Page 76 of You've Got a Place Here, Too
“I should be fine.” I look at my phone, hoping River has responded or at least seen the message.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Thanks, though.”
“Always.”
He holds the cup out, and as I grab it, our fingers brush against each other. Goose bumps shoot down my arm. Our touches arerare, fleeting moments that I cherish. Each time the sensation wears off, I’m left buzzing for more.
Just as much as I order more coffee or pastries because I know Malcolm’s hand will always find mine, he offers me plenty of “samples” for the same reason. While I’ve yet to officially confirm it, it’s the only logical explanation.
We’ve been friends since our first couple of nights on campus. Between scholarship meetings, campus events, and honors requirements, we see each other enough that the push and pull to remain strictly friends becomes suffocating. Though that hasn’t stopped us from flirting, it’s stopped me from wanting to fully cross the line, although it nearly happened once.
Freshman year, we almost kissed during a drunken night at a kickback. I wanted it to happen, but my mother’s words clouded my judgment. She always said, “Remember to stay focused on that degree ’cause that’s whatAggies Do.” Even before I accepted my offer here, she loved throwing the A&T motto, “Aggies Do,” into anything she said. So, back when Malcolm leaned in for a kiss, and I felt his breath on my skin, I pulled away. All I could think was that Aggies most definitelydon’tbreak the only cohort social code that could lead to chaos.
A hand reaches around me, drawing me out of my thoughts and grabbing the cup from my hand. I turn to see Nick sipping on his drink. His face twists in disgust. “Ugh, dude. How do you make a coffee wrong twice?”
“Excuse me?” Malcolm asks.
“I drank it the first time because I didn’t want to waste my money. But it’s like you didn’t even try the second time.” Nick sets the coffee back on the counter before walking away. “Throw that in the trash for me, will you?”
Being irritatingly repetitive is one thing. However, being rude to any food service worker, let alone Malcolm, is an irredeemable quality. If we weren’t partners for film class, I would leave without saying another word. However, I refuse to let my grades suffer because of any awkward tension from walking out.
“You were harsh back there,” I say bitingly.
“I didn’t mean it like that. But come on, how hard is it to make coffee?”
I look back to the counter to see if Malcolm heard him, but he’s disappeared into the back.
Nick’s talking again without actually engaging with me. I try to find a moment to insert myself, but he talks like there’s no tomorrow. A few more minutes pass until I just have enough.
Finally, interrupting him, I blurt out, “Look, we should—”
I don’t get to finish my statement because I notice Tina, Malcolm’s coworker, storming toward us. “How could you?” she shouts, and every head of the small crowd left inside turns to her.
Confusion falls over me. It takes a second for me to realize she’s talking to Nick as she stops before him with a storm of fury brewing on her face. “You’re really on a date right now?”
Nick’s mouth drops open, and his eyebrows pinch together. My face is probably identical to his because I’m so baffled about what’s happening.
“I’m sorry, who are you?” he asks.
Tina jerks her head back so aggressively that I swear if she does it any harder, she’ll break her neck. “Oh, so you asked me to be exclusive with you the other day, and now you don’t know who I am?”
There is no way Mr. Let It Be Known I’m the Vice President is on a public date with me when he already has another girl. Forsomeone who presents himself as an open book, it seems like I’m missing a few pages. My head snaps to Nick with curses ready to fly off my tongue. But out of the corner of my eye, I notice Malcolm inching closer to us.
She turns to me. “Girl, he’s gonna string you along and play with your feelings. And once you get attached, he’ll act like he doesn’t know you.”
“But I don’t know you!” Nick sputters, his confusion growing louder.
Malcolm finally enters the conversation. “You’re not gonna raise your voice in here, especially not to my coworker.” I can tell from the severity of Malcolm’s tone that he’s serious.
“Your coworker is the one berating me.”
“I thought you changed.” Tears spring to Tina’s eyes, and I am unsure whether to leave the chaos or stay for the drama.What is happening?“I can’t believe I trusted you again.”
“It’s okay.” Malcolm places a hand on Tina’s shoulder. “Go cool off in the back. I got this.”
Tina gives Nick one last look of heartbreak before turning on her heel and rushing through the coffee bar and into the kitchen.
