I caught her meaning. She’d stay after close. Thank God. “It’s always okay, Piper. Do you want your usual?”
“Yes, please.” She nodded before she paid and went to her table. I watched her the whole way.
“Down boy,” Kelsey muttered.
“Shut up. I’m worried about her.”
“Me too. She seemed quiet today, right?”
“Yeah, but I expected that, after what happened.”
“Whatdidhappen?”
“Do you not know?”
Kelsey shook her head. “No, I don’t have Piper-vision like you do. And I try not to listen toallyour conversations.”
“It’s not ...” I stopped myself. I didn’t even want to engage with that. “She has an aversion to touching. It causes panic.”
“Oh.” Kelsey’s eyes were wide. “That makes a lot of sense. I kind of saw it, but I didn’t put it all together. So, Jasmine running into her was bad.”
“Very bad.”
“But you can help her.”
“A little. But I’m not gonna overdo it. I helped her in a capacity she was willing to accept.”
She blinked. “Wow. That’s emotionally mature of you.”
“Why do you sound surprised?”
“You give the vibe of someone who’s emotionally constipated.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just because I’m quiet doesn’t mean I’m unhelpful.”
“Well, you’re a man.”
“Sure. But I’m not an idiot.”
“I suppose you’re not. Anyway, I think it’s nice you helped her.”
I’d be helping her more, if only time would go by faster.
There weren’t a lot of days where I counted down the minutes until the shop was closed. Usually, I was so busy that I didn’t have time for thoughts, but I was eager to talk to Piper with no one around.
I made it through an hour without looking over at her too much, and I thought I’d been playing it cool.
“Do you want me to leave early today?” Kelsey asked.
“Why would you think that?”
“Piper’s here.”
“Maybe I’d want you to leave early to save money.”
“We’re the only two people that work here.” She rolled her eyes. “You wanna talk to Piper, don’t you?”
I sighed. “You can leave early, Kelsey.”
