I turned towards its owner, and saw a tall guy standing just outside the kitchen, his arms crossed in front of him, and his brows raised in surprise.
“Heis?” asked the big dude, and then gave me a once over. “Youare?”
I opened my mouth, but didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t sure what I could say in that moment, to be honest. Everyone was looking at me like I was a sacrificial lamb or something. I just wanted to put a paper-bag over my head and call it a day.
“Wait,you’reMyles?” asked the guy with glasses. “Dude, you’ve got some balls coming in here. In case you didn’t know, the four of us areTeamAnti-Myles. We basically despise your ass.”
Jesus Christ.
“Yikes, man; thanks,” I mumbled.
Rina really did tell them all about my stupidity. Mr. Ribeiro wasn’t wrong when he’d told me that these people loved Rina something fierce.
The guy shrugged. “I’m Remi, by the way. I’ve known Rina since we were kids,” he then introduced himself, which was savage, because he’d literally just told me that he didn’t like me. Atall.
“This,” Remi pointed at the big guy, “is Cruz. He’s probably thinking of squashing you to a pulp right now, but the verdict’s still out on that, so let’s not jump to conclusions.”
Cruz scowled at me, and I gave him a wobbly wave. I really didn’t wanna know what it’d feel like being sandwiched between that man’s hands.
Nope, not at all.
Rina kept glancing at us all like a deer caught in headlights. She looked like she wanted to blend into the wall with the way she was grimacing at everyone.
“I’m Daniel,” said the man who’d called me out on hurting Rina.
The woman on the small desk placed the phone down and rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you people are doing this…” She half-heartedly wiggled her fingers at me. “I guess I should introduce myself. Well, I’m Simran, and I’m pissed at you for hurting my friend, but I’m willing to let it go if you do end up redeeming yourself somehow. Good luck.” She picked the phone back up and continued on with her task.
Wow.
“Okay, so now that the painful introductions are out of the way, let’s get to the serious question,” Daniel said to no one in particular. “Who mentioned my name a few minutes ago? I heard it, so you better not lie to me. Have you all started gossiping about me after all?”
“You wish, knucklehead,” Remi mused, and I pursed my lips to suppress a grin.
“Oh yeah, we were just talking about how fabulous you’d look mopping Rina’s broken mug off the floor,” Cruz said to Daniel.
Rina snorted, and then placed a hand over her mouth before laughing fitfully.
Unable to hold it in, I chuckled.
She glanced at me, so I gave her a faint smile. She averted her gaze in return. I didn’t blame her for that.
The shop’s door opened, and a few people walked in, chatting animatedly. They all greeted Remi with excited hellos, and then proceeded to place their orders.
Daniel rolled his eyes. “You really know how to make me feel special, don’t you, Cruz?”
Cruz smirked. “You deserve nothing but the best, partner.”
“I’ll make a believer out of you one day, just you wait,” Daniel told him, and then looked at me. “Your Instagram pictures don’t do you justice. You’re fucking hot, and if I wasn’t married to my wife, I’d definitely bend you over the baking station and go to town on your pretty ass. But that doesn’t mean I’m not angry over the fact that you upset Rina. You should be ashamed of yourself for doing that. She’s a treasure, and the four of us love her like family.” And with that, he winked at me before disappearing into the kitchen.
Rina’s mouth formed an ‘O’ as she stared at him. Cruz coughed into a fist, just as Simran snickered, and Remi whistled.
And I? Well, I took it all in with a brave face; let every bit of what Daniel had said, seep into my pores. It wasn’t like I hadn’t earned any of that.
I’ve always believed that it takes courage to own up to one’s faults, and it’s true that I haven’t exactly treated Rina with the level of respect she deserves to be treated with. I accept that, and I’m ready to make amends for it, too.
Just not by letting Danielgo to town on my ass. That was so far out of the question that I couldn’t emphasize it enough.
Someone cleared their throat.
