Everything Changes (3 page)

Right now, talking him into letting me go was
vital. How often did parental units allow underage teenagers to go twelve
hundred miles away with no supervision? Aside from Justin, we were all under
eighteen. Most parents wouldn’t let that fly.

We didn’t need to worry about my mom. Hell, she
wouldn’t know I was gone unless my name was Jack Daniels. Then she’d call out
the search and rescue for all of Parker County.

Addy
and
Justin were waiting for me once I arrived at the shop Sunday morning.

“So you’re really coming with us?” Justin asked
as I approached them.

I almost laughed at how uncomfortable they both
looked. Justin was cute, at least I thought so. A mess of thick hair was hidden
under his Lucas Oil Racing hat, and he smiled brighter when
Addy
smiled back at him.

Looking around the parking lot, I noticed Parker
wasn’t there yet, and my heart calmed its rapid decent.

Unlocking the door to the coffee shop, I smiled
and took a deep breath. “If I can get Rick to agree...” My eyes focused on
Addy
as she started to bite her fingernails. She got so
nervous and edgy around Justin she could hardly form words let alone breathe
and act somewhat normal. “But that is a big
if
.”

When I looked at
Addy
again, she was flustered, and I could relate.

Last week when Parker got his usual black coffee
from me in the morning, I practically choked on my own spit when I attempted to
actually speak to him.

“I’m sure I can help with that,” Justin
announced, adjusting his hat confidently before walking towards the shop.
Justin had the confidence thing down. I think that was why
Addy
liked him so much. She had a thing for the confident bad boy types, probably
because confidence was something she lacked. I could also relate to that.

When Justin disappeared,
Addy
seemed extra chirpy as she bounced around the coffee shop organizing flavors
and cups and grinding more coffee.

I had to stop her when she went for the straws
for the second time. “Stop touching all the straws. It’s gross.” I slapped her
tiny hand away. “No one wants your germs on their straw.”

That did nothing discourage her zealous mood; it
only made her fidget more.
Addy
was a fidgety person,
always had been. Her nails were short from biting them so often, and she always
picked at her nail polish.

“Why are you so chipper?” I asked, drinking a
mocha I made myself.

Before I served anyone, I had to serve myself
first. It was my rule. No one in their right mind would want to know me before
coffee. Rick said this was the reason I stopped growing at five foot three, but
he was always appreciative of my small frame when I could easily fit through
any of the shop windows when he locked himself out.

Addy
reached around me, turning the open sign. “Justin is really excited about us
going Rowan.”

I’m sure he is.

“What did Parker say?” I never looked up as I
spoke. I didn’t want her to see me. I didn’t even want to see myself right
then. I wanted to hide under a rock because of how dumb I sounded.

Addy
giggled when my cheeks flushed, and she raised her right hand to flick my
cheek. “Justin didn’t say anything about him.” Her grin widened. “Ask him
yourself… He’s right there.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw him
leaning against the counter, his hair sticking up in odd angles. He looked like
he just rolled out of bed and came here, much like myself.

Naturally, Parker didn’t speak. Instead, he
smiled and handed me his money.

Every day he got a twelve ounce black coffee, and
sometimes he’d come back in the afternoon for one as well, but he never spoke.
I guess I just knew that was what he wanted because that was what Justin always
ordered for him. After a while, I had it made before he even got to the
counter.

“Hey, Parker,”
Addy
smiled at him. She must have known I wouldn’t actually speak. “We’re going with
you to Moab.” His dark hair covered his eyes, and he lifted his left hand to
move it away. Dipping his head forward, his eyes caught mine briefly. I swear
on a stack of chocolate bars, they lit up, or maybe it was just the sun shining
down on him. Either way, their blue was brighter.

“I heard,” he replied softly, looking down at his
feet. A small smile graced his full lips when he looked up at me. “Have a good
day.” Then he winked at
me
. His thick black lashes lowered in that all
too sweet gesture that got me every time.

Why
does a wink have that much of an effect on me?
Did I
mention he winked at me?

Addy
was on
the other side of the small shop, nowhere even close to me. It was definitely
meant for
me
.

Having never talked to me before, I wasn’t
disappointed when he finally spoke. His voice was soft and shy but had that
sexy rasp to it. My stalking would reach an entirely different level now that I
had a voice to go with it.

“Wipe the drool from your mouth.”
Addy
smiled handing me a towel. “So...” she pushed herself
up on the counter, reaching for a notepad “...I’ll come over tonight and we can
pack.”

Holding my hand up, I stopped her. “Don’t get
ahead of yourself, dolly.
 
We still need
to convince Rick of this.”

“Right… Justin said he’d take care of that too.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

Addy
smacked my arm. “And stop calling me dolly.”

That was my nickname for her sometimes. She
reminded me of a little doll with porcelain skin, pretty blue eyes, and
delicate features.

Our usual customers arrived that morning. They
were mostly people who worked for Rick since the coffee shop was right outside,
but we did have the regulars that traveled down Shelton-Matlock Road: farmers,
mechanics, truck drivers, and your occasional utility workers. Some were crazy,
others were nice, and some were just plain scary.

“Hey, Ro,” Sean called out as he approached the
counter, his money in hand. “Rick just said you’re going to Moab next week.”

Sean Thomas was a childhood friend of mine that
now worked for my stepdad as a detailer. I wouldn’t say we were real close, but
he was a friend and one of the few I tolerated. Sean was awkward and shy, not
as shy as Parker though. He was smart and actually interesting if you paid
attention to what he said. I never really did.

Sometimes I felt like I was the only person who
was nice to Sean. He was a year older than us and graduating this year, so it
wasn’t like we had all that much in common.

Addy
was
mean to him, and other than Joey, no one in the shop talked to him. I didn’t
really talk to him either, but I observed him like I did everyone else and
figured if given the chance to get to know him, he was probably a really nice
person.

Addy
perked
up, her bright eyes wide with excitement. “He said that?”

“Yeah, he made an announcement to the guys that
Mia was taking over until the end of July. What the hell are you going to do in
Moab for three weeks?”

“Ride dirt bikes?” My answer came out as a question.

“And other things,”
Addy
countered, and thankfully her lewd comment went completely unnoticed by Sean.

Glaring at her, I responded. “I don’t really know
much about the trip.”

“Who are you going with?” Sean leaned against the
edge of the metal counter, his head slightly bent forward as he fidgeted with
the dollar in his hand. His light brown hair looked golden in the morning light
and even added a sparkle to his green eyes. Sean was cute but he was also
really awkward.

Addy
started making Sean’s coffee for him while we talked. “Like I said, Sean, I
don’t know much about the trip. I think it will be Justin and Parker.”

“You mean those O’Neil boys from the shop?”

“Yeah, those ones.”

“Well, be careful. I hear Parker is a good rider.
Don’t get in over your head.”

I knew Parker was a good rider. Obviously. He was
an American Motorcycle Association Supercross rider.
 

I wasn't sure why they decided to move to the
wettest place on the planet when they had sun all year long, but I heard it had
something to do with their dad who died a few years ago.

From what
Addy
told me,
Parker and Justin were both adopted by Jack, their dad’s older brother. After I
found that out, I understood why
Addy
found Justin so
appealing. They had a similar past. Surely, there had to be more to the story
about their dad and why they chose Shelton, Washington, but it was all I knew
at that point.

Sean left so he could get to work, as did
Addy
and I, kind of. We had the perfect view inside the
shop and watched unabashedly as Justin and Parker replaced an engine in an old
1957 GMC pick-up that was brought in last week.

I handed
Addy
a napkin
when Justin held onto the engine as Parker scrambled around the other side to
adjust the cherry picker. “Wipe the drool, dolly.”

“Stop calling me that!”

Rick’s Custom Repair
was
strictly for custom cars that needed repairs. We did everything from engine
work to interior redesign and painting. Rick started the business back in the
eighties. It was hard to stay afloat some years, while other years made it seem
like there was never enough time to keep up with all the work. In the end, it
made him happy. His dream was that shop, and though it was a struggle, he was
doing what he loved.

The customers continued to flow through the
coffee shop. Mochas, black coffees, blended drinks, and lattes, all served with
a smile.

Addy
and I
weren’t exactly the best baristas in town, but we kept the snide comments to
ourselves, or at least waited until they left.

Around noon, Parker returned with another smile:
warm, convincing, and mesmerizing. He didn’t speak, just smiled, and I did the
same.

“He must really like coffee…” I sighed, catching
a glance at Parker’s ass as he strode way, his second cup of black coffee in
hand. His jeans hung low on his hips, and his dark gray work shirt was
unbuttoned, revealing his black T-shirt. Black work boots completed the outfit.
Every day, I envisioned myself slowly stripping his clothes off just to see the
rock hard body I knew he had underneath.

Addy
giggled beside me, leaning against the counter, twirling her blonde hair around
her finger. “Rowan, Parker doesn’t drink coffee. For being book smart, you’re
rather dumb at times.”

“Gee, thanks.” I glanced over my shoulder at her
so she could see my eye roll. “Why does he buy like four cups a day if he
doesn’t drink coffee? Does he buy it for someone else?”

Ben dumped some change from his pocket on the
counter in front of us, chuckling. Picking through the lint and gum wrappers,
he managed to find enough for his coffee. “Parker just wants a chance to stare
at your tits for five seconds while you pour Justin’s coffee. Why do you think
I drink coffee? It tastes like shit but I still get to stare at you two.” Ben
winked and I scowled, reconsidering my attraction to winks in general.
 
Ben let out a booming laugh.

“Nice, Ben. Real classy.”
Addy
snorted, pushing his coffee across the counter towards him. “Have some
dignity.”

“Hey, I never claimed to be classy.” Ben took a
drink of his coffee letting it dribble down his chin and goatee on purpose. “Don’t
brand me with unreasonable titles.”

“Do you ever think to yourself, ‘I’m an idiot!’?”
Addy
asked.

“No, why would I do something like that?” He
looked at
Addy
as though that was the dumbest thing
she had ever said.

There needed to be a disclaimer for the mechanics
Rick had working for him. Ben was fucking stupid, not a single brain cell left.
Justin was the smart one, and Parker was the talent. He had more ability in
those two hands under a hood than any other mechanic I had seen come through
that shop, but he was only there for the summer.

Ben may have been the lead mechanic, but he still
wasn’t that bright. Rick only kept him around for his brute strength.

There were a couple other mechanics
—
Joey,
Sean, and Taylor
—
but they weren’t the eye candy we looked at. We had a few detailers,
Tom and Westin, and then Bobby Jensen, my Uncle, who dealt with our parts. If
we needed anything, Bobby ordered it.

It was a nice place to work, and I pictured
myself working there for a while since I was seventeen and had no idea what I
wanted from life. I had interests but nothing I wanted to make a career out of.
Addy
didn’t either, so that made me feel slightly
better since I wasn’t the only one that couldn’t decide on what I wanted after
high school.