Wild Nights With My Brother's Ex-Best Friend novel Chapter 95

NICOLE

I start my new job, and I have to admit that I'm excited, to say the least.

It's always exciting to start in a new place where you'll meet new people, too. I don't know what to expect from such a job, because I've never done waitressing before, and I've never worked behind a counter.

I get there early because the café opens at seven thirty, and my boss seems pleased with that. Bonus points for me. He shows me around and gives me a few lessons on how to deal with the register and whatnot. It's all fairly easy. I'll mostly be serving people because there's a barista, but later on, they'll show me how to serve drinks.

He's a little touchy, but I've been imposing myself so far, so I'm not too worried. Besides, this is only supposed to be short-term. I'll start applying for proper jobs soon, and I hope I can come up with something.

The first few customers come in, and it becomes fairly busy in no time. I'm in an excellent mood, so things go smoothly for me. There's nothing quite like waking up in my own home. My home. I know Roman's the one who bought it, but would it be crazy to think of it as mine now? That's how I feel, at least.

His phone call last night really put me at ease because he was agitated and I'm not sure why. I'm guessing that he thought I wouldn't accept the gift. And why wouldn't I? I'm broke and I have nowhere to go for the time being. I don't know. I'm not thinking about this too much. There's no point in doing that.

I've already accepted it, and I really don't want to feel like I owe him anything. I know he doesn't want me to think that way.

At around nine, things get even busier, and of gets a little hard for me to keep an eye on everyone, which ends up with some customers calling me over and claiming I've forgotten all about their orders. Which is true.

My coworker, Janice, tells me, "You're fine. Don't worry about it. You'll get used to it pretty quickly. Remember—we were all in your place before."

Her words encourage me. She's really nice. In fact, most of the people I work with are relatively nice. Things start to calm down at around twelve, and in thirty minutes, I'll have my break.

I customer walks in, and the only reason why I pay particular attention to him is because he's wearing all black and he's covered in tattoos. He pushes his sunglasses to the top of his head and sits down by the counter.

His eyes are on me. They're a striking blue.

"Get me a black coffee, will you, sweetheart?"

There's something about his tone that makes me uncomfortable, but I brush it off. It's not the first time I've been called that today, so why am I minding so much? I give the order to the barista, and it's not long before Janice approaches me. "Cute guy, huh? I haven't seen him around here before."

"Really?"

Most customers are regulars. I guess that's just how it is. Janice shakes her head and smiles. "Nope. Never seen him. He's not really our regular customer by the looks of him. There's a biker bar across the street that serves coffee, too."

I take him his drink, and he accepts it with a mild thank you and keeps his eyes on me as he drinks. I still have a few minutes before my break, so I clean some tables and ask a few people if they need anything before heading inside the kitchen to have something to eat. I packed a lunch.

They offer me food, but I decline it. At least for today.

I spend half an hour just sitting and resting. I try to call Mason, but he doesn't answer me, which is a little concerning because I know he has his break now. I wonder if he doesn't want to talk to me for some particular reason.

Is he mad at me even though he said he wasn't?

I'll visit him tomorrow. After work. I need to figure out if he's okay. I have to be there for him because we're all we've got. Our Ma is dead. He's my only living blood relative.

If I'm not there for him, what kind of sister am I?

I return to the main area, and I have to say that I'm pleased the biker's gone. Gosh. I don't know why I had such a weird reaction to him. I saw his face and it just...I don't know.

And no. It's not because he's good-looking.

"Great to hear it," I say sarcastically.

"So am I," she claims. "I'm not with Armand anymore, actually."

I say nothing.

"I'm also pregnant."

I meet her gaze. I don't know why the hell she's telling me this, especially so randomly. She literally walked in here and acted like she didn't know me. I should walk away. Ignore her. But I say, "Congratulations."

"Thank you," she says, touching her belly. "The father doesn't know about it yet...but soon, I'll let the whole world know. I'm not worried."

I ignore her this time and go about my work. Thankfully, a couple walks in. I do have a weird feeling about this whole thing, though. Why's she acting this way?

When I return to the counter, she hands me a bill and arrogantly tells me to keep the change before walking out. This is the first time I've felt bad—but it's not the job. It's just how I used to be friends with someone like her.

I guess she and I were always different. I should've realized it sooner.

But I have this tendency to attract the shittiest people into my life.

And I don't let go of them until it's too late. So, at the end of the day, this is all my fault.

So, there's not much I can do about it, really.