Page 4 of Apparently, I’m A B!tch

Of course Nikki was cute. She was beautiful. But I wasn’t staring at her because of that. In fact, these days I only let myself stare when she smiled at Lilly in two different ways.

If Lilly handed over her order on a busy afternoon like today, she would curve her smile into a token of thanks and bite her lip in anticipation. It was a sultry and sweet expression, alluring in an angelic way. I wanted to bite that lower lip, feel her body arch against me and turn that innocent look into the kind of pure longing she’d made me feel over the years. I loved that look.

But, if the place was pretty much empty and she lingered at the counter, Lilly would make her laugh with one of her anecdotes about her and Uncle Henry’s escapades. These stories were something both Nikki and I either lived, or knew by heart, but they never failed to make her smile. She would tilt her head back, letting out a laugh that was so youthful, fun and vibrant, it would catch my attention, and I’d stare at her full grin. It was the kind of grin that lit those hazel eyes, with all those fluctuating shades of complex green and brown. When she laughed and smiled like that, it was impossible not to stare.

But it was a rare thing, and didn’t happen often in the last four months, unless Lilly was the one serving her. When I served her, I got nothing.

“Lil, please. Things are weird enough between us already,” I said, hefting a heavy bag of roasted coffee onto my shoulder.

“I know. But she can’t keep this up forever, can she?”

I shrugged and focused on pouring beans into my coffee machine. Lilly and Shawn served the last lunch-rush customer as I frowned at my hands.

I clucked my tongue and looked up, taking in the black walls I’d painted, lined with evenly framed canvases that showcased the work I’d slaved over during impossible hours of the night. This seemed like such a good deal at the time, but so far, all I managed to do was keep this place afloat while not selling a single piece of my work.

Was this a mistake? Was I just kidding myself?

Would I ever have my own gallery show?

Would Nikki ever forgive me for doing this?