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I roll my eyes at her. “Coffee, then, since you’re so old.”
Thalia chuckles. “Yeah, okay. Thanks…Thanks for being nice to me. I needed it.”
That’s when I realize that I needed her just as much as she needed me today. “Thanks for being nice to me, too.”
I may talk a big game, but I needed my own reminder. Thalia and I? We can both be anything we want to be. We don’t have to limit ourselves to the cards we’ve been dealt. I just need to remind myself every now and then.
13
NOLAN
After I cowardly ditched Inez this morning, I went for a bike ride to clear my head. I’m not stupid. I’m well aware that I can’t run from her forever. Especially when I’ve forced the girl to become my roommate. But after that kiss, I needed some space to get my shit together.
By the time I gathered my thoughts and headed back to the house, she was gone, though. I’m presuming that she left early for her shift here at the bar.
Now, we’re together at work and she definitely seems to be mad at me, which she has every right to be.
Tonight is busy at The North Node Tavern, which is pretty much par for the course.It’s Saturday, after all.
Inez is behind the bar, filling drink orders as fast as she can. Meanwhile, I’m picking up the slack for Suzy who called in sick at the last minute.
As much running around as we’ve both done tonight, I’m sure I look like I’ve seen better days.But Inez is flawless as always, wearing those tight dark wash jeans I like so much and a little dark blue top that shows off her shoulders and a hint of her midriff. She looks so fucking pretty.
Yet, I’m unconsciously trying to avoid her.I’m too chicken shit to just face her and have a conversation about that kiss. Truth is, I don’t want to give her the chance to say that she regrets it. And I’m scared to face the fact that I don’t regret it at all.
I don’t like being this person. I don’t like that I’m punishing her for my weaknesses. I know I should just claim responsibility for my dumb choices, but here I am being a total asshole to everyone who crosses my path.
Despite my tactics to keep my eyes off Inez, I’m also aware of her presence. I steal peeks at her each time she’s not looking. I tell myself it’s just so I know where to not go, but deep down, I realize that it’s more than that.
Either way, she’s definitely starting to get annoyed with me acting like an idiot. And I can’t say I blame her.
As I’m hustling out of the kitchen, she’s leaning into the cooler behind the bar to grab a bottle of beer. Our eyes meet and I quickly glance away. I hear her groan loudly in frustration. Somehow, that groan echoes inside my pants and I almost trip over my instant boner. Damn.
I’m about to ask if she’s okay, but she calls out to me first. “Hey, Nolan—any way you could bring in that unopened case of Heineken from the back room?”
I motion down at my hands, both of which are full of hot plates. “One second,” I quip back and keep on walking toward my waiting patrons.
I hear her groan again before apologizing to her customer. She glares at me as she brushes past me. Then, she stomps away, going to get the case of beer herself.
Safe to say that Inez is not my biggest fan tonight.
I feel like garbage. Here she is, doing her job and doing it well, saving me from drowning in the Saturday night rush. Yet, I can’t even act like a decent human being where she’s concerned.I’m giving her the cold shoulder and acting like I don’t care.
But the truth is, I’m obsessed with her. She’d know that if only she could hear the babble going on inside my head.
One minute, I’m ruminating over our kiss and I’m dreaming up scenarios about where we could have taken things last night. Then the next minute, I’m chastising myself for kissing her in the first place and I’m vowing to keep my distance from here on out.
I’m driving myself crazy.
A couple hours and only a few minor incidents later, Inez and I are in my car after closing time. Confined in the small space, it’s the closest we’ve been all day. There’s no running away now.
I’m drumming my thumbs on my torn up steering wheel, pretending to be invested in the song on the radio, even though I can feel her staring a hole in the side of my head.
Eventually, she makes a little grumbling sound. “So this is how it’s going to be, Nolan?” she asks finally.
I glance over at her before returning my eyes back to the traffic-less street. “What do you mean?”
She exhales. “Don’t play dumb with me. You’ve been mean to me all day. Is this about the kiss?”
