Mel looks stricken, her mouth parted slightly as though she’s trying to come up with an answer. “I—”
“Sir,”a woman in line calls. “Your order’s ready.”
The guy lookstoward the counter and then back at Mel. “Give me just a sec, ok?”
Mel grabsmy hand and starts dragging me toward the door. I’m not one to complain, but something’s off. “Do you, like, need to go talk to your dad or something?” I ask.
She stops short. “Oh my god. What is wrong with you? That's not my dad. It's my ex.”
“Your ex? What the fuck? That guy's forty!”
“He’s thirty-four.”
“Because that's so much better?”
“I’m twenty-two.”
“Ok, but he still looks like a douche.”
She doesn’t argue. And as the guy walks toward us, a coffee and a brown bag in his hand, she gets a crazy look in her pretty brown eyes.
“You want to learn how to date?” she asks.
“I do, but—”
“And you think I can teach you the ropes in just three dates?”
“I know you can, but—”
“Great,” she says, twining her hand in mine. “You’re my boyfriend now.”
I’m getting whiplash from this conversation, but with her hand wrapped up in mine, I don’t really mind. “What? I thought you just said we weren't doing that? That it was ‘literally the dumbest thing you’d ever heard’.”
“That was before my asshole of an ex appeared. Now kiss me,” she commands, pressing her body close to mine.
I shake my head. “I can’t.”
“What the hell kind of boyfriend are you?”
“One who kisses like a dying jellyfish. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. That’s why I need dating lessons.”
“Just follow my lead,” she says. And then with the creeper dude looking on, she kisses me.
18
Mel
I’m kissing Will Franconetti.
And he’s kissing me back. His posture is stiff, so I run my hands up and down his arms. I’m going for soothing, but the movement presses our bodies closer together. At 5’ 6”, I’mnot short, but Will’s tall—really tall—so he has to bend and I have to stretch. My arms loop around his waist to rest at the small of his back. I can feel him relaxing as I lean back, smile up at him, and then press one more kiss to his lips.
The guy’s stunned speechless, and I definitely have some explaining to do, but I need to do it in private. My eyes dart around the coffee shop, and I notice that Chaz is sitting at the table right by the door. Of course, he is, the weasel. That way I can’t leave without him noticing.
Except I have a plan.
I grab Will’s hand once again and head for the back. We step behind the counter briefly and then duck into the office. Catching Theo’s eye, Iflash my hand up to indicate I need five minutes. He nods and points toward the door, no doubt cluing me in to Chaz’s presence. Our relationship was a well-kept secret last year, only a few people knew, and one of them was Theo. Chaz hung around a lot and though I always thought we were discreet, Theo’s a smart guy. We worked enough closing shifts together for him to recognize the white Beemer that often picked me up. He doesn’t know all the details, but he does know it ended badly.
I nod, letting him know I’m aware that Chaz is here. Then I turn my attention back to Will, who’s still in a bit of a daze.
