I heard motion on the other side and waited with my heart pounding in my chest. As the door opened disappointment struck when Juniper wasn’t standing there, but who I assumed to be her roommate, Casey.
She was in a black hoodie pulled over her blue hair. Fringe bangs hung in her face and she had dark circles under her eyes, like she hadn’t slept yet.
She had thick framed black glasses that she pushed up her face as she looked at me. “Can I help you?”
I cleared my throat. “Yes, I’m looking for Juniper.”
“Ah, you’re lover boy,” she said.
I licked my lips quickly. “Sure, is she here?”
“No, she went to her mom’s for a few days. Said she needed to figure some stuff out.”
“Do you know where her mom lives? Or when she’ll be back?”
“I don’t know when she’ll be back. But I’m not telling you where her mom’s is. She needs space, dude, take the hint.”
Juniper’s best friend was forward. “Fine,” I passed her the bag. “This is her stuff. Tell her I’ll be back. And to answer my calls, I’m not upset with her.”
“Sure, I can do that.” She looked me up and down, assessing me in a single glance. “Though you do seem like a rich douche canoe, I can tell you really care about her.”
“I do,” I said sincerely. “And I am.”
She cracked a small smile at that before shutting the door.
I let out a deep sigh. If she wanted her space, I would give it to her. But not forever.
I knew I would get her back, and I wasn’t giving up.
Juniper
“Order for Eilene,”I called as I set the peppermint mocha down.
We were officially out of pumpkin spice season and firmly in minty mocha territory. Which would be fine, if I wasn’t so caught up in my own head that I couldn’t focus. I’d made every other drink wrong this morning, written down wrong orders, and even burnt a croissant to a charred crisp. I knew I was just making Jay’s life harder, but I was going to get it together.
I spent the last few days of my vacation time stewing at my mom’s. She eventually got to the voicemail I sent and called. She tried comforting me, telling me not everyone was horrible about it, which was obviously true since her boyfriend was human, but I wasn’t sure if it could be the same with Ellery. We already started out in a way I didn’t know if we could get past.
“You okay today?” Jay asked. “Too much vacation with the hubby?” they waggled their brows.
I knew they weren’t trying to upset me, but thinking about it all almost brought me to tears. “It… it didn’t work out.”
Their expression sobered. “Oh no, what happened?”
I told them the line I’d come up with while stewing. “We just didn’t see eye to eye on some important things.”
Then frowned. “Well, I’m sorry. But I’m sure there’s someone out there for you.”
I huffed. It didn’t feel that way. I knew I was being dramatic, but something about us felt so right, until it all went wrong.
My shift was almost over and I was finally feeling slightly better. It was just like before I’d met Ellery.
I was in the back taking my apron off when Jay came back. “Hey, someone’s here to see you.”
“Who is it?” Casey had told me about Ellery coming to the apartment, and I didn’t want to see him.
“I’m not sure, I’ve never seen him before.”
At least that meant it wasn’t Ellery. “I’ll be out in a moment.”
