“Georgia, she wasn’t… What do you think…?”
Georgia put her hand on his chest, stopping him from approaching. “Don’t bother, okay? It doesn’t matter… It’s not like you and I are…” She rolled her eyes and tossed her hair back. She imagined she looked feral in that moment with wild curls and fire in her eyes.
“I don’t know why I thought you’d changed, that’s all. All the rumors—the bad boy reputation—I never wanted to believe any of it. But, obviously, I’m more naive than I thought.”
She threw her hands in the air, waving him out. “Just, please leave. I won’t tell your dad about buying the drugs if that is what you’re worried about. You did your due diligence—community service done. Okay? I don’t need a pity date and hand holding or ice cream sundaes to keep my mouth shut. Just… Just go. Please.”
Lake stumbled back, all the color draining from his face. He pinched his lips together, nodding faintly.
Georgia wanted to think he looked caught. Remorseful. But something about the way his eyes traced her face, reading her in a way she’d never experienced before, made her feel like she was the one who was making a mistake.
12
HOW MANY KINGS
DOWNHERE
NOW
“Okay,”Georgia called out into the open air of Good Start Coffee, sparse of guests for another slow day, “one caramel macchiato, extra shot of espresso and one large London fog, extra hot, one extra pump of vanilla.”
She offered the couple who’d been whispering intimately at a small table a generous smile she didn’t quite feel. They’d been daydreaming into each other’s eyes for over an hour without even ordering drinks. They likely only did thanks to Georgia’s repetitive, “Are y’all sure I can’t get ya anything?”
“Y’all have a great day. Stay warm out there,” she said as they each grabbed a cup then interlocked hands, preparing to brave the cold together.
The weather had finally taken a turn. A cold front had moved in overnight, leaving windy, brisk December air in its wake and blowing away the remaining leaves from the magnolia trees lining Main Street.
Georgia had stayed in the warmth of her bed that morning for as long as possible, long before her alarm had even sounded for the day and before she’d regrettably begun replaying the argument with Lake from the night before.
The way she’d treated him. The things he’d said to her… The truth and the hurt. She’d wondered if he was right in some ways. If, after all these years, he’d seen through her motives and her fears. She’d begrudgingly thrown her covers aside and taken to the mundane tasks readying for work. Prepping the baked goods for the morning. Turning on the lights and ensuring Good Start was in working order for the day ahead.
She had soaked in the quiet that morning and the stillness before the storm of the day. She’d watched leaves blow down the street and greeted her employee Sadie, a local college student, as she entered right on time.
Sadie spent the morning chattering with Georgia about the ins and outs of school and her—as she called it—non-existent dating life, which Georgia found hard to believe given the cool grace Sadie exuded. The girl had a funky style, a sleeve of tattoos down one of her caramel-toned arms, and a southern sweetness to her that was hard not to love.
But outside the occasional quip from Sadie, Georgia felt as if she were in a fog.
Same old, same old. Same regulars as the doors opened. Same conversations.
And all the while, the same phrase Lake had thrown at her the night before echoed through her mind.
Serve and volunteer and love people out of delight, not duty…
Delight… not duty…
Georgia stewed on those words.
After grumbling and stumbling through the morning, and serving drinks to the couple so clearly adoring each other in their private window seat, she found her first momentary reprieve of the day. Caroline walked through the coffee shop’s doors with a typically loud greeting.
“Whew! Mornin’, y’all! It’s a blunderin’ mess out there.”
Caroline shut the door against the force of the wind and adjusted the large leather tote bag she carried over her shoulder. She hugged Georgia fiercely, planting a quick kiss on her cheek, and pulled a chair out from an empty table.
“Sit,” Caroline demanded, pointing her eyes at her sister, then the chair, and scraping it across the wood as she pulled it out further.
When Georgia obeyed, Caroline addressed Sadie who idly stared at her phone in the slump of the day, “Hey girl, listen up! Number one, your hair is perfect today. Like, how in the world did you get that perfect wave to stick in this wind?” As Sadie went to answer, Caroline threw a hand in the air. “Hold on now, share those secrets later, please. I want ‘em, but Georgia over here is gonna need a few minutes to explain herself, alright. Can you cover for a bit?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Sadie stood upright and adjusted her t-shirt like she’d been given orders from a commander. She flipped her perfectly waved, short black hair over her shoulder. “I’d be happy to.”
