Page 23 of Told You So
I smile at her, a real smile this time. Agratefulsmile. “That would be awesome, actually.”
“All right, I’ll go grab Trent. Mrs. Folen should be coming in any minute for her three o’clock appointment. Stay up here until Trent’s ready, okay? I can’t have him scaring our best customer away because he’s inadequate and awkward in just about every single way.”
“Why did your mom hire him again?” I ask, realizing Anna’s right. Trent is a nice enough guy, but he’s a twenty-one-year-old violinist that should be working at the music warehouse or at a grocery store, not cleaning tanning beds and folding towels.
“A favor for her friend, I guess. The perk of being the boss’s daughter: I get to deal with all the crap my mom doesn’t want to.” She rolls her eyes. “Just stay up here with him for a bit, would you?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Just as Anna Marie turns down the hall, she pops her head back into the room. “And amidst your crazy schedule, plug me in for Friday night. I know you’re busy and all, but Bobby is going to be at Lick’s, and I told him I would meet up with him.”
“So?”
“So, we’re going out, girl. You need some pep in your life. And bubbles.”
“Always more bubbles,” we say in unison, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Put me in your calendar!” she calls down the hall. “Don’t forget.”
Since the misery and recklessness of my breakup with Mike wore off, I’ve tried to keep a low profile. My nights of freedom have been few and far between, anyway, but I’m generally okay with that. Distractions, it would seem, are my kryptonite.
After shoving my textbook back into my bag behind the counter, I settle in at the desk again. It’s warm for a spring afternoon, and I knot my hair up on my head and breathe out the tension in my shoulders.
Turning my phone over, I’m happy to see I have no missed calls from my mom or Jesse, which means today went by without a hitch. Every time she has to pick him up from school, I worry she’ll run late, and send him into a tailspin. Her design business is the most important thing in her life, that and a strange need to please my dad, which makes me resent her even more.
A woman’s trill laughter reaches my ears from outside in the breezeway, and I assume it’s Mrs. Folen. So, I’m shocked to see a familiar red-headed bombshell, laughing with her arms around Nick as they walk past the windowed storefront. Savannah hasn’t been at Lick’s in a while, and I heard she moved away. I assumed her and Nick were over, but apparently, I was wrong.
I want to look away from how sickeningly sweet they are together, but I can’t. I can control very few things in my life, and I wish my back and forth feelings for Nick were one of them.
The way his hand rests at her lower back, leading her into the deli, is a painful reminder of all the what ifs. What if I’d never left Nick on the couch the night of our kiss? What if Nick hadn’t been friends with Slinsky? But I did, Nick was, and the rest is history. So, we’re left with a big heap of stilted conversations and utter awkwardness over the years that makes everything a complicated mess.
Nick laughs, a deep throaty sound that enlivens his whole face and makes his eyes crinkle in the corners.
Savannah’s smile widens and she laughs along with him as they step inside.
I force myself to look away.
The way Nick was with Jesse on New Year’s rekindled something I’d assumed was only a smoldering crush from years ago. But like last time, I was dumb enough to allow myself the slightest bit of hope, only for him to jump to Savannah’s beck and call the moment his phone rang. It was a blessing, actually. I needed the reminder that kindness is not the same as affection.
Eight
Nick
Savannah grabs us a table in the back corner of the deli, and I head up to the counter to order our favorite sandwiches. Having Savannah visit is nice, I’ve missed her laughing at all my jokes, and she’s always felt like one of the guys in a way, too. Even if we’ve become more than that—hadbeen more than that? It’s hard to tell sometimes when we’re together. We’re easy and too comfortable, which makes my friends without benefits rule difficult, even if it’s necessary. Things don’t need to be more complicated between us than they already are.
Without thought, I glance out the window at the Range Rover parked in the lot. Bethany’s working today, which doesn’t help my muddled thoughts any. Gratefully, my stomach grumbles and Schmitty hands me my salami and Savannah’s veggie sandwich, nicely wrapped and ready on trays.
When I slide into the booth with Savannah, I notice she’s already got our drinks and chips set out, like she usually does, and she smiles up at me knowingly.
“Aw, you remembered,” I say. I scoot her sandwich tray to her and pop open my Dr. Pepper.
“Of course I did. I moved away, I didn’t lose my memory. Squirt during the summer,only, and Dr. Pepper the rest of the year. It might be warm out, but it’s not technically summer.” She winks. “I remember all your quirks. That’s why I come back every now and again, someone needs to make you feel special. Plus, I miss your smile.”
“Yours isn’t too bad either,” I tell her and take a bite of my salami sub. “I could live on these,” I groan.
Savannah takes a bite of her sandwich, more primly than I do.
“So, what’s new with the parents and Hannington Beach?” I ask. “You haven’t talked about them much since you’ve been back.” I try to be somewhat of a gentleman and wipe the mustard from my mouth.
