Page 18 of We Are the Stars

“Right.” He clears his throat. “I suppose I’ll have you shadow me behind the counter today. Should be easy enough.” Brushing past me, he walks out of the storage room, expecting me to follow him like a lost puppy. Sadly, I do. “With any luck, you’ll get the hang of things fast so I can get my side work done,” he says over his shoulder.

“I’m not inept.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“You implied it.”

“I said I had other shit to do besides babysit the newbie. I didn’t say you weren’t competent.”

“You implied as much and you know it.”

Carsen comes to a screeching halt, swinging around to face me. His stony eyes latch onto mine and his brows form a foreboding arch. “Don’t tell me what I mean to say,Elliott.I’ve had enough of that in my life. When I say I mean I have other shit to do besides teach you how to run the front desk, I simply mean just that. Nothing more, nothing less.”

His tone is heavy, dark.

“Got it?”

“I got it,Carsen.”

The moment his name leaves my lips, he tenses. There’s a thick moment hanging between us where neither of us moves. Carsen stares at me; I stare back. We don’t blink, don’t speak. We…stand there.

The recovery is quick on his end, and then he’s leading us behind the front counter. I follow in a haze, unsure of what transpired just now.

Whatever. No time to dwell. I need to keep up with whatever’s coming out of Carsen’s mouth before he thinks I’m stupid or something.

“…then you’ll hit this button, get their size, and hand them the shoes. Understand?”

“Yep.”

He raises a bushy brow, unconvinced I’m following along, and continues with his instructions. “From there you’ll confirm their purchase, hit this total button, and take the payment.” He goes on to explain how to run cash or card and I nod in all the appropriate places. This is all easy, but he’s explaining it to me slowly, like I’m a child. His tone makes it hard not to sass back or roll my eyes.

Fingers snap in front of my face.

“Get lost?”

“No. I’m very clear on what needs to be done.”

“Sure you are. I need to go finish up in the back room. Can you handle wiping down the lanes and computers?”

Don’t roll your eyes, Elliott.“I’ll be certain to ask for help if I need it,” I say in response—to his retreating back.

This guy is a piece of work.

I grab the spray bottle and rag set out on the counter and get to work scrubbing down the lanes. Carsen tosses out random curse words from the back room and slams things about. I ignore it, and he ignores me…until he doesn’t.

“Would you fucking quit it?”

An invisible wall of warmth hits me and I freeze. He’s standing close, so close I’m afraid to move. “Me?” It comes out as a squeak.

“Yes, you. Who the hell else would I be talking to?”

“Quit cleaning?”

“No. Stop humming. It’s driving me mad back there. I can’t concentrate.”

“I didn’t realize I was humming.”

“How do you not realize you’re being obnoxious?”

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