Page 3 of Midnight Dream

I stayed longer than I’d planned at Dreamy tonight, but the timing still was ideal. The longer I was in the café, the less chance I had of running into Dustin at home. Even though Jake had taken me up on my offer and invited Dustin out for a beer, I had no idea when they would return and I wasn’t ready for us to cross paths yet.

“What are you scheming, Dream?” Jake had asked me as we sat at a table earlier today.

“See the guy behind the counter?” I asked him, and pointed slightly with my chin. “No, don’t look!” I screamed in a hush tone when he pivoted. “I don’t want him to know we’re talking about him,” I whispered.

“Uh-huh,” Jake mumbled as he swiveled back in his seat to face me. “That’s the new guy, right?”

“Uh-huh,” I mumbled and covered my mouth with my hand. I glanced over at Dustin as he helped Mrs. Stevenson. The dear was chatting his head off in an overt attempt to flirt with him.

“What’s his name?”

“Dustin.”

“Right. Dustin. Jeanette told me about him,” Jake said as he interlocked his fingers and place them in front of his mouth, resting his chin on his thumbs. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know anything about him,” I whispered.

“You hired the man.”

“No, yourwifehired the man. I just let him stay on.”

“Come on, Dream. That’s a bunch of horse shit, and you know it. You’re the owner and operator of Dreamy, it’s your responsibility.”

“I know,” I said and lowered my eyes to the table.

I heard Jake blow out a slow, audible breath. “What do you want me to do, exactly?”

The corners of my mouth pulled high as I lifted my eyes and returned to him. “Just take him out for a beer or something. Try to get to know him. Get a feel for him. Use that male bonding shit that all you guys have to let me know something about him.”

Jake shifted in his chair. “Are you worried about something?”

I looked at Dustin. He was at the cash register finishing up with Mrs. Stevenson. “No,” I answered.

“Dream?”

“Yes. No. I mean, I don’t know, Jake. I don’t know him. Just get a feel for him, alright? I trust you. If you tell me he’s a good guy, then he’s a good guy. Just...just look for anything out of the ordinary, okay?”

Jake unlocked his fingers and reached across the table, taking my right hand in his. “I got you. But this makes us even, so don’t go harassing my girl about coming in late.”

“Scouts honor,” I answered.

Jake stayed after Mrs. Stevenson had finally gotten her fill of pastries and Dustin and chatted with him for a bit. I couldn’t tell if he was making any headway, but Dustin seemed to be as engaging with him as he was with Mrs. Stevenson, and any other customer who came into the café since he’d started. Eventually, I’d heard Jake ask him out for a beer tonight, and Dustin agreed. Though when he did, he cast a sideways glance at me. It was subtle, but I noticed it. Still, he accepted so I didn’t think much of it.

Jake left and Dustin shifted on his heels to face me.

“Dream,” he called, and my heart skipped. “We need to talk.”

His eyes were lowered and darkened, and I damned near wanted to take him right there in front of the cupcakes.

“Dream, we need to talk,” Jeanette said, and I was grateful for it. She emerged out of the backroom with her bonnet and apron. “We’re running out of cream.”

“I’ll go get some,” I yelled out.

I saw Dustin’s mouth open, but before he could protest, I was out the door and in Daisy, my car, and down the road headed to the farmer’s market. It’s not that I didn’t want to give Dustin a chance, it’s just that everything moved so fast my head was spinning.

I spent the rest of the day out and about, running errands and finding any excuse not to go back to Dreamy until close to the time for Dustin to leave. When I got back, Jeanette told me I’d just missed them, as Dustin hopped in the car with Jake.

“He’s taking him to Jaded,” Jeanette said. “Now, what’s going on with you?”

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