I’m blaming my grief for the weird things I keep feeling and seeing, like my mind is overloaded and can’t find a way to break free.
“Hey, hey.”
Jasmine’s voice startles me. I flinch, drink spilling down the side of the glass.
“Jesus, Jas,” I say breathlessly. I grab a clean towel to wipe up the mess. “I didn’t realize you were coming in for the lunch shift.”
Jasmine frowns at me as she taps away on the POS machine. “Girl, since when are you jumpy? You usually see me first.”
“Long night,” I confess.
I can see her smirking out of the corner of my eye, and I glare her way. “Don’t start.”
“I didn’t.”
She’s still smiling when I turn to take my table their drinks, and when I return, she looks like she’s checking the truck invoice from this morning, though I know she’s hardly looking at it.
“I saw you had an escort home last night,” she says.
Of course she had the outside motion alert on. “I did.”
“But no escort this morning?” She raises her brows when she looks my way, making me purse my lips as I turn to put in the last round of drinks on the computer.
Jasmine’s laugh continues. “Okay. You keep your secrets. Just don’t make fucking in the bathroom a habit?—”
I throw a towel at her face, cheeks heating. “Shut up!” I exclaim, chuckling myself.
God, I still can’t believe I did that.
“It was a one-time thing,” I add. “And I tried to be quiet.”
“Girl, quiet is not your strong-suit,” Jasmine mutters under her breath.
I shake my head and tap the POS screen, putting in an order for the kitchen and closing out another table’s tab. I’m printing out the receipt when Jasmine settles her hips against the counter at my side, arms crossed.
“Did you dye his hair?” Jasmine asks, staring at the door.
“Huh?”
“Your boyfriend. Did you dye his hair?”
“I don’t… Do you mean Nick?”
“Obviously. He had black hair yesterday.”
“Yeah, he has dark hair. What are you talking about? Who dyed their hair?”
“Girl, just turn around.”
“What—”
“Turn around.” Jasmine grabs my shoulders and pivots me. I start to protest, but the moment I see who she’s talking about, the thought fades.
“Hair. Not dark. Isn’t that him?” Jasmine asks.
No.
No, that’s not…
