JAYLA WALKS INTO Mac’s alone, offering a friendly wave as she approaches the hostess stand.
“Hi, Jayla.” I smile. “You by yourself?”
“Zach is supposed to meet me here,” she replies nervously. I’ll admit I’m a little surprised after the way he treated her at school today.
“Okay. Follow me.” Grabbing two menus from behind the counter, I lead her through the dining room to a two-seater booth in the corner.
“How long have you worked here, Harper?” she asks.
“Just a few weeks,” I answer, setting the menus on the table. “I’ll bring Zach over when he arrives.”
“Thanks, Harper.” She smiles as she slides into the booth, and I return to the hostess station.
Nearly an hour passes and Jay is still waiting for Zach. I’ve noticed her checking her phone repeatedly and typing out a text every so often. A few minutes later, she checks it again. And so on. Clearly the jerk stood her up.
And wow. Just. Wow.
I never figured Zach for an asshole. He always seemed nice, kind of quiet, a little on the shy side if I had to guess. I was completely shocked by the way he dismissed Jayla this morning at our lockers.
He’s an idiot. Jayla is not only beautiful, she’s kind. And she’s kind of a dork. Like me.
Kindred spirits.
After my shift is over, I decide to stop by her table and put the poor girl out of her misery. “I take it he’s not coming.”
Jayla looks up from her phone and frowns. “Guess not.” She falls back against the booth and blows out a breath. “Are you off?”
“Yeah. May I?” I gesture to the empty seat across from her.
“Please do. I look pathetic sitting here by myself. Want to have dinner with me?”
“I could eat.” And I could use a friend.
I flag down Will, our server, so we can put in our food orders. Once Will is out of earshot, I ask, “What’s Zach’s deal?”
Her lips pull to the side. “He’s mad at me.”
I huff out a laugh of disbelief. How can anyone be mad at her? Jayla is probably one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever met. “You’ve been here for what, four days? How could he be mad at you already? Does he even know you?”
She nods. “Zach and I have a history. We’ve known each other since we were little.”
I raise my brows, intrigued. “Really?”
She nods. “Since I was five and he was six. Our grandmothers are best friends. Our mothers grew up together and were best friends up until they graduated high school. I sort of grew up with him and his older brother, Logan. We used to spend our summer vacations together.”
“So why is he mad at you?”
She bites down on the inside of her lip as if she’s contemplating how much she can trust me.
I do my best to put her at ease. “I know we don’t know each other very well, but I want us to be friends. I could really use one.”
“If we’re going to be friends, then call me Jay.” She smiles. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
I nod and Jay’s eyes go wide.
“Does he go to our school?”
I shake my head. “He’s out of high school.”
“Oh.” She winks. “College?”
I shake my head again. “He’s older. Please don’t say anything. Our relationship is private, and I like it that way.”
“Trust me, Harper. I get it.” She lowers her head and runs her index finger along the edge of the glossy wood table. “I’ve loved Zach for as long as I can remember. He was always so sweet and a little on the shy side.” Even with her head down, I can see her lips curl up in a smile. “I loved that about him. When I was fourteen, he was my first kiss. We had to sneak our kisses because Cole was always nearby. Last summer, Zach told me he loved me.” She raises her head and offers me a sad smile. “Nothing can ever compare to the feeling of when the boy I’ve loved all these years told me he loved me.” Her soft laugh lacks humor as she lowers her head again. “And nothing hurt more than finding out that boy was a liar.”
A dull ache spreads across my chest. “What did he do?”
“After our vacation in St. Thomas, Zach and I kind of left things up in the air. He lived here and I lived in California. I don’t think either of us wanted to admit that a long-distance relationship was out of the question, but it didn’t matter anyway because as soon as he got home, he was back with his ex-girlfriend. An ex-girlfriend he never mentioned.”
Wait. What?
“The idiot pocket-dialed me while he was with her. I was in the shower, but my voice mail recorded it.”
Oh my God.
Jay shakes her head. “I can’t even bring myself to repeat what I heard, but you can imagine.” Eww. “I still have the message saved.” She shrugs. “I called him back but she answered—”
“Who?”
“The ex-girlfriend—or girlfriend, I guess. She told me that they had broken up over the summer but were back together. She said Zach told her all about me and even admitted to her that we’d ‘hooked up.’” She makes air quotes and rolls her eyes. “I blocked his number from my phone.”
Wow, that’s a lot of drama.
Still, I can’t help but wonder if the girl was Reagan. I’d seen Zach and Reagan together last year but I don’t think they started dating until later in the year.
Jay’s phone vibrates on the table. She picks it up and stares at the screen for a split second before she presses the side button, sending the caller to voice mail. A moment later it dings with a text alert.
“Zach?” I ask as she swipes the screen to read the text.
“He said he fell asleep.” She snorts in disbelief and rolls her eyes. “Whatever.” She sets her phone facedown on the table.
“Do you think he’s lying?”
“No… I don’t know. I feel like I don’t know him anymore.”
“Well, you’re here now, so maybe it’s time to get to know him again. See if he’s the same guy you fell in love with.”
“Maybe.” She sighs. “But he’s not off to a very good start.”
“Can I ask you something? If you don’t want to answer, I’ll understand. Just tell me to mind my own business.”
“Okay,” she drawls.
“Where’s your dad?”
Jay tilts her head, brows pulled together with a bewildered expression on her face.
“I know you moved here with your mom and that big guy, Bass. I’m sorry I’m being nosy, I just—”
“He died,” she says, softly but matter-of-fact. “I don’t know why, but I just assumed you already knew.”
I didn’t.
Somehow I just knew she was carrying around something much more painful than her heartbreak over Zach Easton.
“No.” I shake my head. “I’m sorry for bringing it up.”
She waves me off. “It’s okay. All part of getting to know each other, right?” She smiles sadly. “He died in February.” She reaches for her water and takes a sip. “Brain tumor,” she finishes.
I nod in understanding. “I lost my mom to breast cancer four years ago and my sister died in a car accident a little over two years ago.”
Jay’s eyes go wide. “I’m so sorry, Harper. That’s terrible. So it’s just you and your dad?”
“Yeah,” I lie. “He travels a lot for work, so he’s hardly ever home. I’m almost eighteen, so he trusts me to be responsible. And working keeps me busy.”
She perks up in her seat and smiles. “And now you have me to keep you company.”
“SUP?” I SAY to Zach, leaning a shoulder against the locker beside his.
“Not much.” He runs a hand over the top of my hair. “Your hair looks pretty today,” he teases.
“Asshole.” I jerk my head back and run my fingers through my hair. I hate when he touches my hair. “Did you and Jay get your shit worked out last night?” I ask.
“No, he stood me up,” Jay answers from behind me, and before I can turn around, her locker door smacks me in the back of the head.
I narrow my eyes at Zach before turning around to face Jay.
“You okay?” I whisper. She nods, but her expression says otherwise.
She’s hurt.
“Jay,” Zach starts, but then Reagan’s voice cuts in.
“Hey, Zach,” she purrs. “I hope your parents were cool with me coming over last night.”
Jay stills and looks over at me, eyes turned to slits, lips pinched, and nostrils flared.
And now she’s pissed.
“Ignore her,” I whisper. “She’s jealous of you.”
“I’m not getting dragged into Zach’s girl drama.”
“What do you mean?” Reagan says loud enough so Jay and I can hear her clearly. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m glad we talked and worked everything out.”
They did what?
I jerk my head to the side and eye Zach over my shoulder, noting his panic-stricken expression.
I could be his best friend right now by turning back around and putting him out of his misery.
But I won’t.
He’s the dumbass for dating her in the first place. He can suffer.
Instead I smirk, mouthing “dick” before turning back to Jay. “Come on,” I say. “I’ll walk you to class.”
She slams her locker shut and together we walk off.
“Well at least now I know why he left me sitting at Mac’s for over an hour.” She breathes out a humorless laugh and shakes her head. “I’m so done with him, Cole. You just don’t even know.”
“So he just didn’t show up?” That makes no sense.
“Yep,” she answers with a pop of the p.
“Did he at least call you or text you to say why?” Why would Zach do that to her? Why was he with Reagan?
“Oh yeah, he did. He said he fell asleep.” She rolls her eyes. “Obviously that was just another one of his lies. It’s last summer all over again.”
I jerk to a stop. “What?”
“Nothing.” She waves me off. “See ya later,” she calls over her shoulder as she walks into her first-period class.
IT’S NOT UNTIL right before lunch that I finally catch Zach alone as he’s heading to the dining room. “Yo,” I call out, jogging to catch up to him. “What the hell happened this morning?” I step to the side of the dining room doors and lean against the wall.
Zach shakes his head and palms the back of his neck. “I don’t even know. Reagan is screwing with my life. First she cheats on me, then she tries to hook up with my friends, and now she’s trying to come between me and Jay.”
“Why’d you leave Jay hanging last night? I thought you wanted to talk things out with her.”
“I did,” he exclaims, throwing his hands up. “I went home after practice, took a shower, and crashed. My mom woke me up to tell me Reagan was at the door. I checked the time on my phone and saw Jay had texted me. I tried calling her first but she sent me to voice mail. I texted her and told her I was sorry, that I fell asleep. I even asked if I could go over to her house.”
“What did Reagan want?”
“Closure. To apologize. To ask for another chance. To get information about Jay so she can fuck things up for me.” He huffs out a disgusted laugh. “Take your pick.”
Shaking my head, I smirk. “She’s got it out for you, bro.”
“No shit.” He lets out a resigned sigh. “What did Jay say? I tried talking to her in first period but she told me to leave her alone.”
Grinning, I tell him, “It doesn’t look good. You stood her up to hang out with your ex-girlfriend.”
“You know that’s not true.”
“I know it, but she doesn’t. Just give her a few days to calm down and then try talking to her.”
Zach frowns. “It’s that bad, huh?”
“It’s that bad.” I push off the wall and reach for the door leading to the dining room. “Let’s go. I’m starving.”
He rolls his eyes. “What’s new?”