even go there.
That was
forbidden territory. He’s you friend for
Christ’s sake. More like a very friendly neighbor. Who was there when my
parents split? Simon. And who was the one who came to check on me in the hall
when I was locked outside my apartment? Simon.
I could never
jeopardize the relationship I had with him, or David
for that matter. Friendship came before sex. ALWAYS. But if that’s true, why did you turn Jace away? I had no idea. Maybe it was because of
Orion. Or maybe it was because I hadn’t seen any action in months. Either way,
I was beginning to fray at both ends, and if I didn’t find some kind of balance
soon, Simon and David would have to roll me up into a ball and put me back
together again.
****
Work was the
same as always. Boring, annoying customers with questions about products we
didn’t even have. Karie stopped by my register a few
times, but with Farrin hovering around with every
spare moment he had, it was hard to discuss much outside of work. Not that I
had anything I wanted to share anyway.
The
excitement I had the other night of possibly finding Orion in real life was
stomped out the very next evening. There was nothing to share, nothing to say.
So we worked.
At one point,
right before my lunch break, I happened to remember the note Simon had handed
to me. It was still there, resting against my leg. And the longer I thought of
it, the harder it was for me to concentrate on the forty-five minutes I had
left before I got an hour to eat and lounge around.
It could've
said a number of things ranging from an apology to a butt-hurt rage. I winced
at the latter. The last thing I needed in my life was more drama. Between my
parents still going through their divorce—even though they signed the papers
more than a year ago—and my older sister pretty much going off the radar, I
couldn't take much more.
I eyed the
trashcan behind the register. It would've been so easy to toss the letter aside
and just wait to see if Jace came into the bar that night . But what if I didn't read it? What if it was
important? Taking a deep breath, I used the repeated actions of ringing up
another customer to forget about Jace , Orion, and the
contents of the letter until I could get away from work.
Knowing my
luck, I'd open it just as Farrin was doing his
rounds, or worse. Karie could've seen, and until I
knew what it said, not to mention knowing more about Jace ,
I was going to keep it to myself. If you can help it.
My cell
buzzed just then. I'd made the habit of leaving my phone beside the register in
case family called, but more often than not, the cell vibrated because of Karie . I turned on the backlight to my cell and red her
text.
"Are you okay?"
I glanced
over in the direction of her register, but her back was turned toward me. She
rang up a customer, and as soon as I was sure they were outside of hearing
range, I sent her another text.
"Just tired." I knew she wouldn't believe it, but
anymore, tired was code for either 'I don't want to talk about it' or 'Later.'
My phone
buzzed her quick reply. "Let me know
if you need to talk."
"Thanks."
That was as
far as our conversation would go. With the lunch rush filling our lines and my
break in less than an hour, we probably wouldn't talk again until after we
closed for the night. Most of the time, I would've waited for Karie to get off to have drinks and just vent, but not
tonight.
I was kind of
relieved she had to work a few hours later than I did. But I wouldn't be able
to avoid her for long. You probably won't
have to. After tonight, I'd either know enough about Jace to actually tell her about him, or he and I would go our separate ways. Then it
wouldn't matter.
The rest of
the morning was just as slow as when I first got in. It would've helped if the
customers were at least a little talkative, but it seemed as if everyone was
having a bad Monday.
I glanced at
the clock and turned off the light on my register, ringing up the few customers
who
That was
forbidden territory. He’s you friend for
Christ’s sake. More like a very friendly neighbor. Who was there when my
parents split? Simon. And who was the one who came to check on me in the hall
when I was locked outside my apartment? Simon.
I could never
jeopardize the relationship I had with him, or David
for that matter. Friendship came before sex. ALWAYS. But if that’s true, why did you turn Jace away? I had no idea. Maybe it was because of
Orion. Or maybe it was because I hadn’t seen any action in months. Either way,
I was beginning to fray at both ends, and if I didn’t find some kind of balance
soon, Simon and David would have to roll me up into a ball and put me back
together again.
****
Work was the
same as always. Boring, annoying customers with questions about products we
didn’t even have. Karie stopped by my register a few
times, but with Farrin hovering around with every
spare moment he had, it was hard to discuss much outside of work. Not that I
had anything I wanted to share anyway.
The
excitement I had the other night of possibly finding Orion in real life was
stomped out the very next evening. There was nothing to share, nothing to say.
So we worked.
At one point,
right before my lunch break, I happened to remember the note Simon had handed
to me. It was still there, resting against my leg. And the longer I thought of
it, the harder it was for me to concentrate on the forty-five minutes I had
left before I got an hour to eat and lounge around.
It could've
said a number of things ranging from an apology to a butt-hurt rage. I winced
at the latter. The last thing I needed in my life was more drama. Between my
parents still going through their divorce—even though they signed the papers
more than a year ago—and my older sister pretty much going off the radar, I
couldn't take much more.
I eyed the
trashcan behind the register. It would've been so easy to toss the letter aside
and just wait to see if Jace came into the bar that night . But what if I didn't read it? What if it was
important? Taking a deep breath, I used the repeated actions of ringing up
another customer to forget about Jace , Orion, and the
contents of the letter until I could get away from work.
Knowing my
luck, I'd open it just as Farrin was doing his
rounds, or worse. Karie could've seen, and until I
knew what it said, not to mention knowing more about Jace ,
I was going to keep it to myself. If you can help it.
My cell
buzzed just then. I'd made the habit of leaving my phone beside the register in
case family called, but more often than not, the cell vibrated because of Karie . I turned on the backlight to my cell and red her
text.
"Are you okay?"
I glanced
over in the direction of her register, but her back was turned toward me. She
rang up a customer, and as soon as I was sure they were outside of hearing
range, I sent her another text.
"Just tired." I knew she wouldn't believe it, but
anymore, tired was code for either 'I don't want to talk about it' or 'Later.'
My phone
buzzed her quick reply. "Let me know
if you need to talk."
"Thanks."
That was as
far as our conversation would go. With the lunch rush filling our lines and my
break in less than an hour, we probably wouldn't talk again until after we
closed for the night. Most of the time, I would've waited for Karie to get off to have drinks and just vent, but not
tonight.
I was kind of
relieved she had to work a few hours later than I did. But I wouldn't be able
to avoid her for long. You probably won't
have to. After tonight, I'd either know enough about Jace to actually tell her about him, or he and I would go our separate ways. Then it
wouldn't matter.
The rest of
the morning was just as slow as when I first got in. It would've helped if the
customers were at least a little talkative, but it seemed as if everyone was
having a bad Monday.
I glanced at
the clock and turned off the light on my register, ringing up the few customers
who
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