Page 18 of Grounded
There's a CCTV screen with four camera angles throughout the store, and I watch the one Theo is currently on.
Summer weather hasn't hit us hard yet, but Theo is wearing black shorts, a plain, dark gray T-shirt, and checkered Vans.
Why does he look so casual and so fucking attractive? His stubble is visible, and why am I focusing so much on his facial hair? Maybe because when we were younger he had the face of a chubby little pipsqueak who couldn't grow a mustache to save his life. Now he's a man with bone structure Hollywood stars aspire to have.
Benny enters the frame, and he's stealthy in the way he restocks some napkins. I see him do a not so subtle double take and I silently yell, "I know" at the screen.
Their voices are low and I can only see their body language through the monitor, but Tawny looks like she's about to melt into a puddle right at Theo's feet.
He looks uninterested, but it's hard to tell when I can't hear what they're saying. Tawny's head flies backward, and her exaggerated laugh is loud enough that I can hear it in the office. I go into defensive mode as my body senses a threat.
Blonde. A couple of years younger than me. Perky. Looks like she was the head cheerleader in high school. Fine, she's cute. Super cute. Like Theo could throw her over his shoulder and carry her off into the sunset.
But why do I give a shit who Theo is talking to? I don't, I remind myself. I don't care at all. I don't evenlikehim.
Benny returns with a cup of ice.
"I need to cool down. You are in trouble. He isFine, with a capital F."
"He's okay," I lie.
"Okay? He could be an Abercrombie model, Amelia. And you have tolivewith him?"
"Abercrombie doesn't even have those kinds of models anymore!"
"Don't deflect. You had posters of men just like him on your walls in high school. Admit it."
"I'm trying to get out of this situation. My dad neglected to inform me we'd both be home together. In fact, he outright lied."
"You never hooked up with him?" Benny points to the screen as Theo exits the front door. He is disappointed in my lack of gossip and fishing for more.
It's comical yet peculiar sitting here years later discussing my dating life. I spent two years at Roasted, from sixteen years old to when I left for college. Benny was mid-thirties and dealt with my flustered teenage years like a champ. He'd encourage me to talk to the cute boys who came in despite neither of us being able to find a boyfriend. But he always had the best advice for me.
Now that we're older, I can be more open and honest since the age difference isn't as polarizing.
"Never," I answer. "He tried to kiss me, though."
Right as I'm about to explain more, Tawny comes back.
"A huge group came in. Mind helping?" she pleads.
"Yes, I'll be right out."
"Sorry, let me get out of here. I didn't mean to keep you."
"No, don't worry. Gimme your number. If you plan on staying, I want to see you as often as I can."
I write down my cell phone number, which has remained the same since high school. Crazy how some things never change.
But Theo sure has.
Onthewayhome,I stop for a bottle of Pinot Grigio at the grocery store. I'm still unsure how this works, being home again. Do they expect us to have family dinners every night? All four of us sitting down together and sharing how our day went? No thank you.
I decide not to find out and turn on the Jacuzzi in the backyard.
While I wait for it to heat up, I hide out in my room.
I feel like an outsider staying at my friend's parent's house instead of my own dad's.
