She shook her head, the blush on her cheeks deepening. “No.”
I cleared my throat and took a step back from her when I realized I was leaning toward her. “Do you want another drink? I’m about to get myself one.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m good. But thank you. I’m heading out.”
I nodded. “So early?”
She shifted her weight and looked past my shoulder before looking back at me. “Yeah. I have an early morning tomorrow and I don’t want to stay out too late.”
An awkward silence stretched between us before I cleared my throat and took another step back. “Right. Do you want me to walk you to your car?”
She shook her head and held her phone up. “Nah, I’ve ordered a car, and it’s just pulled up outside. I’ll be fine.”
I nodded and stepped to the side. “Okay, maybe I’ll catch you later.”
She nodded and threw a hand over her shoulder as she walked away.
Even though she said not to bother walking her out, I couldn’t help following behind her and slipping out the door after her to watch as she walked to the ordered car and got inside.
It was only once the taillights of the car faded that I went back inside and ordered my next drink, my mind on the woman I’d met that night and wondering if I’d see her again.
3
Zoe
I sighed in relief as I shut my front door behind me as the car dropping me off drove away.
I’d had fun out with Cass and her friends, even though I thought she could do better, but there was nothing quite like being in your own home doing your own things.
“I thought you’d stay out later,” a voice said from the dark at the top of the stairs.
I shrieked and my heart pounded as I fell back into the door.
“What the hell?” I cried, pressing a hand to my chest as my heart pounded.
“Sorry, Aunt Z,” Noah said, walking down the stairs until I could see him in the low light coming from the lamp by the door.
He was grimacing and looked contrite as I studied him. His hair was sticking up, and he looked tired.
“Why are you awake?” I blinked. “Wait, why are you here?”
I pushed away from the door and toed my shoes off. I pulled my phone from my purse before dropping it on the console table by the lamp.
“I don’t have any texts or anything from you or Pops saying you’d be here.”
Noah tried grinning, but his lips wavered a little.
“I asked if I could come back here tonight.”
I waited a few beats to see if he’d say anything else. He didn’t.
“Okay?”
“I’m fifteen and I get why you don’t want me to be alone, but I knew you wouldn’t stay out that late, so Pops and Grams thought it would be fine for me to come here for the night.”
I waited some more.
Like I thought, he continued.
“It’s just… you don’t normally go out and if you do, you’re back way early.” Noah’s eyes widened, and he hurried to continue. “Not that you shouldn’t stay out later! You totally should. You’re young and stuff. You should totally stay out as late as you want. It’s just, you start your new job tomorrow, and I wanted to be here with you for that. It’s important.”
I said nothing as he stopped speaking, but he said nothing either. That meant he was likely done.
“Why didn’t you text me?”
Noah’s nose wrinkled, and he looked away from me, rubbing the back of his neck as he muttered, “I dropped my phone in water earlier today.”
I blew out a slow breath, working to not lose my cool as he admitted that to me. It wouldn’t do to get mad at him. Accidents happened and his phone was older. He needed an upgrade. I was just hoping to hold off on getting that until closer to his birthday or Christmas.
“What about using Pops’ phone?”
“I didn’t tell him I did it.”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, suddenly wishing I’d stayed out later and not come home to this.
“Where is your phone?”
“In a bowl of rice in the kitchen.”
I sighed and shook my head, walking toward the kitchen to see what we were working with. At least he’d thought to do that.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Z. I really am.” Noah’s voice followed me.
“It’s fine, Noah. Accidents happen.”
Noah continued to apologize to me, but I tuned him out as I stepped into the kitchen and caught sight of the bowl on the counter.
I looked inside and couldn’t see his phone, so reached in to pull it out, brushing off the grains of rice that were sticking to it.
“How long has it been in here?” I asked him, glancing over my shoulder.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Since I got home a few hours ago.”
I nodded and put it back in the rice.
“Okay. Let’s let it sit overnight and we can check it in the morning. Do I need to get you up?”
Noah nodded.
I did some calculations on how much earlier I’d need to get up to be ready in time to leave while also helping Noah get up for the day.
“Okay. I’m going to head to bed. You should, too. I know you’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
Noah grinned. “Okay. I just wanted to make sure you were okay when you got home.”
I smiled softly and walked over to Noah, pulling him into my arms.
He immediately put his arms around my shoulder and leaned his cheek on my head. He was only fifteen, but he was already taller than me—not a difficult feat considering how short I was—and squeezed me tight.
“Pizza tomorrow night?” he asked as he stepped back.
I pretended to think about it before nodding. “Yeah. I’ll get it on my way home.”
He grinned at me. “Awesome. Night, Aunt Z. Love you.”
Before I could return the sentiment, he was gone. I listened to the creaks as he went up the stairs and into his room, settling back into bed.
I sighed and leaned against the counter, thinking over my night and what tomorrow would bring.
It was still early by some people’s standards, just barely eleven. But I was exhausted already knowing I needed to be up early the next morning and kick Noah out of bed before I left.
As I walked up the sidewalk to the front door of the credit union, my phone buzzed and I pulled it out to see Noah had texted me.
We were both glad when his phone turned on this morning and didn’t seem the worse for the wear after its swim the day before.
Noah: Have a great day! I can’t wait to hear about it!
I texted him back quickly, smiling as I did. Noah was a great kid, and I was so lucky he was in my life.
A slash of pain hit me in my chest as I thought about why he was living with me. But I pushed it aside. I didn’t want to show up for my first day at work crying because of the past. This was my first step towards the future.
Jewel would want me to focus on what was sad about my life.
Positive of the day: I was starting a new job that would help me move on and get a new lease on life.
I continued up the sidewalk and pushed the door open, smiling as I stepped into the lobby.
“You must be our new hire, Zoe,” a husky female voice said from my right.
I turned that way and my eyes widened when I saw the woman that owned the voice. She was a knockout with dirty blonde hair, wide brown eyes, and a ready smile.
I nodded. “Yes, that’s me.”
“I’m Lexi. I’ll be helping you get settled today and show you around before introducing you to the other tellers. If you’ll follow me.”
I nodded and fell into step behind her, looking around as I went.
I’d been in the bank before as I did my banking here—though at another branch—and I’d interviewed at a different branch. They all looked the same, though.
But it was different being here as an employee.
Lexi stepped into a glass walled
office and stood by the door, motioning to the chairs in front of her desk. “Please, have a seat.”
I sat in the one closest to the door while she closed it and walked around to her own chair, where she gracefully sat down.
I didn’t normally feel inferior around other women, but Lexi was something else. And I meant that in a good way.
Not a hair was out of place. There were no wrinkles in her clothes. She smelled divine.
Even though I’d taken extra care getting ready that morning, I still felt frumpy next to her.
“First, welcome to your first day. We’re glad to have you here. There isn’t much I need to go over with you, just some policies and procedures, plus some paperwork. Then you’ll be set to go.”
I nodded and waited while she printed some things and walked me through the employee handbook.
It was all very straightforward and only an hour later, she was leading me through the offices, pointing at the various people who worked there and telling me what they did before taking me behind the desk at the front where the tellers helped the customers.
My hands started to sweat as Lexi led me toward the people I would spend most of my time with. I wasn’t too worried about them disliking me, but meeting new people was always nerve-wracking.
“First up, we have Janey. She’s another new hire.”
A petite redhead smiled at me briefly before going back to her transaction.
“Next is Patty, who has been here the longest.”
“Thirty years next month,” she said with a smile, calling the next person up to her counter.
“Jim is one of our part-time workers. He’s here two to three times a week.”
Jim had light blond hair that was almost white, and he was dressed in a very nice-looking suit.
“Our final teller is Olivia, but she goes by Liv. She’ll be training you.”
We stopped next to the last teller who was finishing up a transaction.
“Thank you, have a great day,” Liv said before turning to face me with a grin. “Hey, it’s great to meet you. You ready to learn everything?”
I nodded before glancing at Lexi.
“Liv will show you everything. You’ll go to lunch when she does. When you’re back, you’ll get your key, log-in information, and a few other things before spending the rest of the afternoon shadowing her.”
“Okay, not a problem.”
Lexi smiled at the two of us before walking away.
I turned to face Liv. “It’s really nice to meet you,” I said softly, my hands clammy as I waited for her response.
“Same here. I was so glad when I was told we were getting another teller. We’re slammed most days and without a full staff, it’s constant. Plus, more people to chat with.” Liv grinned at me.
“You ready to learn the ropes?” she asked.
I nodded, and we were off.
4
Zoe
“I see you survived your first day,” my mom said from behind me.
I shook my head and asked, “You want a glass, too?”
I was pouring a glass of wine. I’d heard the door open, but assumed it was Noah getting home from practice. Looks like my mom snuck in, too.
“Sure. You can tell me all about your first day.”
I grabbed another glass and quickly filled it before passing it to my mom. “I’m ordering pizza soon if you and dad want to eat with us.”
She shook her head. “I’ve got something at home. I just wanted to lay eyes on my baby girl and ask how your first day went.”
I walked over to the dining room table and sank into a chair before answering. “It was good. Lots of information, but I think it’ll be fun.”
Mom sat in a chair across from me and took a sip of her wine.
“That’s good. You think you’ll be happy there?”
I just barely suppressed a sigh at her question. Ever since I told her and my dad that I wanted to branch out and work somewhere that wasn’t the Java Hut, their coffee shop in downtown Somerville, they’d been pestering me. They wanted to know the reasons why and to know if I’d be happy working somewhere else.
The honest answer was I didn’t know if I’d be happy working somewhere else. But the truth was, I was twenty-six, and I had an associate’s degree and worked at my parent’s coffee shop. I’d never gone for my bachelors—and probably never would—and I’d worked nowhere else.
With what had happened the last two years, I thought it was time to try spreading my wings before deciding if I wanted the family business or not.
I’d only ever sold coffee, so I didn’t know any different. What if I wanted to do something else, like work in a bank?
“We’re just worried this is a flight of fancy or that something’s happened,” Mom said.
I couldn’t stop the sigh that slipped out. “I know you and Dad don’t understand, but I have to do this. I can’t explain why, I just have to. I’m still helping on Saturdays and Noah is helping all weekend. You don’t need me, not like you used to.”
My mom stared at me. “We’ll always need you.”
I shook my head. “You know what I mean. You have plenty of staff to man the counter and help bus. You also have plenty of people in the kitchen. You don’t need me.”
“Fine,” Mom huffed, rolling her eyes. “Then we want you there. We enjoyed seeing you every day.”
I winced at the pang of longing. “And I liked seeing you every day as well. But I just couldn’t continue working there with the question hanging over my head of what if.”
Mom studied me for a few beats before saying, “I still don’t understand why you started asking the what if question. You’ve always shown an interest in coffee and helping us out. You’ve never acted like you wanted to be anywhere else. Can you please tell me where this came from?”
Like I had since I decided to get a job away from Java Hut, I bit my tongue.
I knew I should talk to her, tell her what was going through my mind. But it was hard.
Telling her meant I felt like a failure, and I didn’t want her, my dad, or Noah to see me that way.
Mom sighed and shook her head, looking away from me.
I tried to think of something– anything–to say, to make her feel better, but could think of nothing.
She stared at me for several moments and opened her mouth, but whatever she was going to say was cut off by Noah coming into the room.
“Have you ordered dinner yet?”
I shook my head. “No. You want to do it?”
He grinned and nodded. “Can we get wings and breadsticks?”
I nodded. “Knock yourself out.”
He pulled his phone out and walked away. I tilted my head toward where he’d gone and heard him telling the pizza place our order.
I then looked back at my mom, who was studying me.
“You know that we’re here for you. Whatever is going on, we want to help.”
I grimaced at her words. Talk about laying a guilt trip on.
“I know,” I said softly, dropping my gaze to my wine. “I’m… just not ready.”
Mom sighed again, but remained silent.
Noah came back in and joined us at the table. “Why do the two of you look like that? Did something happen?”
I looked at my nephew questioningly, but as soon as I saw his face, I realized what he was asking.
I quickly wiped my expression. “No, Noah. We’re just talking. It’s nothing like what happened with your mom.”
He glanced between me and Mom before staring at me. “You sure?”
His eyes were glassy, I just barely stopped myself from wincing.
It was easy to forget that though he was fifteen and acted so much older, he was still a kid in a lot of ways. He acted tough, but I knew he still struggled with the death of his mom two years before.
Hell, I still struggled with it, as did my parents. It was hard living life after your best friend and sibling died, even if we'd known it would happen.
It was even worse for a thirteen-year-old boy who loved his mom fiercely and didn’t want her to go.
“We were just talking about my first day,” I told Noah. “I did a lot of training.”
He looked at Mom again and cleared his throat. “That’s it?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. They have to show me how to do some things and make sure I know what I’m doing. Can you imagine if I were to mess up a transaction? That would suck.”
Noah grinned. “It so would.”
“Well, since you’ve ordered dinner and I’ve finished my wine, I’m going to head out. I’m sure your father thinks I’ve fallen off the face of the Earth since I’m not home yet.”
I smiled and laughed at her words. They were true.
Growing up, Dad lost it if Mom wasn’t home by a certain time, worried something had happened. It had gotten worse after Jewel’s death.
“Okay, drive safe.”
We all stood and walked to the door, where we hugged and kissed goodbye.
“I love you,” she said.
Then she was in her car and on her way.
I slung my arm over Noah’s shoulder and pulled him to me, squeezing him before letting him go.
“You got homework, kiddo?” I asked.
“I’m not a kid,” he grumbled as he walked inside.
“You say that, but I remember changing your diaper and your pee sheets.”
“Aunt Z!” he yelled, looking over his shoulder at me in horror. “You promised you wouldn’t talk about that.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I promised I wouldn’t talk about that with any of your friends. But I didn’t agree to not talking about it ever. So suck it up, buttercup.”
Noah made a noise in his throat while walking up the stairs, and I just grinned.
It was so easy to rile that kid up sometimes.
5
Jacob
I sighed as I opened my apartment door, flicking the switch by the door as I dropped my gym bag and toed my shoes off.
“Home sweet home,” I muttered as I took in the sparse space.
The Slider (Boys of Summer Book 5) Page 2