Page 5 of Strip Bare

“Oh,” Kat said as she looked between the three of us, a hint of color rising to her creamy cheeks. “Right. Well, I guess I’ll head home then.”

I nearly winced. I wasn’t the most perceptive of people, but even I could tell that she felt like she’d been ditched. “You could come to Cocoa & Rum too? I’m going to study there while Kit does his shift.”

She smiled slightly, her dimples flashing. “That’s alright, but thanks. I have a paper to write anyway and I need to talk to Billy about one of my shifts next week. Catch up with you later?”

We nodded as she made her way behind the bar to talk to a short, skinny guy that I could only assume was her manager. One of the best things about Kit was that he was chatty, so I knew I wouldn’t have to do much to hold up a conversation between me and Nick on the way to the coffee shop where Kit worked. Though, it was just about late enough in the day that Cocoa & Rum had likely transitioned into its evening wine-bar menu but it would probably still be quiet for a few more hours at least. It wasn’t really clear to me why Kit bothered to work there, other than that he must like it, because he and Bryn weren’t exactly strangers to money. His parents probably had more in their bank accounts than mine would earn in a lifetime, but both Kit and his sister were surprisingly down-to-earth.

The late afternoon, early-evening air was refreshingly cool after the heat inside The Box and the sun was still shining weakly as the night rapidly approached. It was only a short walk to the coffee shop and our long legs ate up the distance quickly. I nodded to Nick as he continued on past Cocoa & Rum and headed in the direction of campus through the park.

Kit raised an eyebrow at me as he pulled open the glass door. “You could at least pretend to like him, you know.”

I blinked. “I don’t dislike him.” I caught the door as we moved inside and the smell of coffee beans hit me. It was a strong scent, but I found it soothing now because it was how Kit always smelled when he got home from a shift. “We just don’t have much in common.”

“How would you know? You’ve barely spoken to him.”

“Why does it matter so much to you?” I said curiously, but clearly with more ice in my voice than I meant to project because Kit sighed, scrubbing a hand across his face as we hovered by the large counter he would be standing behind later as he served drinks and took orders.

“Because you push people away without realizing it. I just think you should give him—and yourself—a chance.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay.” I pointed to a table in the corner of the room that looked quiet and faced the large glass windows so that I could watch the park opposite when I wasn’t studying. “I’ll be over there. Have a good shift.”

“You don’t have to stay—”

“It’s good for me to get out of the house,” I said carefully and he half-smiled at that. This had become our routine, and he knew how much I liked to maintain those once I got into a habit.

“Make sure you take a break,” he said as he headed towards a door behind the counter that read staff only and I couldn’t hold back a smile as I sat down at the table I’d indicated. I didn’t always stay here for Kit’s shifts, but he often worked at least one late shift on the weekend so I grabbed a textbook or my laptop to read case files and sat in the ambience while we both worked.

There was a new guy behind the counter that I hadn’t seen before and he gave me a slow smile and nod when he noticed my eyes on him. His hair was a sandy blonde that was warmer than my own and he smiled at Kit with more than a little flirtatiousness when he joined him by the register. Great. We’d just got rid of Nick, and now here was a brand new proverbial version to take his place in a flirt-a-thon.

I tilted my body away from the counter and bit my lip in irritation when I tried to continue watching them out of the corner of my eye—I was jealous, and I knew it. Knew I had no right to be, especially as Kit didn’t really seem to be treating his colleague any differently than anyone else he might talk to. I mean, I wouldn’t have minded if his smile had been about ten-percent less warm, or his laugh just a little more forced. I tried to focus on the court transcripts in front of me, tucked into the textbook I had brought with me as an example of whatever the page was talking about. I wouldn’t know, because my attention was firmly caught in the grasp of Kit, laughing, joking, smiling at this guy I’d heard nothing about. No. I needed to focus.

A glass hit my table with a thunk and I jumped a little, too busy pretending to read to have seen Kit head in my direction.

“Thanks,” I muttered as I took a sip of what turned out to be a very tangy beer. I tried not to grimace and Kit laughed.

“I take it this one isn’t good?”

“It’s… an acquired taste.”

For whatever reason, Kit delighted in getting me to try new drinks every time I was in here—getting me to branch out, push myself or whatever.

“Who’s the new guy?” I asked, trying to keep my tone nonchalant.

“Funny,” Kit said, mouth twisting like he’d tasted something sour before the expression smoothed out, “he just asked me the same thing about you. His name’s Harley. He just started last week.” Kit paused, like he was considering something before he continued, “Why? You interested?”

My brow furrowed as I shrank back. “What? No.”

Kit’s mouth eased into a smile and I felt a little dazed at the close proximity of it. “Okay. Well, good.”

Good? What did that mean? Did he not want me to be interested in other guys? Or did he just think Harley was an ass? The words couldn’t quite make their way out of my mouth and by the time I’d had another sip of the thick beer, he’d already left to serve a new batch of customers.

I focused on the table in front of me, trying not to read into the words or search for hidden meanings, but it was hard because I really had no idea what he’d meant.

“You look like you need rescuing,” a warm, deep voice said and I looked up sharply. Clear, blue-gray eyes met mine and I tried to keep the confusion off my face as Harley set down a drink in a tall glass next to me with one sun-tanned hand.

“What?”

“The beer.” He nodded to the drink Kit had brought me and then smiled. I couldn’t help but fixate on how straight his teeth were and had to force myself to look away at the drink he’d set down.

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