Page 28 of Tell Me Again

“I switched you to decaf three cups ago, just FYI,” I say. And then I turn and start back toward the kitchen to check on Mel.

“What? Hey, Coop! Not cool!”

“You’ll thank me later, Ang!” I say with another grin, and I give her a little wave as I push through the doors into the kitchen. “Hey, Mel, is that burger ready for table eight? The dude’s looking a little antsy, and—”

I stop myself when I see Clara instead of Mel at the griddle. She nods a quick greeting and reaches over to push a plate toward me.

“Just finished. Mel’s on another phone call,” Clara says quietly. “Oh, and Chuck’s here to relieve you early. He’s just washing up some of the dishes.”

“Early?”

“Yeah, man,” Chuck says, coming into the room through a back door that leads to the dishwashing station. “I feel pretty shitty for leaving you all hanging the last few days. I know you’ve been picking up all the slack, and I’m sorry for that.”

My knee-jerk reaction is to say it’s nothing. But that wouldn’t quite be true. I’ve had to work way too many hours in the last couple of weeks, and I’m fucking exhausted. I’d not been looking forward to pulling another double today if Chuck hadn’t shown again.

“I appreciate that,” I say instead, and Chuck nods and steps in to pick up the plate Clara had prepped.

“Table eight?”

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks, man.”

Chuck takes off out into the dining room, and I hesitate for just a second before starting toward Mel’s office. The door’s closed, which isn’t a great sign, but I can’t help feeling like I need to find out what’s happening with her, and soon. However, as I pass Clara, she stops me with a hand on my arm.

“She said not to let anyone bother her. I think whatever’s going on, she’s not ready yet, Coop.”

“Ah, okay. Thanks,” I say, and I step over to the counter where Clara’s working and help her as she starts to organize and clean up a bit. “I’ll just give her more time, I guess? I’ve never seen her like this before.”

“Yeah, I think that’s for the best. And you should head home and get some rest. You look like you could use it.”

“That’s a nice way of saying I look like shit,” I say, laughing.

Clara grins but shakes her head. “No, you just look tired.”

God, I am. I am so tired. I let out a short breath and nod. “Uh, I guess I’ll just go cash out and then see you tomorrow?”

“Yep! And don’t worry—Chuck and I got everything covered. You go rest,” Clara says, and she gives me another gentle smile before getting back to her work.

She’s always too kind. But she’s right. Maybe I will just go home and rest.

And try not to think about Thursday.

Without even meaning to, I stuff my hand into my pocket and grip the business card Josh gave me. Fuck, who am I kidding? Of course I’m going to call him. And of course I’m going to be thinking about Thursday.

I doubt I’ll be able to think about much else.

Chapter Twelve

Josh

Microwaved popcorn and stupid movies. It was how we used to spend all our free time, especially during grad school when things just got ridiculously stressful. It was always the best way to unwind and just not have to think for a while.

And that’s how it feels now, too.

We prop up all the pillows on the bed, and I sit with my back against the headboard. Brenna cuddles up next to me, her head resting on my shoulder. And we eat and laugh and flip back and forth from one movie to another, not even really caring what we’re watching.

It seriously makes me love her all over again. I mean... like a best friend. Which makes everything even harder if I let myself think about it. So I try not to.

Some Hallmark rom-com is on now, and it’s probably the third movie we’ve watched. I don’t know when it got so late, but it’s easily after eight, and we’re on our second bag of popcorn. Brenna’s also had two glasses of wine. Or maybe even three. I wasn’t really keeping track, but the bottle’s about half-empty now. And she’s a little extra giggly, which is how she gets when she’s tipsy.

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