Torn (Torn Series) (16 page)

             
The restaurant was almost empty when we entered and we were seated quickly. I sat staring at the menu, trying to decide what to get. “What are you getting? Everything looks good and I can’t decide.”

He pointed at the top of the menu, “Why don’t we get their sausage burger? It’s seriously huge, we can just share.”

I agreed as a waitress appeared and took our order. She stayed a little longer than necessary, flirting shamelessly with Logan. I glared at her back as she went to the kitchen to place our order.

“Why are you giving her your trademark Chloe look of death?”

“She was flirting with you.”

He shook his head and laughed, “No she wasn’t.”

I looked at him shocked that he hadn’t noticed.

“Logan when a girl bats her eyelashes and twirls her hair like that, she’s flirting. I’m a girl, I know these things.”

His eyes turned serious, “Does it bother you when other girls flirt with me?”

I opened my mouth to tell him no, but stopped. Seeing her flirt with him had bothered me and I wasn’t sure why. Girls had flirted with him since we met and it had never bothered me before, I had even pushed him to talk to that girl at the bar the other night.

“I… I guess it does.”

He smiled as he reached across the table and placed his hand in mine.

“I would be lying if I said that didn’t make me happy. Have you thought about what I said the other day?”

I lowere
d my gaze to our entwined hands as I spoke, “Yeah I have, but I just don’t know where I stand. What if we did try and it destroys us? I don’t think I’d survive without you Logan. I love you so much, I’m just not sure how I love you. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

He nodded, “I know exactly what you mean, and I’ve thought the same thing. Why do you think I waited so long to tell you?” he turned my hand over and gently ran his fingertips over my tattoo, “But I think it’s worth it in the end to try if you’re willing. We could be so great together.”

I pulled my hand away and started playing with the straw in my drink. “Just give me some time to think about all of this, I don’t want to rush into anything, especially right now.”

He gave me a questioning look, “What do you mean, especially right now?”

I realized my blunder and quickly tried to think of an answer that didn’t involve my feelings for Drake.

“Um, I just meant with us starting college. Everything is so new and I don’t want to jump ahead of myself.”

He smiled, “Of course. Like I told you before, no pressure Chloe. When you’re ready to give me an answer, I’ll be here waiting.”

             
The waitress appeared with our food, ending our discussion. I breathed a sigh of relief as I took a bite of my part of the sandwich.

“Holy crap, this is amazing! Good choice!”

“I ate here a couple days ago and the waitress suggested it. I was blown away too.”

We sat in an easy silence as we ate, both enjoying our food too much to speak. When we finished, Logan paid for both of us, despite my protests.

“I’ve got it. It was my idea to come out anyway,” he said as he led me back out to the car with his arm around my shoulders.

I snuggled into his side and enjoyed his warmth, “Thanks for tonight, I needed this.”

              The next morning, Drake dropped into his desk beside me as I pulled my things out of my bag for class and my stomach instantly clenched at the sight of him. I prayed he wouldn’t mention anything about our conversation last night in front of Logan.

“Morning.
How’s the tattoo?”

I held out my arm to show him. “It’s
good, I put some of that cream on it. I thought it was supposed to itch though.”

“It will, just give it a little while. When it does, do not scratch it, no matter how bad it annoys you, and don’t mess with it once it starts to peel.”

Logan turned to look at Drake, “How did you know she got a tattoo?”

Drake raised an eyebrow, “I’m the one who took her to get it.”

I felt Logan watching me.

“Really?
She left that part out.”

I looked at Logan with an apologetic smile, “Sorry, must have slipped my mind.”

Logan continued to stare between the two of us, “Did she tell you what it meant?”

I glanced over at Drake, who had a smug look on his face.

“Yeah she did. She told me everything.”

Logan seemed upset over this news, but gave no further comment. I breathed a sigh of relief when class started. The rest of class felt tense in our little bubble, but I tried to ignore it as I took notes.

When class was dismissed, Drake turned to me.

“You want to help with that paper that’s due tomorrow? We could meet at my house tonight.”

I shook my head, “I can’t, I start my new job at Starbucks tonight.”

He nodded as he stood to leave, “Ok, I’ll see if I can find someone else to do it for me,” he glanced around and caught sight of one of the girls we had that class with, “Bingo. I’ve got stuff to do later, so I won’t be at lunch. See
ya.”

I waved as he walked over to the girl and threw his arm around her. I refrained from growling since Logan was standing next to me, watching me closely.

“So you told him?” he asked as we walked together.

“Yeah.”

He frowned, “I’m not trying to be a jerk, but can I ask why? I mean, you barely know him and you’ve never told anyone except for Amber and me.”

I shrugged, “I don’t know. I just trust him, I can’t explain it.”

My words seemed to bother him and he frowned. “Is something going on between you guys?”

My stomach dropped and I refused to meet his gaze, “No, we’re just friends and that’s all we’ll ever be.”

He seemed satisfied with my answer as he leaned down and kissed me on the cheek.

“Good to know, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t have any competition.”

“Never.”

Chapter Eleven

It’s Coffee Time

             
I stood in front of my mirror double checking my appearance, making sure I looked ok for my first day on the job. Janet had told me to wear black pants and a white or black shirt. I had pulled my hair back into a sleek bun to keep it out of the way, and applied a small amount of make-up. I was anxious as I pulled into the lot and walked inside.

Janet was standing behind the counter and greeted me with a smile. “You’re early! Great, I have some paperwork for you to fill out.”

She led me back to a small office and closed the door behind us. I sat in the chair across from her as she pulled a file folder out and handed me the papers inside.

“If you can fill these out for me, they’re just basic emergency contact forms and tax information.”

She sat quietly as I filled the forms out and handed them back to her. I had listed Logan as my emergency contact. She glanced down at the forms and stopped on the emergency contact.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but you might not want to list a boyfriend as your contact.”

I smiled, “He’s my best friend.”

“Good to know. I’m going to have you shadow Vanessa tonight, if everything goes well, I’m going to schedule for Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from five P.M. to close. Does that work for you?”

“Sounds perfect. I really appreciate this job.”

“Not a problem, we definitely need the help and since you’ve worked at another location before, we can skip making you take the training courses. Now come on, I’ll introduce you to Vanessa and you can get started.”

              I followed as she led me back to the counter. A pretty girl stood behind the register and smiled as we approached.

Janet gestured to me, “Veronica this is Chloe, I want you to help her out tonight. Let her run register and help keep things stocked while you and Anna make the drinks.”

I smiled as I held out my hand to shake Vanessa’s, “Nice to meet you.”

She was a few inches shorter than me with dark brown hair. Her features and dark skin tone made me think she came from Hispanic descent. She motioned for me to come arou
nd the counter as Janet left us.

“I’m so glad you’re here, our last girl just quit and left us hanging. Let me show you how to run the register, and then I’ll show you where we keep all the supplies.”

She took a few minutes to explain the register and watched as I rang up a few customers. She seemed impressed with how quickly I caught on.

“Not bad.”

I gave her a smile, “Thanks, I worked at a Starbucks back home, so I know most of this stuff.”

She nodded as she took me to supply room in the back next to Janet’s office. “All the syrups are here. We keep the milk and whipped cream in the refrigerator over there, the coffees for the machines are here, and the bags we sell are on the shelves over there, next to the refrigerator. The bakery items are brought in first thing in the morning, so you won’t have to worry about that since you’re on night shift.”

I nodded as she explained everything to me, trying to keep up.

“All the bathroom and cleaning supplies are stocked over there, away from all the food obviously. If we’re slow, you clean the tables and check the bathrooms. When we close, after you cash out, you need to wipe every table down, and restock all the syrups and coffee for the morning shift. Seem simple enough?”

“Yeah I think I’ve got it.”

“Good, here’s your apron, so let’s get back out front before Anna has my head.”

              The next few hours flew by as I took orders while Vanessa and Anna filled them. By the end of the night, my feet were killing me. I cashed out my register and took everything to Janet’s office.

She smiled when I entered, “How did your first night go?”

“It was good, but now I’m beat.”

She gave me a sympathetic smile, “Better get used to it again, we’re always busy.”

I waved goodnight as I walked back to the front and started wiping the tables down. Vanessa and Anna restocked everything, and after I finished the tables, I cleaned the women’s restroom while Anna tackled the men’s. Once everything was finished, we split the tips and I bid them goodnight as I walked to my car. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and switched it off vibrate. I had a new text alert from Drake.

Drake:
I hope you’re enjoying your night while I slave away over this paper.

I smiled as I typed my reply.

Me:
Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed serving coffee crazy customers all night, but my feet are dying a slow death. You shouldn’t have waited until the last minute to finish your paper.

Drake:
I guess you’re right, I’ve just been distracted.

Me:
I bet you have been. How’s your butt?

Drake:
Sore, thanks to you.

I laughed as another text came through.

Drake:
That didn’t come out right.

Me:
No it didn’t.

Drake:
Shut up.  I need to finish this, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

Me:
Night.

              The next few days passed by in a whirlwind of school, homework, and work.  Tuesday night at work was much the same as Monday, with me taking orders while Anna and Vanessa filled them. Thursday, Vanessa decided I was ready to start tackling the drinks and put me with Anna while she took the orders. I had grown a bit rusty, and I messed up on a few orders. Apart from one man screaming at me about trying to kill him by putting milk in his coffee order, most of the customers were understanding.

I was getting along great with both Anna and Vanessa. I really hadn’t talked to Anna much while I was upfront, but when I traded with Vanessa, I spent the evening laughing with her. Where Vanessa was all dark, Anna was the exact opposite, with bright green eyes, pale skin, and blindingly white blonde hair. She was a bit too bubbly for me, but I could tell she had a good heart.

“So what are you doing tomorrow night on your day off?” Vanessa asked as we cleaned the machines after close.

“I’m going with my roommate and my friends to watch my friend Drake play with his band.”

Rachel had heard Amber and I talking about the show the other night and asked if she could tag along to hear them play. Alex had something else to do, so Amber was going without him.

Vanessa’s mouth dropped open. “You mean the Drake that plays with
Breaking the Hunger?”

I nodded my head and she squealed, “You’re friends with Drake Allen? How did I not know this? He’s like a walking ball of sexual tension, and he’s got the most amazing voice I’ve ever heard.”

I laughed at her star struck expression, “Don’t let him hear you saying that, his already oversized head will swell.”

“I’ll help his head swell any day.”