Page 9 of The Relationship Clause

“No, it’s true. Look it up. People who drink dark coffee tend to display more sadistic personality traits such as selfishness, vanity, and manipulation. They did a study on it.”

I turn my back on her to clean up a creamer spill on the counter. Pete is once again confining me to the stool, but I find I can still get little things like this done when he’s in the back with his wife like he is now.

I want to ignore her, but Marlee happens to be studying psychology at Clemson University, and I’ve been proved wrong by her on more than one occasion.

“Or,” I say, trying to remain positive, “maybe he doesn’t want the extra calories of cream or sugar in his coffee.”

Not that he needs to worry. The man is fit. In the summertime, he sometimes comes into the coffee shop having already taken off his suit coat, and boy, do those shoulders scream “broad” under his button ups. It’s the shoulders that always get me. Some women like abs or chests or veiny forearms, and don’t get me wrong, those things are nice, but it’s the shoulders for me.

Marlee shrugs and lifts one of her pierced eyebrows. “Whatever you want to tell yourself.”

I’m about to make a retort when my favorite person walks into Pete’s Perk Up.

“Kiera!” I say, singing her name.

She smiles and waves, then dashes over to the counter. A couple of people in line give her the stink eye, but she throws them one of her patented disarming smiles.

“Don't worry, y’all, I'm not here to order,” she says. “Just saying hi to my best friend here.” Then she leans over the counter and pulls me into a fierce hug. She’s careful not to pull me too tightly though because she knows I’m still in some pain.

Normally, public displays of affection like this would mortify me—I’m not much into PDA—but I’ve come to accept them from Kiera. She exudes sunshine and kitties and all the happy things, and the sooner you accept the fact that she will love you harder than a two-year-old loves ice cream, the better off you’ll be.

“Has he come in yet?” she whispers before she pulls away.

“Not yet.” I go back to stocking the cups. “But stick around another three minutes and you’ll finally see him.”

Kiera winces. “I can’t. I only stopped by for literally ten seconds. If I’m late to this big meeting, my boss will have my neck.”

“Come on, what’s your brother going to do? Fire you?” I scoff.

Kiera gives me a serious look. “That option is definitely on the table.”

For the past six months, she’s been working at some up-and-coming tech company with her older brother as her boss. It was touch and go at the beginning. According to her, their personalities are like night and day. Working for him was the last thing she wanted to do, but after her own business venture failed, she was left with few options. Recently, they managed to come to a cautious understanding, so things have been a little smoother, but she still tiptoes around him in order to keep the peace.

“Anyway, I’ve got to go,” she says, already walking away. “Call me later and we’ll do dinner together.”

“Will do. Bye!”

I finish getting Mr. TDC’s order ready when not twenty seconds later, the man himself walks through the door. I swear I hear the kind of music that would be playing on a cologne commercial. Any second now, he’s going to shrug off that wool coat, loosen his navy tie, and—

“Careful, Junie, you’re drooling.”

I snap my jaw shut. Pete is beside me now, smirking and arranging another large order. “I was not drooling,” I say, but we both know I’m lying. Metaphorically speaking, at least.

“Ask him out.”

“Ha. Nope. Not going to happen.” I smile as I take the woman’s card in front of me. There are now two people between me and Mr. TDC.

“Come on,” Pete murmurs. “Isn’t it the twenty-first century? Aren’t you one of those liberated women or whatever?”

“I am, but…” I trail off, unable to have this conversation with Pete right here and now.

I’m totally not against asking a guy out. Yes, it terrifies me, but I’ve done it before. The thing is, I don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to sticking around in most of my relationships.

Truth be told, not counting my Dad, Kiera is the longest-running relationship I have, and that’s only because she latched on with her Care Bear-like claws and wouldn’t let go. Even when I sorta kinda did my typical ghosting of her after we were no longer roommates, she drove over to my house and pounded on the door until I came out, head hanging. She then proceeded to hug my brains out while she told me very firmly and very loudly that she would not let our friendship slip away as if it meant nothing just because I tend to shy away from commitment in all forms…

But that’s not the point. The point is, although I may dream of what my babies would look like with Mr. TDC, the actual follow-through it would take to make said babies happen is kind of…lacking.

So I should probably be thankful the teeth fiasco happened yesterday. Nothing is ever going to happen between us, and that’s a good thing. Instead, I’ll continue to admire him from afar and dream.

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