“Who did you get a ride from, Jules?”
A small smile crosses her face before she schools it. “Umm, Mira, actually.”
My eyes bug out of my head, but if I don’t leave now, I will miss the bus.
“I have to go, but, oh, this conversation is so not over, Jules. When I get back from class, it’s your turn to spill it!” I say, quickly grabbing my bag and heading out the door.
* * *
One test down and three more to go. Walking out of class, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m so close to finishing my degree. It will take so much weight off my back and free up time to figure out how I’m going to turn Dragonfly Books into Dragonfly Books and Cafe.
Turning the corner, I see Blake out of the corner of my eye. I’m not letting him ruin my day, so I spin around and limp in the opposite direction. Fingers crossed, he didn’t see me.
“Hey sweet cheeks, find anyone to fuck that ass of yours?” I hear him yell from across the lawn and laugh. I used to think he was just an asshole when he drank. Nope, he is a full-time asshole. My stomach drops and panic sets in.
I take a few deep breaths and then hold my head up high. I’m not going to let him squeeze his tiny voice that matches his tiny balls into my head.
The bus pulls up just as I reach the stop. Not looking back, I hop on and find a seat. The bus thankfully pulls aways quickly.
Walking through the front door, I shake away the self doubt that starts to sneak into my brain. I’m embarrassed that I even entertained the idea of Blake Monroe.
Jules is sitting behind the counter, reading our latest romance novel.
“You better not breathe a word. I have not read it yet,” I say when I reach the counter. We both have an unhealthy love for mm romance novels, hence the new front display.
“It's so good,” she says, looking up from her kindle. A new author came onto the scene recently. We are two books in and both madly in love. “Sem is just as crazy as we thought he was going to be,” she says with glee.
I laugh as I take off my coat and hang it up in the back office. Walking back up to the front, I notice it’s almost closing time. The store is empty and my ankle is killing me.
“Did we get any customers?” I ask with my fingers crossed.
“Yeah, we had a few. It was really smart to start selling e-books. I had a few people come in to buy some accessories. It gets them in the door, ya know?”
“That's great. I’ll take anything I can get. Maybe we could have a think tank night before we go out on Friday? I also have some ideas I want to tell you about.”
“Yeah, we can bring Alex into it, too. Maybe he can use his techy mind and figure out how to combine the two?”
“Yes, that,” I say, nodding my head.
“Okay, enough stalling. Spill it, woman!” Sitting down in front of her on the other side of the counter with my hands clasped under my chin, I give her fluttery eyes. Which she responds to with an eye roll.
“Fine, I missed the bus because my stupid art literature class ran long,” she says with a sigh and continues. “I was starting to walk to the bookstore when Mira rode up on her motorcycle.” The dreaminess that floats through her eyes is quick, before she schools her emotions.
“She asked me if I was okay, and if I needed a ride. I kindly took her up on her offer.” Raising my eyebrow, I urged her to continue.
Then her emotions quickly got tossed out the window again. “Spencer, being pressed up against her body felt like heaven,” she says while throwing her head down on the counter and covering it. “What am I gonna do?”
My thoughts drift back to Finn. I can relate to how that feels ever since the other night.
“What did you say when she dropped you off?”
Jules looks up at me. “I pulled a Spencer and could barely string two words together.”
I stick my tongue out. “See, it’s not so easy, is it? You guys always pick on me; it's nice to see the tables have turned.” Laughter overtakes me and I lose it.Ahhh, payback.
After trying and failing for like ten minutes, I finally got it under control. “I’m sorry, Jules. You need to take your own advice on this one. She is nice. She would not have offered you a ride home if she did not like you. Just remember, she is a person and maybe start by trying to be friends with her,” I say with a shrug.
I hear a bunch of pounding and banging coming from the back alley. “What is that?”
