“Do you have plans tonight?” I asked before I could stop myself.
She hesitated. “I have a custody swap tonight. Why?”
“Oh, yeah, I just was going to see if you wanted to finish the tour.”I just want to spend time with you. I want to reconnect. I want to memorize all the newness to you, the ways you’ve expanded and grown and changed since we last knew each other. I want to see if there’s something there anymore, or if I’m crazy.“You can bring her if you want?” I sounded desperate, even to my own ears.
“That’s sweet of you, but she’ll probably be tired. Can I just come in tomorrow?”
“Yeah, absolutely, whatever works for you.” Man, I sounded like an idiot. We waved goodbye as she walked down into the parking lot, got on a beach cruiser bike, and started riding away.
I really needed to pull my head out of my ass. Maeda was off limits and unattainable. There was no reason to think she was interested.
The music on the playlist turned over to a new song, “The Heart Wants What it Wants” by Selena Gomez.
Fucking perfect.
Chapter Six
Nikki
Maeda’s onboarding to the team at Lucky Lanes was smooth. She picked up the standards of operation quickly, and she folded herself into the team seamlessly. Emma Jones, one of the other employees, and Maeda became fast friends. I was glad for it.
Emma was honestly one of the best employees we ever had here at Lucky Lanes, and Maeda matched her work ethic. The two would get everything done and still have time to hang out, which I didn’t mind. They were always on top of their tasks and quick to solve any problems that arose.
Which is why I was so surprised when Maeda no-called, no-showed to her first solo shift. It was going to be a slower night, so I had scheduled Madea solo. I would be there, too, but mostly handling things in the office. She was going to be manning the floor. Except, it was fifteen minutes after her shift, and she still was nowhere to be seen. I checked my messages, missed calls, and even the company email. There was no notice.
Andrew, a seventeen-year-old kid, was on the floor. He had stayed, waiting for Maeda to arrive, but I could tell he was getting antsy as he had a first date with the high school varsity pitcher tonight.
“Hey, Andrew,” I called down from the office doorway, “Go ahead and clock out, buddy.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “I could stay a few more minutes.”
“Man, are you procrastinating your date tonight?” I teased, but then I saw the slump in his shoulders. I went over to him. “What’s wrong?”
Andrew crossed his arms on the concessions counter and rested his forehead on them. He muttered into the counter, “I’m nervous. Steven is so kind, and he really listens, you know? He makes everyone he passes in the hallway feel special. I really like him.”
I waited a beat. “Okay, so not seeing a problem here. He sounds like a catch,” I laughed, “No pun intended on the whole baseball thing.”
Andrew slumped down dramatically until he was sitting on the floor. “What if—” His eyes looked up to the star-painted ceiling. “What if he’s just being kind? What if this isn’t a real date, but just a nice guy doing a nice thing?”
I squatted down next to Andrew. He’s a cute kid, Latino with warm brown eyes and black hair cut short. He made me think of a puppy or a bear cub. “Andrew Martinez, you are a catch, too. Go out, have fun, and don’t stress about it too much. You’reyoung and the feelings are big, but it doesn’t have to be a big deal. Avoiding it won’t make the situation clearer.” I stood and offered him a hand. He took it and rose. He did a little shake to get the nerves out.
“Okay, I’m good.”
I called Maeda. Maybe she was hurt? Or, sick? I tried to swallow the fear that she didn’t want to be alone with me. We hadn’t had a shift with just the two of us. In fact, we hadn’t been alone together since Mike came by and tried to make it seem like we were together.
I wondered and worried all the way through closing and to her house. She had told me that she was renting from a professor who was currently on sabbatical. I had house-sat for him once before, watering his plants while he was away.
Before I knew it, I was knocking on her door. I heard a child’s voice call out. “Mama! Someone’s knocking!” I thought I could hear Maeda’s voice in the distance, but the door handle was already turning. A knobby haphazard turn, an unpracticed opening of the door.
A little girl stood there in blue-and-white striped pajamas with little cherries all over them. Maeda came rushing to the door behind her in a matching pajama set. Button-down top and shorts. Little cherries all over.
“Dolly, you’re not supposed to open the door.” Then, she looked up at me, and her eyes widened. “Nikki, what are you doing here?”
My palms were sweating, and I tried to hide it by shoving them in to my back pockets. “You missed your shift, and I was just coming to make sure you were okay.”
Maeda scrunched her brows. “Dolly, can you go brush your teeth?”
“But, I don’t know how,” the little girl protested.
