Page 58 of Sunflower Persona
“Then why the fuck are you here?” I growl and drop the cloth beside her.
The last thing I need is both of them watching over me like I’m some sort of fragile child.
“Do I need an excuse to visit my best friend at work?”
The devilish grin on her face is evidence enough that she’s full of shit. Her eyes sparkle with mischief—a look I know and dread.
“Okay, what am I missing here?”
“Nothing,” she lies. “Like I said—”
Before she can finish her thought, I’m distracted by a flash of yellow by the door. Hope dares to raise its useless head, but I sever it before it has a chance to grow. There is no way Kori would be here; this place holds too many bad memories. There’sno way she’d ever come back here—even before I ensured she was done with me.
Or so I thought. Because itismy sunflower who walks through the door, huddled underneath a splayed raincoat with Evelyn, dressed like sin, and giggling like she doesn’t have a care in the world.
I’ve never been simultaneously so relieved and so mad about being wrong.
What the hell is she doing here looking like all of my sweetest fantasies come to life?
A pathetic ache pulses through my center. Knowing she didn’t have nearly as much stake in whatever was brewing between us hurts. Not that I want to see her hurting—that’s the last thing I’d ever want—but her smiling face is a sharp reminder of my worth.
“You knew about this, didn’t you?” I ask Karis.
“Maybe,” she says, and that shit-eating grin only grows.
God-fucking-damn her and her meddling.
“And you didn’t think to warn me?”
“Warn you about what? I don’t think what Kori does in her free time is any of your business.”
But her being in my bar is.
I grumble and swipe the rag along the slick wood with more force than needed.
“Karis,” Evelyn shouts and waves as she approaches us. “Can you put on something we can dance to? The vibe is wrong.”
“You heard the lady, put on some music they can dance to,” my friend tells me with a smirk.
I bite my tongue as I follow the command—I don’t have the energy to argue. Evelyn always gets her way anyway, no matter how many times I tell her Cutter’s isn’t a dancing bar. She gives me those big sad eyes, and I can’t help but bend to her wishes—especially if Karis gets involved. If she wants to dance by herself in a shitty college bar, who am I to stop her?
Although I’m not sure how Yellow fits into all of this.
With Evelyn gone, she looks like she’s about to crawl out of her skin. What was Evelyn thinking bringing her here so soon? Add in the pressure of standing out against the crowd, and I know my girl is going to shut down. But I’m proud of her for trying. Even if she won’t look in my direction.
“Hold on,” I tell Evelyn before she can slip away. “Take a bit of liquid courage.”
I mix together a quick vodka and lemonade and pour it into two glasses for the girls. It’s not as complex or sweet as the other drinks I’ve made her, but hopefully, Kori will like it nonetheless.
She scowls at me but accepts the drinks before sauntering away with a rhythmic sway to her hips, moving back to where she left Kori on her makeshift dance floor. Once she is no longer alone, Yellow’s antsy energy fades.
Maybe I didn’t give her enough credit.
Based on the downright dirty looks I’m getting from the normally shy woman, Evelyn heard about what went down. We might as well call James and tell her, too, so the whole group knows how much of a fuckup I am.
The door swings open again, and I let out a string of curses.
Speak of the she-devil…
