Page 19 of Rescued By My Best Friend's Brother

I stand up. “I need to grab something from my office,” I tell Josie and Lily and quickly follow Elena into the hallway. “Hey, Elena, can I talk to you for a second?”

She looks up at me, her cheeks red. Did she think about the kiss last night? Of course, it is fresh in her mind. It still lingers at the forefront of mine.

“Um, yeah?” she asks hesitantly.

“About last night—”

She waves her hands to stop me. “It’s all right. It was probably just a mistake.”

I pause, feelings taking me back to when I felt rejected all those years ago. Does she really feel like it was a mistake? “No, I mean—” I pause. I’m not sure what to say but after that comment I know I am not prepared to discuss last night further. “I have some things to do at work late, can you pick up Lily from school?” I need to gather my thoughts and think about everything for a little bit, or maybe I don’t. She says it was a mistake, so I guess I will just write it off.

“Oh. Yeah, sure. I can do that. Is that all?”

I nod. “Thanks.” I step to the side and she fixes her gaze on the floor as she hurries away from me.

She disappears into the bathroom, and I let out a deep breath. My thoughts going back to my dream from last night. Why am I dreaming about Elena? It was so real, so real that it is hard to distinguish my dream from reality. I have spent so many years trying to find everything to hate about her but somehow, she always just seems so perfect. I need to figure this out. I need to figure out what this all means.

Chapter Eleven

Elena

Iwalkdownthestreet, hitting all the stores along the way. I need to find a job, and I know it is better to show my face than try to apply online. I hate staring at my phone and laptop all day, filling out those empty spaces, and submitting those forms. I need fresh air. Sitting around the guest house all day allows my mind to wander to that night. The sensation of Jasper’s lips against mine lingers even now. I can still taste the mint and feel the way he pressed his body against mine like he wanted to keep going until I cut him off.

I shake my head. I really need to think about this. This is Jasper. The same man who’d despised me up until…he didn’t. My cheeks burn at the thought of him, the way his hand had started going up my shirt until I grabbed it, holding him still. He looked surprised when I stopped him and then gave me space. He’d even apologized before I’d darted out of there.

Jasper. Why him? He is my best friend’s brother. I want to be a better friend to her, kissing her brother is not the way to do that. She definitely would end things with me, maybe.

My phone starts to ring, and I search my purse for it. It takes me a second since I’d just thrown everything in my purse this morning and left, in a hurry to get out and clear my mind. I finally find it just as the call ends. As I unlock it to see who the caller had been, it begins to ring again. Bradley’s name pops up on my screen. My stomach drops and twists. All the emotions from earlier, the excitement, and the confusion dissipate into anxiety. I press the end button, not wanting to speak to my ex. Why would I when he probably already has another woman to replace me? All he has ever given me is emotional distress.

I stuff my phone back in my purse, knowing he’ll probably send a few follow-up texts. I don’t need him distracting me while I try to get back on my feet. He is the reason I have nothing to fall back on. He’d promised me the world but only gave me trash. He’d told me I could stay home and focus on my hobbies and interests while he brought in all the income and took care of me. A lie in the end. A way to entrap me into relying on him. Everything he’d said was ours equally had ended up being only in his name. All I had was my little car and no access to any of the money he said he would share.

Pushing the thought of Bradley from my mind, I walk into a small boutique. It is beautiful and full of dresses and jewelry that are way out of my budget. A woman stands behind a counter filled with more expensive jewelry and accessories. She smiles and straightens her posture, giving me her best customer service expression. “Hello! Welcome to Blueberry Boutique. My name is Kim if you need any help,” she says.

“Um. Yes. I was wondering if you are hiring?”

“Let me ask the boss,” she replies. She laughs at a joke I don’t really understand. “Just kidding. I am the boss.”

I plaster a smile on my face. Her joke isn’t funny at all, but I really need a job. If smiling at a terrible joke gets me a job, then so be it. “Oh. Okay,” I speak softly. I have no idea how to respond to her joke.

She pulls a piece of paper out from under her register and slides it across the countertop. “You’re in luck! I am hiring. Here’s the application.”

I peer down at it. “What position would it be?”

“Well, it’s a small store, so pretty much everything, but mainly you would work the register.”

I nod. Sounds easy enough. “Do you have a pen?”

“Oh.” She raises a black brow. “You want to fill it out now?” Her smile broadens. “Great!” She grabs a pen and hands it to me. “You can sit down on the couch by the dressing room. It’s near the back of the store. Once you’re done, just bring it back to me.”

I pick up the application and thank her. I follow her directions to the back of the store to four dressing rooms with a seating area between them. A deep blue couch and a few overstuffed chairs in the same color are arranged around a low, metal table. I decide to sit on one of the chairs instead of the couch.

The application has straightforward and common questions on it, making it easier to fill out. I know after a while; this will wear me out. I have already burnt myself out with all the applications I completed online. The repetition feels daunting and redundant, but I have to get a job soon. I don’t know how long my luck will last with Josie and Jasper, especially now that I’d kissed him. Thankfully, he’d agreed to it being a mistake, but what if Josie finds out? What would she think? I don’t want her to think I took advantage of her or Jasper. That’s the last thing I want and furthest from the truth.

I sigh and go back to the front where Kim is organizing the display case. She immediately greets me with a grin. “Done?”

I nod and hand her the application. “Thanks so much. I hope to hear from you.”

She scans the application, then sets it by the register. “Want to just go ahead and do the interview now?”

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