CHAPTER FIVE
Natalia
I hurry into work two minutes late, juggling my school bag and my purse. I don’t bother waving hello to any of my co-workers, too busy trying to stow my items away so I can get to work. Turning the corner of the hall, I slam into a hard body that knocks the breath right out of me in an oomph. Strong hands dart out and steady me, helping me gain back my equilibrium.
“Shit, sorry—” My sentence trails off when I lock eyes with CJ. Shit. The one day I’m late and this is who I run into? Seriously?
“Natalia,” he says with a small smirk. Not too long ago, the smirk on CJ’s face would’ve made me feel giddy because he’s a total babe, but over my time working here, I’d like to say I’ve become somewhat immune to his charm. I can’t say the same for my friend Aliza. Whenever she hears his name or sees him, her face turns a deep shade of crimson—it’s hard to miss. I don’t think she realizes how much she lets her emotions show.
“I’m so sorry I’m late. I promise it won’t happen again CJ. I just got out of class, and there was so much traffic getting off campus, then there was an accident on the freeway—”
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down Natalia. I haven’t even said anything. It’s fine,” he says with a chuckle. “Now, if you were Sam, this would be a completely different conversation.”
I can’t help but laugh because he’s right, my best friend is late to everything, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was late to her own funeral. I know CJ only tolerates her because they’ve known each other for so long, and because she had a fling with his best friend Alex, but I think even he has his moments where he’s fed up with Sam. And I don’t blame him.
Just as I’m about to agree with him on the topic of Sam, Aliza turns the corner and freezes when she sees who I’m talking to. Her eyes land on mine for a fleeting second, then they dart everywhere, like she’s making it her life’s mission not to look at CJ. She shifts from foot to foot, her face turning the deep shade of crimson again. I open my mouth to say something, trying to quell the awkwardness in the hall, but before I do, she spins on her heel skittishly. My brows furrow and I turn back to CJ with a questioning look. He’s staring after her with a look on his face I can’t decipher.
“Okaaay,” I draw out. “Well, I’m heading to work now. Later, CJ.”
His throaty “Alright” is the last thing I hear before I submerge myself in work.
Three hours into my shift, I’m seated at a booth with Aliza and Sam on a lunch break. I’ve been tuning in and out of their conversation for most of my lunch. My mind has been elsewhere. Focused on things that shouldn’t matter—like Luke Caldwell. I hate that I’m thinking about him at all, but I can’t help it. The little shit has seriously gotten under my skin.
“Hello? Earth to Natalia!” Sam snaps her fingers impatiently in my face, jolting me out of my daydream.
“What? Sorry, I was thinking about something,” I say, still a little sidetracked.
“Yeah, I’ve fucking noticed. You’ve been like this for the last few weeks. What the hell is going on?” Sam demands. “Ohio, back me up on this one.”
Aliza darts her eyes from me to Sam warily. “I guess you’ve been a little off.” She shrugs. “I honestly haven’t paid enough attention.”
Sam groans, turning back to me with an expectant look on her face. “Are you gonna sit there with that dumb look on your face or are you gonna start explaining?”
“Seriously Sam, there’s nothing going on. I didn’t realize daydreaming was a crime,” I grumble.
“It damn well should be.”
I narrow my eyes at her in warning. “I have tables to get to, Ms. Officer.” I push up from the table, grabbing my pad and pen.
“I’m onto you,” Sam yells after my retreating form. I flip her the bird as an indication that I heard her loud and clear.
***
I trek across campus to my psyche class. Last night, I was up until two o’clock in the morning with Luke on FaceTime. We were studying for the quiz today. I was surprised and quite impressed by how smart Luke actually is. When he said he didn’t need to take notes because he had a good memory, he wasn’t lying. He knew every single answer like he was reciting the alphabet. It was completely unfair that he knew all the answers, but also extremely helpful because without him, I would no doubt be failing this quiz today. It’s not even like it’s a hard class, it’s just with all my other classes, my workload is suffocating me. I feel like I’m drowning in schoolwork.
I slide into the empty seat next to Luke, completely surprised to see him here early. That’s a first. There are two Starbucks cups on his desk, and my mouth waters instantly. He chuckles at my expression, pushing one of the cups toward me.
“Don’t worry, it’s yours.”
I lift my brows in surprise.
“Really? What is it?”
“It’s a caramel mocha-something. The hell if I know.” He shrugs like he really doesn’t have a clue.
“How did you order it if you don’t even know what it is?” I question in confusion as he downs the remaining contents in his cup.
“I was at Starbucks this morning with a lady friend, she ordered it, so I thought you’d probably like it too.”
I scoff. “Lady friend?”
He chuckles, quickly correcting himself. “Okay, okay, you got me. It was some chick I had just met.”
“Wait, so let me get this straight, you were on a coffee date with a girl and buying coffee for another girl?” He purses his lips in deep thought, mulling over what I said.
“Yeah, I guess I did.”
“You are something else entirely, you know that, right?”
“Don’t I?” he says with a wink and I laugh. I tilt the cup toward my lips and pause as I see Luke staring at me out of the corner of my eye.
“What did you put in my drink?” I suddenly ask, placing the cup back on the desk. “Laxatives? Milk of magnesia? Tell me. I know you did something.”
He cocks his head to the side and looks at me for a beat before laughing with a subtle shake of his head. “I promise you, I did nothing to your drink. Although, the milk of magnesia thing is a great fucking idea for the future, thanks for that.”
I narrow my eyes at him, then drop them toward the full Starbucks cup. I eye them both warily. My mouth salivates as I stare at the stark white lid and the green nautical logo.
Oh, screw it. I snatch the cup up and take a huge gulp of the caramel flavored coffee. Mmm, so good. I wait for any gurgling in my stomach, but thankfully nothing happens. Assuming the coffee is safe to drink, I finish it off and wait for class to start.
After everyone finishes the quiz, the professor ends class early, and I can’t be happier. An actual break. All the students leave the lecture hall in a loud rush of excitement, feeling the same way about getting out early. I hang back with Luke, waiting for the chaos to deplete.
“When did you want to work on the psyche project?”
Luke scrubs a hand through his hair, guiding me out into the hall. He’s wearing a San Francisco 49er’s shirt with ripped jeans and sneakers. How is it the simplest outfits look good on him?
“I know you have practice like ten times a day, but seriously dude we need to get this done.”
He laughs, nudging me in the arm playfully. “We don’t have practice ten times a day.”
I raise a knowing brow. Yeah, right. I would say I feel bad for Luke and the rest of his teammates for how often they’re forced to practice, but really, I don’t care enough to feel bad for them.
My phone suddenly vibrates in my bag and I sift through its contents searching for the damn thing. Once my fingers close around it, the vibrating stops, only to start right back up again.
Jesus.
My brows furrow as I look at the name on the screen. Chantell. My co-worker calls me for one thing, and one thing only—when she needs me to cover her shift. Luke and I veer off to the side of the walkway so I can answer. And sure enough, when I answer, the first thing she asks is if I can cover her shift tonight, which means I’ll be working a double. I sigh into the line. I can’t say no, I mean seriously, her dog just died, but damn do I hate working doubles.
“Yeah, of course.”
Chantell thanks me profusely clicking off with an upbeat goodbye. I can’t tell if I’ve just been played or not.
“Where do you work?”
I shift my gaze to Luke, who’s staring down at me intently. “Oh, at CJ’s Bar and Grille. I waitress there with my two best friends.”
“I can stop by with the guys after practice tonight.”
My breath catches.
He wants to come to my job? Holy shit.
“Yeah, I’ll be there until closing, I’m working a double tonight, if you didn’t hear.” I smile. His lip twitches at the corners.
“Yeah, I did. Sounds like you got played. What time is your break? We can always work on the project then,” he offers, and I rapidly blink my eyes, staring at him with a blank expression.
What the hell is happening right now?
“I can do that,” I say cautiously just in case this is another form of his asshole humor. He starts walking away toward his next class.
“Alright, see you later,” he tosses over his shoulder, leaving me standing like a frozen fool.
Well I’ll be damned. Luke is coming to my workplace tonight.