You and me both, buddy.
“It means,” she drawls as she closes, then tapes the box. “When you are in love, you share everything together without resentment.” She points to the now packaged cake. “Including this delicious cheesecake.”
Before he can speak, she punches some buttons on her cash register. “That will be $52.47.”
To my astonishment, the man pulls out his wallet and pays her before leaving with the dessert he didn’t ask for.
Her eyes shift to me. “Wednesdays after school from four to eight, and Saturdays six a.m. to eight p.m. The pay is twelve dollars an hour. No paid vacation or sick time. If you do well, I’ll add another shift.”
Her tone leaves no room for negotiation, so I accept. “Perfect.”
She opens the glass case again. “Are you a good baker?”
“Yeah,” I lie. “But you know what they say, there’s always room for improvement.”
She grunts. “How are your cleaning skills?”
“Top notch.”
At least that’s not a lie.
With a sigh, she sets a small paper bag on the counter and places a cannoli in it before handing it to me. “See you on Wednesday. Tell your aunt I said hi.” She holds up a finger. “Wait.”
I watch as she removes an apple turnover from the glass and drops it in the bag. “Her favorite.”
Funny, because I would have sworn her favorite was cinnamon rolls, but I’m not going to argue.
As promised, Tommy’s waiting outside for me.
“Thanks,” I tell him as I slide into the passenger seat.
“Did you get it?”
“After a few tries.”
When he raises an eyebrow, I elaborate. “Let’s just say she’s very picky about people’s dessert preferences.”
Snickering, he peels out of the parking lot. “I should have given you a heads up about that. My bad.”
An awkward silence descends after I give him my address and he plugs it into his GPS.
“Is your bro—”
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re back,” he says at the same time.
I play with a loose string on my skirt. “I wish I could say the same.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah—no, not really.” I draw in a breath. “If I tell you something, can it stay between us? The only people who know are my family and—”
“Dylan.” He peers at me out of the corner of his eye. “I’ll never judge you. Fuck knows I’ve done my share of horrible shit. You can tell me anything.”
Here goes nothing. “My dad…he did some bad things at his job.” I swallow the prickle in my throat. “And now he’s in jail for embezzlement. It’s the reason I’m back. My aunt lives here with her husband and they were nice enough to take me in so I could finish my final year of high school.”
“Shit.” He exhales sharply. “Damn. I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, it’s…I mean, I’m fine. My dad’s an asshole for stealing to impress his dumb wife and deserves to serve his time—but it’s still pretty embarrassing. Fortunately, it didn’t make national headlines, just a few articles in the local paper.” Nerves bunch in my stomach. “I’d really appreciate you not telling a soul. I don’t want everyone in town knowing my dad’s a thief or that he’s in the slammer.”
He reaches over and gives my knee a small squeeze. “Your secrets are safe with me.” The corner of his mouth tilts up. “If it makes you feel better, my dad’s been in and out of jail my whole life.”
It doesn’t. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugs as he turns down my block. “Don’t be. The guy is a loser. Always has been, always will be.”
“That sucks. I’m sor—”
“How about we stop apologizing for things that aren’t our fault?” he says as he pulls up to the curb alongside my aunt’s house.
That’s something I can agree to. “Deal.”
The awkwardness from earlier returns the moment he cuts the engine and faces me.
“I missed you.”
“Yeah, same here. It was good to see you again.” I fetch my messenger bag from the floor. “Thanks for the rid—”
“I tried getting in touch with you a few times after you left.”
Shit. This is the conversation I’ve been dreading. “I know. I’m sorry.”
I always meant to respond to his messages, but I was too busy trying to deal with all the new changes in my life.
Plus, Tommy reminded me of Jace.
Jace who was ignoring me.
Just like I was ignoring Tommy.
“I should have written you back.”
“Why didn’t you?”
How do you tell someone their feelings were scaring you? Or that you were into someone else way more than you were into them?
My stomach knots when it occurs to me. Maybe that’s why Jace refused to speak to me?
No. If he didn’t have any feelings for me, he wouldn’t have done or said what he did right before I left.
“I don’t know.”
Tommy looks at me like I’m full of shit. He’s not wrong.
“Wow,” he scoffs. “One of the things I liked most about you was that in a world full of liars and fakes, you always kept it real.”
He’s right. Usually, I have no problem telling it like it is.
Nevertheless, I don’t want to hurt him. Not when he’s been nothing but nice to me, and I know how it feels to be snubbed by someone you thought was a true friend.
I scan my brain for a kernel of truth to pacify him. “It was a hectic time. I was trying to fit in at a new school, deal with my dad marrying my stepmonster, and—”
“Dating that hipster with a weird name.” His words have a slight edge to them despite the crooked grin he shoots me. “I might have peeped your Instagram a few times.”
Then he should know we’re no longer together. And haven’t been for a while.
Caspian—or Casper—as his friends called him was my first real boyfriend.
I didn’t like him at first, but when we were assigned partners for a school project, sparks flew.
For a little while, anyway.
In the end, Caspian and I only dated for eight months. I cared about him enough that I gave him my V-card a few weeks before our relationship ended, but I never fell in love with him.
Not like I did with Jace.
Which is why I knew I had to break up with him.
Considering he fucked my friend two days later; he bounced back pretty quickly.
Tommy, on the other hand, is obviously still upset with me for blowing him off.
“Look, I already told you I was sorry. I don’t know what else you want—”
“What I want is my chance.” His gaze fixes on my mouth. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted from you.”
Oh, boy. I’m so not in the right headspace to pursue any kind of romantic relationship.
“My life is a mess, Tommy.” A wave of exhaustion sweeps over me. “And it’s only going to get messier because Jace hates me and I have no idea why.” I throw up my hands and laugh helplessly. “And he’s not the only one. Britney is back to her old tricks with her crew of mean girls. Bianca Covington’s planning my murder for some unknown reason. Hell, even my own step-cousin—” To my surprise and shame, my voice cracks. “I don’t mean to lay all this shit on you. I’m just really not read—”