I still couldn’t believe how good Rainier was the night before. Every time I thought about the way he sounded up on the stage, my stomach started doing somersaults. I couldn’t explain why I was so affected, but I knew it was going to be a long morning. Work was the last thing I wanted to do right now. What I wanted was to get to the part of the day where I saw Rainier again.

I grabbed the book he had suggested before going to Between The Pages. My dad had stopped ordering new inventory with the closure approaching quickly, so I couldn’t imagine there would be a lot to do at work. Besides, I was getting into the story, as much as I hated to admit it. There even was a hot musician as the love interest.

Not that I was looking for love or a hot musician…

I hadn’t thought about my shift very much beyond knowing it would drag, so when I saw Jenny opening the gate to the store for our opening shift, I stopped in my tracks. Girls like her didn’t intimidate me. I was the intimidator. But sitting with her for the next few hours wouldn’t be fun either.

Neither one of us spoke to the other as we went through the opening procedures. We finished with plenty of time to spare, and even when the store opened, there would be very few customers so early in the day.

With nothing to do, I took my usual seat in the chair behind the counter and pulled out my book. I was so close to the end, and I knew it would help pass the time. A small smile tugged at my lips as I thought about the last time I sat in this spot reading this book. Rainier with his own copy. I wondered if he'd finished it yet.

“What is that?” Jenny asked, pulling me from my reading.

“A book.”

“Damn it, Michelle. I don’t have the patience for your sarcastic attitude this morning. Why are you reading that book?”

“Rainier suggested I read it.”

She let out a few unladylike curses before she grabbed the book out of my hand. “This is my favorite book. It’s the one I always suggest to people. Why would he do that?”

“I think it was because it’s your favorite that he suggested it.”

She slammed the book back down. “Well, that's just great. Thank you for officially ruining everything.”

“It’s just a book.”

“You and I both know it’s more than the book. It’s the way you watch him like you own him. You’re popular and beautiful, and Rainier doesn’t know what to do with all the attention."

"I don't think you're giving him enough credit," I said, my voice getting louder as I got up from my seat.

"I’ve been slowing clawing my way out of the friend zone for years. Years, Michelle. And then you come in and swoop him up in a matter of weeks. Do you even like him?”

I didn’t have an answer. Did I like Rainier? The last few weeks had been a weird swirl of emotions. Sometimes I hated him, the rest of the time he made my heart race. I hadn't thought he was anything special, but now I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Jenny’s laugh was without humor. “You’re unbelievable. You just don't want to see anyone else happy, so you've taken him away from me."

"I don't think you can own a person, Jenny."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it, though I'm sure you'd love to go tell him I said that. Everything is so mixed up, and it all began when you started working here. Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"I hate to break it to you, Jenny, but my life does not revolve around you. I have my own issues I'm dealing with, and I don't need you acting all paranoid. Besides, you've been trying to get Rainier to fall for you for years? Shouldn't that tell you something? He's not into you like that."

"I think he might have been if you didn't come along," Jenny said quietly, tears gathering in her eyes.

I let out a deep breath and tried to get my own emotions under control. I knew what it was like to come in second to other people. To not be good enough to be their priority, no matter how much you wanted it.

Seeing that small break in her was enough for me to realize that Jenny wasn't some mean girl competition. She was a girl who was in love with someone that didn't share those same feelings. Or, at least, I hoped he didn't.

"Jenny," I started slowly. "You don't want to force feelings on someone. You'll never know if they're genuine and you'll always wonder if they'll leave. That won't make you happy. It wouldn't make Rainier happy."

"I know."

"You want someone who likes you for who you are."

"I know that," Jenny answered again, this time her reply was harsh. "I just can't imagine ever finding someone as great as he is."

"But you will. And when that happens, you'll wonder what you ever saw in Rainier in the first place."

I thought of all the relationships I had forced. The most recent one being Julian. Avery was right when she said the two of us were together because it was what everyone expected from us. I had loved him, but never in the way I should have, especially in those final weeks.

And when I didn't get what I wanted, I'd gone crazy. I had done the exact thing I hated my mom for.

Not that I was cozying up to that woman anytime soon. She was still evil, but maybe there was hope for me?

And more importantly, was I seriously having a heart-to-heart with Jenny?

"Jenny," I said, when she didn't respond to my earlier words. "I like Rainier. I'd sworn off anything romantic until I met him. And now I want nothing more than to see what might happen between the two of us."

"He'll still leave, you know."

"What do you mean?" The words caught me off guard.

"I think he likes you too, but when the summer is over so is whatever happens between the two of you. He's going back to school in the fall. Everyone in the band has tried to convince him otherwise."

"Maybe I'll be the straw that breaks the camel's back."

"But then aren't you doing what you just told me not to do?"

She had a point. I didn't like that she had a point. I was fighting to come up with an answer that I knew wouldn't come, when a customer came in. Never had I been so happy to see someone looking for books.

I let Jenny take care of her. As much as I'd learned in the last few weeks, I wasn't nearly as knowledgeable as my co-worker. I listened as she answered every question she was asked. Jenny was patient, kind. Everything I wasn't.

But most importantly, she wasn't suited for Rainier. I could tell in the way she was able to change her mood so quickly with this customer.

It was possible Jenny loved Rainier, but no more than I had loved Julian. She would be okay without him.

I only hoped the same could be said for me.