Just One Moment: A Black Alcove Novel

by Jami Wagner

  “Now, that sounds like a great plan. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  My hand swallows up her soft and fragile one as we shake on it. I’m not really sure what I just got myself into, but I’m pretty sure the fact I’m already looking forward to seeing her again isn’t a good sign.

  Chapter Ten

  Skylar

  I can’t be attracted to Luke. No way. He’s the jerk I, unfortunately by taking this job, will have to see twice as much as I did before. I thought calling a truce last night was the right thing to do, but now I’m not so sure. I hardly slept last night thinking about how I was going to see him this morning and how it might actually be nice being around him. My heart is racing and then shattering through my veins every time I think he’s about to walk in the door.

  I can’t be attracted to Luke. I mean, I can—I am—but I don’t want to be.

  I take the broom I was using earlier and try to sweep up the area behind the counter where the cash register sits. I cleared this area first because we need the counter space and being able to move around it makes hauling books from spot to spot easier. Plus, Luke keeps talking about how he is going to do it, but he never does.

  Oh my gosh. I’m already doing things for him. This isn’t good.

  “Skylar!” Luke yells, stepping through the door at full speed. He halts when he sees me right in front of him. “Oh, sorry, I thought you would still be upstairs. You’re usually still getting ready at this time.”

  Yes, I’m aware I’m not being normal right now.

  “Thought I would get a head start.” The words come out fast.

  “Okay, well.” He scratches behind his neck as he turns around. “Before we can do this whole we-work-here-and-work-there thing, we need to set some sort of boundaries.”

  “You have got to be kidding me. All because I started working at the bar? I have to make money, Luke—what else can I do?”

  He sighs, avoiding looking right at me. I look away, too, because the more I stand here, the sexier he is and the more annoyed I get. He is the most frustrating person I know. How am I attracted to him?

  “What’s this?” he asks.

  “What’s what?” I force myself to gaze in his direction. He holds up my list—that I so stupidly set on the counter, in plain sight after I added a few things to it—and what was my shattered heart leaps into my throat as I refrain myself from lunging at him. He’s the last person I want to see that list.

  His eyes widen, and I can’t take it anymore. I reach for the paper, but he moves quickly, keeping it out of my reach.

  “You’ve never been skinny dipping?”

  “Give that to me.”

  “Have you really never driven a car either?”

  “Luke.”

  “Get a job—we can cross that one off. Get me a pen.”

  I want to stomp my foot and throw some sort of tantrum from the embarrassment right now, but Luke isn’t even looking at me. His eyes scan the list like he’s into it.

  “How late do you consider sleeping in?”

  He asks in such a serious tone that … no, he can’t possibly think he’s going to help me. This is my list. Not his. He can make his own if he wants.

  “Can I have my list back, please?”

  “Yeah, sure, but you only have three things crossed off. There should be more.”

  He grabs my hand.

  “Painting your nails pink is the first thing on this list. How have you not done that yet and, more important, why are they red and not pink?”

  I think it’s safe to say that I have no idea how to respond right now. This is not the Luke I’m used to interacting with. Not even close. This Luke is … dare I say? … in a good mood.

  He returns his gaze to the list, and there’s a lump in his throat as he swallows. He shoves the paper at me and says, “I can help you with a few of those.”

  Oh, now I know what he read. My guess is either the “have a one-night stand” line or the “don’t wear panties in public” line.

  “Thanks for the offer. But I can handle them all on my own.” I fold the letter up and stuff it in my pocket.

  “I meant, we could get you a cake to eat for breakfast. And while we are at the store, you can buy some Ramen noodles and have those for dinner.”

  Food. He wants to help me with the food goals. I fidget with my hair and run my hands over my shirt. I start to clear more counter space so he can’t see the look in my eyes. He could have at least said he’d help me with the ask-a-guy-for-his-number entry.

  “Um, sure.”

  “Cool, let’s head there now. I’ll even let you drive.”

  “No, no, no. That—no,” is how I answer, my head shaking and my hands waving like there could be a fly in front of my face.

  “It’s on your list. Let’s cross off three in one trip, Sky.”

  My chest tightens at the thought. That’s the first time he’s used the nickname everyone here has for me. It sounds so much better when he says it.

  “Don’t we have work to do here, though?”

  He looks around the room, nodding. Then he rubs a hand slowly over his mouth before saying, “One day off won’t hurt anything.”

  “I don’t want to die before I have the chance to do all the other items, Luke, and I don’t have the money to go to the store right now. Hence, why I needed to find a job.”

  His entire stance goes still.

  “My treat then, since I did ruin that for you. And I bet you’ll be just fine driving.”

  “I don’t have a license.”

  “So?”

  “What if I get pulled over?”

  “You’ve been arrested for more.”

  I roll my eyes. Yes, I have.

  “Maybe next time.”

  Luke crosses his arms over his chest. His gaze looks me up and down. It makes me feel weird. Like I should step back, or maybe I should step closer. Should I look at him or look away? Whatever he’s doing, it’s confusing me so much I don’t even know how to feel about it.

  “No,” he says so loudly that I jump. Then he takes me by the wrist, grabs my purse, and pulls me behind him out the door. “We’re also going to stop by the DMV so you can apply for a real license. Add that to the list.”

  “Luke, wait, this is too much for one day.”

  “All right, fine, we can go to the DMV tomorrow.”

  He’s already planning to hang out with me tomorrow?

  “Luke, this is all very sweet and fully unexpected, but today is supposed to be day one of getting along. Just showing support over my list is good enough for me. You don’t have to go all out to prove to everyone you no longer hate me.”

  We’re in the middle of the bookstore when he stops walking. He turns to face me, never letting his hand drop.

  “I don’t hate you, Sky. You’ve just placed obstacles in my life that I don’t need. It’s hard to get past what you did, but everyone seems to like you, and a part of me wants to believe that you really were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Put yourself in my shoes. If you were walking around the corner that night and saw me standing in the doorway to your destroyed store, what would you think?”

  “Well, I’d definitely ask questions.”

  “But you would assume it’s me, wouldn’t you?”

  I can’t look at him now, as much as he is begging me to look him in the eyes. He’s right. If the tables were turned, I’d have blamed him, too.

  “I would have apologized once there was no evidence, though,” I say.

  “Even if you didn’t know me, you’d just believe the authorities?” he asks.

  I let his words sink in. Maybe it was easier for him to accept I did it than to know he might never know who it really was.

  “I would have made an effort.” This time, I have no choice but to meet his eyes. Deep blue stares back at me, and if I see right, there’s an apology in them.

  “Is it too late for me to start?”

  My lips clearly have no self-control as they b
reak into a smile, and I nod.

  “Let’s just hope I don’t kill us first,” I answer, plucking his keys out of his fingers and passing him to the door.

  If he wants to offer to help with more on my list, I just might let him. Go big or go home, right? And I’m definitely not going home.

  Luke

  “Brake! Hit the brake!”

  “I don’t—”

  “Keep your hands on the wheel!”

  “I can’t do this!” she yells back, ending our shouting match as my car jerks to a stop in the middle of the road. I twist to look behind us. No cars. Whew. I rub my hands over my face before facing her again.

  “Okay, so this is going to take some practice.”

  Sky is staring straight ahead, her small fingers twisted in a death grip around the top of the steering wheel. I’d told her ten and two when she got in, and I don’t think she has left that spot except for switching gears.

  “Hey, whoa, why are you crying?” I ask, my pulse racing more now at the sight of her than it was a minute ago when we were still on the road.

  “I can’t drive. I almost just killed us. I couldn’t even buy my own piece of cake. I’m lucky those noodle things were only ten cents apiece.” She takes a deep breath, releasing her hands and wiping under eyes. “Can you please just drive us back?”

  I unclip my belt and get out. She doesn’t move as I walk around the hood of the car. When I get to her door, she slowly opens it. She steps out with her head down. I move in front of her and tilt her chin up when she stops.

  “I’m sorry I yelled. That was 100 percent bad-teacher behavior on my side.”

  “It’s not your fault; I should have learned this so, so long ago, but my parents didn’t think it was something I ever needed to know. I believed them, too, until one day … I just didn’t anymore.”

  She makes her way to the passenger’s side, and after we both get in, I slowly head back to the bookstore. If I’ve learned anything from my mom and sisters, it’s that when a lady is upset, you give her space and silence until she is ready to talk. So that’s what I do now. She tucks her knees to her chest and looks out the window.

  I always thought she was attractive. And I thought by her petite frame that she took great care of herself, but after what she said earlier about needing a job to buy food, I’ve really looked at her. She’s too skinny. She reached up for a box of crackers and her hipbone peeked out from her shirt. While walking next to her, I stole a few glances: her wrist bone sticks out. I guarantee my pinky and thumb could wrap around her bicep and touch. She needs to eat, and I’m the jerk who kept her from that. It took a lot not to buy her the whole damn store.

  But it makes no sense. If she came from money, why not keep enough to buy food? I thought that Alex and Beth had brought her some when she moved into the apartment. Is she not eating it?

  I park in front of the store. We meet at the trunk to grab the bags. I follow her inside, still in silence. After we set the bags on the counter, I just stand in her kitchen. I feel like I need to stand here until I witness her eating something. But the best choice I can make is to probably give her some privacy.

  “Should we eat the cake or the noodles first?” she asks just as I’m about to head for the door.

  “The cake,” I say all too quickly, digging it from the bag and handing her a fork from the drawer. I lucked out with the fact she left the silverware in the drawer where it’s always been. I also picked the cake because we don’t have to cook it, so she can eat now.

  She sits down at the table, a giant smile on her face. She picked red velvet cake, and I didn’t argue. I start to put the rest of the food away, waiting impatiently for her to take the first bite. When she does, her eyes light up just before she goes in for a second and a third bite. After the fourth bite, she looks up. Her mouth is full of cake.

  “Oh, did you want some?” She laughs, covering her mouth.

  I laugh, too, because this is the happiest I’ve ever seen her.

  Pulling the list from her pocket, Sky unfolds it over the table. She clicks the top of a pen and draws a line across it.

  “It’s not even ten yet—this definitely counts as breakfast.”

  “It definitely counts,” I reply. “You can make these noodles for lunch, and then you can cross off that and learning to drive a car.”

  “Except I didn’t actually learn to drive a car, and how do I make them?”

  “You did learn, you just suck at it, and I’ll be here to show you how to make them.”

  “Wow,” she says.

  “What?”

  “You really can be as kind as everyone said. Either that, or your mother has bribed you with something good this time.” She raises her brow as she grins, licking the last of the frosting off her fork.

  I deserved that.

  “No, she didn’t. This is me just being me. Mom would actually be very impressed. She thinks it’s far too long since her son has been around.”

  And I’ve never felt more like myself.

  “Why would she think that?”

  “She just … she worries, a lot” is how I answer because going into my whole life story isn’t something I need to share or probably anything Sky even cares about.

  “Well, from a kid who grew up with parents who didn’t care at all, you’re lucky to have a mom like her. She’s never actually told me so, but from how I’ve seen her look you at you. I don’t think you could ever disappoint her. What you’re doing to keep your family store up and going is amazing.”

  “Yeah, it was my dad’s favorite place to be, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love the place myself.”

  “I hate to be stereotypical, but it still amazes me that a good looking guy like you who clearly likes to work out and play sports is into books.”

  “Well, in that case, there are a lot of things about me that might surprise you.”

  “Like what?” she asks.

  “I guess you’ll have to find out.”

  “Ha.”

  “So, tell me about you.” I take the seat across from her. “How did you end up in Wind Valley, Wyoming, and more importantly, how did you end up homeless?”

  She picks up the fork, staring at it a moment, and then puts it down.

  “That’s a story for another day, but the short version is, I wanted to be the exact opposite of what I was.”

  “And are you?”

  She pauses. “I guess you’ll have to find out.”

  My cell buzzes in my pocket while I try to think of something smart to say.

  Mom: HOW IS THE STORE COMING ALONG TODAY?

  Sky rises from the table, smiling at me as she does so, then she winks and I have to look away. We went from our act of friendship to flirting in her apartment in a matter of hours.

  Luke: IT’S LOOKING BETTER THAN BEFORE.

  And, man, is it ever.

  Chapter Eleven

  Skylar

  The last couple of weeks have been some of the best I can ever remember, minus the day when some guys showed up with a new window and then shattered it as they were attempting to put it in. I luckily spent most of that day at the pet shelter. Oh, and then the one day Luke had to reschedule again with the inspector. That phone call was painful just to listen to. From what I gathered, the inspector isn’t in any rush to make it to the store on Luke’s schedule. I just avoided him for a few hours after he hung up.

  But yeah, other than that, it’s been great.

  Oddly enough, most of it is thanks to Luke. Because of him I can officially drive a car—without slamming on the brakes, I might add. We haven’t fought once except over my fully stocked fridge—I fought this one, but he won—and that really wasn’t even a fight. We’ve actually been doing more flirting than anything else. My nails are hot pink, I’ve had cake for breakfast twice, we ate cookie dough ice cream right out of the carton, and Ramen noodles are my new favorite meal. Completely horrible for you, but I love them. One week with Luke and I’ve crossed four things of
f my list. We should have done this friends thing a long time ago.

  I shift his car into park and switch off the engine.

  “You’re almost a pro,” he says, getting out.

  “I’ve had a pretty good teacher.”

  “I would have to say I agree with you.” He flashes a grin my way. It’s a grin I’ve noticed a lot in the last few days.

  The alarm chirps once I’ve locked it, and I toss him his keys over the top of the car.

  “Is this real?” Conner yells from the back door of the BA. I’ve only been back once for a walk-through. Tonight is my first official night of training. I’m freaking out about the whole bartending thing, but with Luke and Beth here, I’ll be okay.

  Luke doesn’t answer Conner as we head his way. I don’t either because it’s clear he’s waiting for a response from Luke. Conner gestures to the car.

  “You’ve never let anyone, and I mean anyone, not even your mom, drive that car, and here you pull up with Sky in the driver’s seat.”

  I stop—really, not even his mom?—but Luke keeps walking, nudging me to continue as well. His touch practically burns through my shirt. I get this feeling every time we come in contact. Always unintentionally, of course.

  “I was just teaching her to drive. It’s not a big deal.”

  “What? And she’s a beginner.” Conner slaps his hands together, chuckling as he follows us inside.

  Luke goes straight for the computer, tapping in his employee number to clock in, and I do the same after he teaches me what to do.

  I start to follow Luke around, filling sinks with cleaning water, checking the soda pumps to make sure they don’t need changed, and double-checking that certain areas of the bar are stocked. About thirty minutes go by before other employees begin to arrive for their shift. Beth is one of them, and the only other girl working is Abby. I don’t know much about her other than she works at the gym and she went to school with Beth, Sara, Luke, and Kelsey. I’ve heard people talk about her, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing that I haven’t gotten to know her. The fact she keeps glaring at me is a bit annoying though.

  Conner gathers the group to go over some of the evening’s duties, along with introducing me to everyone. It’s like the AA meetings you see on TV: everyone super enthusiastically says “Hi, Sky” back to me, and I cringe because they laugh at the fact it rhymes.