Page 26 of Hate to Love You

“Yup,” Zara supplies in my silence. “It is. Extra-grande and whip. Just the way she likes it.”

“I thought so. You’re a regular here.” She leans toward me and whispers, “I’ll have it waiting for you every day at quarter to ten.”

When I continue staring in befuddlement, Zara jabs me in the ribs with her elbow and whispers under her breath with a smile, “Say thank you.”

“Thank you,” I mumble like an idiot.

“You’re welcome. Just let McKinnon know that we absolutely love him here at Java House.” The way she says “love” makes it sound more like loooooove.

“We’ll definitely do that. Your support is appreciated.” Zara pumps her fist in the air. “Go Wildcats!” Then she leans across the counter and asks, “So…any chance I can get a frap with no whip?”

“Of course, coming right up!”

With a delighted grin lighting up her face, Zara turns back to me. I’m sure my expression is more what-the-fuck-was-that. I frantically shake my head at her.

“This is freaking awesome!” she whispers giddily.

Finding my voice, I mutter, “This is weird! I don’t like it. Not one bit.”

Less than two minutes later, the barista is back. “Here you go! Frappuccino with no whip.”

Thrown off by the whole bizarre exchange, I dig through my pocket for cash and pull out a few folded-up bills. “How much do we owe you?”

She takes a step away from the counter, holds her hands up, and shakes her head. “Don’t worry. It’s on the house.”

“What? No!” My eyes slide to Zara, silently begging her to back me up on this. “We can’t accept these drinks without paying for them.”

“Are you kidding? Of course, we can!” Zara interrupts. When she elbows me for a third time, I glare. There’s a perma-grin plastered across her face that makes her look slightly manic. Okay, it’s more than slightly. “Thank the nice girl again and let’s get to class before we’re late.”

I don’t have the chance to argue because Zara pulls me away from the counter. Before I get too far, I stuff the wadded-up bills into the tip jar. I can’t just not pay these people. It would be wrong. I feel bad enough for cutting in front of the customers who were already waiting in line.

I stumble out of the shop and grind to a halt. “What the hell was that?”

Zara grins and takes a sip of her drink. She closes her eyes and sighs with exaggeration. “That, my love, is one of the many perks of dating Brody McKinnon. And you know what? I love it. Dare I say that the coffee tastes a little better because of it?” She squeals. “All right, I dare. It tastes so much better.” Her eyes dance. “Told you this wasn’t going to blow over anytime soon.”

I hate to admit it, but Zara might be right. Which means that I need to speak with Brody immediately. This farce needs to end before it spins any further out of control

Chapter Ten

Natalie

I arrive at Dr. Miller’s class with a few minutes to spare. On the way over, I was bombarded with more people calling out my name and waving. After a while, I just waved back. A few even stopped and told me how much they love my boyfriend.

My boyfriend…

What am I supposed to say to that?

Ummm, thank you?

This episode has thrown off my entire morning. I’m a fidgety mess as I wait for Brody to make his grand entrance. I’m in the middle of taking my agitation out on my gnawed-to-the-pulp thumbnail when Kimmie Sanders walks in.

I do a double take.

Well…I think it’s Kimmie.

Even though it’s a ten a.m. class, and most of us usually look like we’ve just rolled out of bed and sprinted across campus like we’re contestants on The Amazing Race, Kimmie usually sweeps into the room wearing full makeup with her hair perfectly styled. She favors tops that reveal way too much cleavage and skirts that barely cover her butt cheeks.

That’s not the case this morning.

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