Page 2 of Keep Me Safe

“Good afternoon,graduate. How does it feel?”

I return his smile, loving that he cares.

“Honestly, not much different. I’m just glad I don’t have to enter that godforsaken school ever again,” I laugh.

For me, high school was miserable. I had no friends besides Jared. The only thing that kept me going was ceramics.

Mrs. Johnson—Darla, now that I’m out of school—was the closest thing I had to a real parental figure. She owns a pottery studio and lets me use it for free. Without her, I don’t know where I’d be. She’s the reason I still believe I can open my own studio someday.

“You say that now, but you’ll miss it eventually,” he says.

I highly doubt it, but maybe it’s true for him.

“Do you think you could handle the register? I’m going to finish stocking,”he adds.

“Of course!”

I take a seat on the tall wooden stool behind the counter. Thankfully, today is warm, with the sun shining brightly through the old windows and almost no clouds in the sky. Michigan is one of the gloomiest states, so I’m happy that we tend to get a lot more sun during the summer. It makes the cloudy winter days worth it.

A jingle sounds, and the front door flies open, breaking me out of my thoughts.

Jared.

He barrels toward me, his face split into a grin. Before I can react, he wraps me in a crushing hug, lifting me off my seat.

“I can’t believe we did it! We’re officially adults now!” he exclaims.

Jared has been my best friend since middle school, and this—this joy, this energy—is exactly why I love him. He’s sunshine in human form.

I roll my eyes, but I can’t help but smile. He smells like fresh laundry and summer heat. His sandy blond hair flops into his bright green eyes, making him look like an overexcited golden retriever.

“We did,” I giggle.

“Are you ready for the bonfire tonight?” He puts his hand by the side of his mouth and lowers his voice, “Jake’s bringing the booze, and of course, I’ve got the bud. Plus, my dad works, so he’ll be at the station and out of our way until tomorrow.”

I shake my head, grinning at him.

Jared’s dad is a firefighter, so his shifts are typically overnight. This has given us plenty of time over the years to make some questionable decisions at his lake house.

We’re still alive, though, so that’s a plus. Although, there were some close calls. A specific memory of too much tequila and a boat comes to my mind.

The door chimes again as it swings open. This time, however, Jared’s dad walks through the door.

I take in his broad frame. He’s wearing his typical ensemble: a faded black t-shirt that hangs over his ink-covered arms, worn blue jeans, and old brown work boots. He’s the picture of masculinity. He scans the store, presumably looking for Jared, but his eyes land on mine instead. I quickly drop my focus to the floor, hoping he missed my staring.

Noah Keller is probably the hottest man I’ve ever seen, but he is entirelyoff-limits.

His eyes linger on me briefly before shifting to Jared leaning over the counter. “I hope you’re not getting Kira into any trouble.”

“Of course not. In case you forgot, I’m congratulating her on our literal graduation today.”

“I was there,” he responds, his eyes landing on me again. “Congratulations, Kira.”

Heat rushes to my cheeks under his attention. Ever since Jared and I became friends, Noah has been there for us when he could. I can only imagine how hard it must be doing it all alone. He and Jared’s mom split up before I met them, and I’ve always wondered what happened. But I never got the nerve to ask Jared, and he’s never volunteered the information either.

“I just needed a snack before I have to head into the station,” Noah says as he opens the clear doors and grabs a cream-filled long john, placing it in one of the parchment bags and onto the counter. My heart races at his eyes on me.

“And, of course, Jared wanted to come too,” Noah chuckles as Jared tosses a bag of jerky onto the counter. I ring them up, smiling to myself. I don’t know what I would do without these two.

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