It was hard not to get caught up in the band name excitement. Instead of getting angry or lashing out at me, Owen had taken my advice about the band name seriously. He’s started a competition to rename us. It was all over social media, and the suggestions hadn’t stopped.

Death Kitten, Boulder Boys, River Rockers, the names went on and on. I hated them all. They were too weird, too original, or in some cases, names that were already used by other bands. Which was the reason we were searching for a new name in the first place.

Despite the lackluster entries so far, I couldn’t keep away. It was exciting to be the center of so much attention, even if it was short-lived. I had my phone out and was browsing the latest suggestions when Michelle walked into the store. I’d only been there a few minutes, but I could already feel my blood pressure rising.

Tap, tap, tap.

I still couldn’t figure out why Michelle rubbed me so wrong. We hadn’t gone to school together; I was never the target of her bullying. The worst she’d done to me was not work when I asked her not to.

My eye started twitching.

Michelle strolled into the store looking more smug than usual. The innocent look she had the other day was gone. Her hair was down once more, and her lips were bright red. Very appropriate considering she was a bloodsucker.

“Hi, Rainier,” she said too sweetly.

“Michelle.”

“It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?”

“I guess.”

“I was running behind this afternoon. I hope you don’t mind if I eat a light snack when we don’t have any customers.” She grabbed a small container out of her purse.

“Your dad owns the place. He signs the paychecks. I’m not going to tell you that you can’t eat.” Besides, how many times had I scarfed down food behind the counter? I was eating a pretzel the first day we worked together.

“Great, you’re the best.”

She walked behind the counter, and although I was there first, I got up from my chair as she got came near. Damn my parents and their efforts to make me act like a gentleman. It was ingrained so deeply, I couldn’t even stay seated when Michelle was near. Her smile widened as she sat down and opened the plastic tub in her hands.

The girl was unbelievable.

I hit my fingers against the counter.

“Did you want one, Rainier?” She lifted the cherry to her lips. “I’m happy to share.”

It wasn’t a regular cherry. Of course, it wasn’t. It was yellow and red, the telltale colors of Rainier cherries. Michelle might not be original in her teasing, but she was persistent. No joke was left untouched.

“No, thank you.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, popping the fruit into her mouth. Michelle’s red lips seemed less comical all of a sudden. In fact, the way her mouth formed a perfect circle when she pulled the stem out was quite possibly the most fascinating thing I'd ever seen.

Tap, tap, tap.

“Are you okay?” She chewed the cherry and grabbed another.

“Yep.”

Michelle lifted this cherry to her mouth just like before. And just like before, I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Her lips curved into a smile as I stood there transfixed. When I finally drug my gaze up to her eyes, she winked.

“I’m going to unpack deliveries,” I said quickly and all but ran to the back of the store. The sound of her laughter hit my ears, and I stopped. Typically, I would have ignored it. Nothing good ever came from provoking someone like Michelle.

“Oh, don’t be mad Rainier. I’m just teasing you.”

“I get that. But, why?”

“Why, what?” she asked closing the container of cherries.

“I mean, why are you teasing me? We don’t know each other. We haven’t exactly gotten along. And now you’re popping cherries like we’re best friends.”

Michelle’s eyes widened before she burst out laughing. It took me several seconds before I understood why she thought it was so funny. At that point, I was sure I was the same color as a cherry.

“I meant the teasing with the cherries and my name.”

“I know.”

“I wasn’t trying to, um, suggest that we, you know…”

She laughed again. “Rainier, believe me when I say I don’t think you were putting the moves on me in my dad’s bookstore.”

I let out a relieved breath.

“But,” she continued, “what kind of name is Rainier anyway? No offense, but your parents were setting you up for a lot of bullying.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Did they really love cherries or something? Were you born on a rainy night in October?” Michelle lifted her hands and wiggled her fingers while her lips formed that stupid circle again.

“January.”

“Huh?” She dropped her hands back down and cocked her head to the side.

“I was born in January, and I don’t think it was raining.”

“Okay, but someone doesn’t just think Hmmm, Rainier would be a really cool name. There’s a story, and I want to know it.”

I took a deep breath while I decided whether or not I should tell her. The answer to the question was obvious, but for some reason, my lips began moving.

“It was where I was conceived,” I mumbled as quickly as I could, wishing I would have walked to the back of the store when I had the chance. The origins of my name were more embarrassing than my actual name.

“What?!”

I averted my eyes. “My parents, supposedly they were camping at Mount Rainier when I was conceived.”

Michelle choked on a laugh. “Why do you know that?”

“Have you seen my parents? We’re the only hippie family in town. Of course, they told me.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Well, at least it isn't as bad as my sister's name.”

“Sarah isn’t weird.”

“Sarah is her middle name.”

Michelle leaned forward in her seat and looked at me with wide eyes. “What’s her first name?”

I fought hard to keep my expression neutral. “Volvo.”

It wasn’t true, of course. But seeing the look of horror on Michelle’s face was worth any apologizing I would have to do later if this ever made it past the bookstore to Sarah’s ears.

“Please tell me you’re kidding,” she eventually said. It was obvious she didn’t know what to think. I didn’t blame her. With any other family, it would have been obvious I was kidding. My parents were just strange enough to stir up doubt.

“I’m kidding.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” she said, putting her hand on her face. “Wait, so is that really why your parents named you that?”

“Sadly, that part is true.”

Michelle laughed again, and it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sound. It was quite melodic, and I found I liked it. A little. We still weren’t friends, and I wasn’t sure why I shared that tidbit of information with her. I quickly changed the subject back to her.

“So why are you working here this summer? I imagine someone like you would rather be anywhere else than in a bookstore.”

She looked hurt by my words, which didn’t make any sense to me. She was the attractive, popular type. She belonged on the beach. Or Paris. Or anywhere other than River Valley.

“My dad thought I needed to learn some responsibility.”

“And your mom?”

“She’s off gallivanting with her boy toy.”

I didn’t know a whole lot about everyone in River Valley, even though it was a small town. I’d always stuck to my family and neighbors, like Matt. So this information caught me off guard. I didn’t even consider her parents were divorced. I always thought Michelle had it all.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, my mom and Daniel deserve each other. She’s a horrible woman who only cares about her own happiness. She wouldn’t know how to be a parent if her life depended on it,” Michelle said, but refused to look at me. I looked down at her hands and saw they were shaking. “Her husband is vile, and that’s all there is to say about that.”

All logical thought left my brain seeing her like this. That was the only explanation for what I did next. I covered her hand with my own. “She doesn’t deserve you.”

“Yeah.” Her response was too fast to be genuine. “Didn’t you say you had boxes to unpack in the back? I can hold down the fort, and I swear I won’t scare off the romance readers.”

“It’s not Mrs. Bristol’s day to come in any way,” I said, dropping the previous topic of conversation. “Just let me know if you need me, okay?”

“I will.”

“Okay,” I said awkwardly, before walking to the back. It was our big delivery day and one of the slowest nights in the front of the store. Not that we had busy days, but I thought I could trust Michelle to take care of the few customers that came in. Hopefully, she would leave those cherries in their container though.

I could imagine the reaction our poor customer base would have if they saw the way she was making out with them. I didn’t want to think about it, but couldn't get the burned image out of my head.

Boxes. Unpacking. Checking slips.

I needed to focus on those things instead of what Michelle was or wasn’t doing out front with her bowl of fruit.

I spent the next couple of hours opening cardboard boxes and putting books on the cart that was sitting in the back room. When I finished, I would bring it out front. If there was any time left in our shift, we might put some of them away on the shelves.

It wasn’t a necessary task, but I knew Jenny would appreciate anything we got done tonight. I put my energy into my work, and before I realized it, I was kneeling on the ground finishing up the last box. Just in time because Michelle was opening the back door.

“Oh.” She stopped in the doorway. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“The song you were humming. I don’t think I’ve heard it before.”

I hadn’t meant to sing the tune, but as soon as she said that, I realized that was exactly what I had been doing. With all the band practice lately, I didn't have much time to focus on the song that haunted me these last few weeks. It must have found its way through my subconscious while I focused on my tasks in the back of the store.

“It’s nothing, just some stupid song I made up.”

“Does it have words?”

“Not yet,” I answered feeling uncomfortable. I hadn’t played or sung my tune to anyone. I’d been too self-conscious. I wasn’t ready to share it with anyone, most of all, not Michelle. We may have hit an uneasy truce earlier, but I didn’t want to give her anything else to make fun of me. “Did you need something?”

“Oh, right. Your sister stopped by.”

“Sarah?” I asked like an idiot since I only had the one.

“No, Volvo.”

“Very funny,” I said, getting up off the ground. “What did she want?”

“She brought you a snack.”

“Awesome, I’m starving. Would you mind putting these last few books up so I can go grab it?”

She didn’t move from the doorway, but pulled a hand from behind her back and held out a pretzel. “So, your parents are hippies, right?”

“Yeah,” I answered as I grabbed the food from her hand and took a huge bite. Man, Michelle had a lot of questions tonight.

“Like, vegetarian or vegan or something?”

“Vegetarian,” I said, my mouth still full.

“Does that mean you are too?”

I swallowed while considering how to respond. “Kinda.”

“You can’t kinda be a vegetarian, Rainier. Either you are, or you aren’t.”

“Well, my parents are, so I never ate meat growing up. For them, it’s a moral issue. They don’t agree with the conditions on most farms. They fight for the rights of the animals. Blah, blah, blah. I don’t have the same passion.”

“So does that mean you eat meat?”

“I’ve tried it a few times, but haven’t fallen in love yet.”

“Have you tried the burgers at The Farmhouse? I bet they could convert even the most stubborn vegan.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

“Sarah works there and has been trying for months to get me to eat one.”

"No luck?"

"Not yet."

Michelle burst out into a fit of laughter. “Your family is all over the place.”

“It’s true, but I think it's mostly Sarah. We like to call her the rebel without a cause around our house. Everyone is a vegetarian; she works at a burger joint. My parents are huge advocates of homeschooling, she fought against it until they let her go to public high school.”

“I knew she went to River Valley High, but I also knew you were the weird homeschool–” She stopped and gave me a look that wasn’t entirely guilt, but wasn’t unkind either.

“I know I’m the weird homeschool kid. You didn't reveal some major secret or anything.”

"I didn't mean anything by that."

"I know."

We sat there in silence looking at each other. In what universe was Michelle making sure I wasn't upset by something she said? I didn't know what to say to that.

“I'll be honest," she said eventually. "I almost envy your family. Its drama seems manageable.”

"Maybe."

"It's true. I feel like my life is all kinds of upside down right now.

“Which is why you're working in a lame bookstore all summer.” I teased. I didn't think it was bad at all.

“At least the company isn’t as horrible as I expected it to be.” She smiled before going back to the front of the store.

It was almost like she wanted to be friends. It would be so easy to think that, to encourage that. I knew Jenny had said she liked her now. She’d been decent tonight, even with the embarrassing stories about my family.

Our conversations were just pleasant enough to have me overthinking what they meant. I could overanalyze every word and still be confused about where the two of us stood.

Thankfully, there wasn’t much time left before closing to go down that path. I finished up the food my sister brought, put the rest of the books on the cart, and began the closing procedures for the store. I managed to do all this without saying anything beyond what was necessary.

I hoped it was the right choice.