his face going blank. It reminds me of those guards’ expressions, the ones outside the queen’s palace who never smile, move, or speak.

  “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Isn’t there anything else you can do?”

  I’m sure there is, but watching him freak out is the most fun I’ve had in days. Then again, I guess I could find something else on my list to cross off.

  Luke nudges me through the door and locks it. He turns, ready to leave me standing there with no way into my apartment. I grab his wrist and then step in front of him.

  “You can’t seriously lock me out.”

  “I can do whatever I want. I own the place,” he says.

  “And I live upstairs.” I take step toward him, my hands on my hips.

  “You found a way in before; I’m sure you can do it again.” With one step, he’s towering over me. My eyes flash to his lips before they meet the dark irises staring down at me. His lips part, and for a moment my stomach clenches with the idea that he might kiss me. Which is silly, because it’s obvious that’s the last thing on his mind.

  He takes a deep breath and steps back. “I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

  And just like that, I’m alone, watching his backside.

  Well, this is new. What do I do now?

  The laughter that carries from the group of girls in the park across the street couldn’t have had better timing. Alex and Beth. One of them will know what to do.