Forged in Stone (6 page)

J
ames was weird
. Too bad his weird was also strangely sexy. I tried to push him from my mind as I helped a handful of other customers. It was quiet for a Friday night, but then again how many people wanted frozen yogurt in the winter? James had. I pictured the way he’d carefully licked his yogurt so not a single drop spilled. Ugh. I had to stop. I knew nothing about the guy yet was going to share a house with him. Getting the hots for him wasn’t going to help.

After serving a young couple, I went into the back room to mess around on my phone. There was at least a place to sit down there.

After refreshing my email a few times, I went back to thinking about James. Something was off. He was hiding something, and I needed to know what. I wished I knew his last name. Then I could look him up and find out what his story was. And what was with the formal way he talked? Was he trying to act smart or something? My curiosity wasn’t because I was interested in him. It was because I was going to be living with him. That was my story, and I was sticking to it.

Since I couldn’t look up James, I decided to look up the Calloways instead. James had said the son had played for Carolina basketball. Surely there was something on him.

I searched Kevin Calloway Carolina Basketball.

Every one of the results on the first page had the same headline:
Star Player Disappears after Game Winning Shot.

James had said he quit, but not that he had disappeared. The idea of a house like that sitting empty had seemed weird to me in the beginning, but now it seemed weirder. I could push James for information, or I could go to what might be a much easier source. Debbie. She was nice and her son was married to the daughter. Surely she would know something about the missing son. I only needed to come up with an excuse to go over there. I’d never gone before, and I didn’t want to set off red flags. Maybe I could use the pregnant daughter-in-law excuse. Bring her over something to celebrate.

I was still formulating my plan when I heard the bell ding. It was time to serve another customer, so I walked back out front.

Except it wasn’t a customer. Brad strolled over to the counter. “Hey, Ainsley.”

I glanced at my watch. It wasn’t even quite eight. “You’re early.”

“I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss you.”

“I have to work until nine, so how would you have missed me if you showed up then?”

“You slipped out on me last night. Maybe you’re tricky.” He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a collared shirt. He looked like most of the guys I’d gone to college with. It wasn’t a bad look, but it wasn’t different. Nothing about him was different. Not like James. His clothes were the same, but that’s where the similarities ended. I shook myself. It wasn’t that I needed to give Brad a chance, but I couldn’t give James one. Not until I at least knew something about him.

I pushed James out of my mind. “I can’t leave early.”

“That’s fine.” He rested a hand on the counter directly in front of me. “I’ll just wait.”

“Can I get you something?”

I figured I might as well be polite.

“Sure. Let me think.”

He was indecisive. I thought about how quickly James had made his decision. What was wrong with me?

“Is the chocolate soft serve good?”

“It’s the usual run of the mill chocolate soft serve. You can try a sample if you want.”

“Oh, that would be great.”

I grabbed a spoon and got a small amount for him.

He tried it. “I’ll take this.”

“Cone or cup?”

“Cup. I always make a mess with cones.”

Did that mean he wasn’t good with his tongue? I tried not to laugh. “One cup of chocolate yogurt coming up.” I filled a cup and handed it to him.

“Thanks.” He held out his credit card.

Suddenly a credit card seemed boring. I ran his card for the three dollar purchase and gave it back to him with a receipt. “It’s going to be a bit.”

“I’ll sit and watch.”

“And watch?”

“Yes. You’re pleasant on the eyes, and I didn’t get to enjoy that last night.”

“Uh, thanks…” And I thought James was creepy. I really needed to continue my break from men.

He settled into the same table James had sat at. “You’re very welcome.”

Awkward took on new meaning as Brad did exactly what he said he would. He watched me while taking small bites of his yogurt.

For once I was glad when more customers came in. I didn’t even mind how long they took to pick a flavor, and I was disappointed when they took the yogurt to go.

“Do you like working here?” Brad broke the silence that had settled in once the customers left.

“Not really.”

“Then why do you?”

“Because it pays the bills.” I seemed to use that phrase a lot.

“Don’t you also have a day job at a law firm?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t pay much. I need to pay off my student loans.”

“I was lucky and didn’t have any.”

“You’re right. You were lucky.” I knew plenty of kids whose parents footed their entire college tuition. I was jealous, and I wasn’t always great at hiding it.

“What do you like to do when you’re not working?”

I thought about it. I didn’t have much time anymore when I wasn’t. “I like to read, get sun, swim in the ocean.”

“I like the beach too. We should go together when the weather warms up.”

I smiled non-committedly. Assuming we’d even be talking when spring came was presumptuous. But then again if he spent time with Grace I’d probably see him again.

“Did you have dinner?”

“Yes. Grace brought me some sushi.”

“Nice. She’s great, isn’t she?”

“Most of the time.”

“Are you still upset with her over the blind date? It worked out in the end.” He smiled.

If working out meant I got pushed into seeing him again, then sure. I went with the half smile again. I regretted telling James ten o’clock. I should have said nine-thirty. We were getting all the small talk over with now, so what was going to be left to talk about over coffee?

“You don’t have to sit here.”

“I don’t mind. I’d be waiting around to see you anyway.”

“But this is pretty boring.”

“No it’s not. I like talking to you. I also like looking at you.”

“Yes, because I look so fabulous in my Yogurt Love shirt.”

“It’s cute.”

“Thanks.” I glanced longingly at the back room, but that was against policy when a customer was present, besides Brad would probably follow me which would get me in trouble.

“Come sit with me.”

“I can’t.” That was also completely against policy.

“Why? No one’s here.”

“It’s against the rules.”

“Your boss isn’t here.”

“So? That doesn’t mean I’m going to break the rules.”

“Wow.” He rocked back in his chair. “You are uptight.”

“If you don’t like my personality, you’re welcome to leave.”

He grinned. “Don’t think you’re going to get rid of me that easily.”

I checked my watch. It was 8:45. At least in the midst of all the annoyances time was passing. Only a little over an hour until James picked me up, and I got to go home. Pajamas and my warm bed sounded good. Who was I kidding? Seeing James sounded good too. Maybe what I needed was some fun. He’d mentioned taking his car out into the country. I loved fast cars, and I knew that an Aston Martin would deliver top speed. James Bond had driven one for a reason.

“Are you still interested in getting coffee?”

“Was this enough of a date for you?” I tried to keep the hopefulness out of my voice.

“No, I meant want to do something else?”

“What else is there?”

“Maybe drinks. A re-do of last night.”

“Coffee sounds good.” Coffee was safe and simple. I wasn’t interested in doing anything more than that.

“You’re uptight. A drink would help.”

“Yeah, I don’t use alcohol that way.” Totally untrue. I used it to unwind all the time, but that didn’t mean I wanted to unwind with him.

“I want you to have fun tonight.”

“Won’t your presence be enough?”

“I hope so.” He grinned, probably because he thought I was flirting.

“There’s a great coffee shop down the street. Coffee House.”

“I’d prefer the Starbucks in the other direction.”

“Why?” I glanced at the clock again.

“I’m picky about my coffee.”

“I have to go to Coffee House. My ride is getting me there.”

“Your ride? If you don’t have your car I’d be more than happy to take you home.”

“It’s fine.” Even if I had a way to contact James, I wouldn’t have wanted to accept a ride from Brad. That would only make getting away at the end of the night more difficult. And it would cut out another ride in the Aston Martin.

“No really. Why should a friend come get you when I’m already with you? Besides, it could be late.”

“He’s getting me at ten.”

“He?” Brad stood up. “This is a male friend?”

“Yes.” James wasn’t actually my friend, but I wasn’t going to bring up that detail.

“Isn’t that a little odd?”

“What?”

“Asking another guy to pick you up from a date?”

“I didn’t ask him. It worked out this way because he drove me.” I straightened my shoulders. “If it’s a problem, you’re welcome to leave.”

“Stop it. Why are you trying to sabotage us before we’ve even started?”

“Why do you care? Why bother showing up tonight after how I treated you last night?”

“I like you. I go after what I want.”

How similar to James, but also different. James hadn’t said he went after what he wanted, just that he knew what he wanted. “But you don’t want me. You don’t like my personality.”

“Says who?” He stood and walked over to the counter.

“Says you. You called me uptight.”

“I can fix uptight.” He waggled an eyebrow.

“No you can’t. It’s part of who I am.”

“No one is made to be uptight. You need to find ways to relax.”

“I feel like the good kid when the other kids are pushing drugs.”

He laughed. “Not drugs.”

“If you want to have coffee we can go to Coffee House.”

“You’re determined. I like that.”

“Glad you like something about me.”

“There’s lots I like about you.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Let me clean up and close.”

“Can I help?”

“Thanks for offering, but I’m good.” I grabbed a cloth and started wiping down the tables.

“I can do this.” He walked around behind me. I turned, only to find myself sandwiched between him and the table.

“Thanks. But I can handle it.” I tried to slip out from under his arm, but I was wedged against the table.

“Are you sure?” He breathed on my neck.

I was more than a little uncomfortable. “Can you move? I need to finish everything else.”

“Absolutely.” He stepped back with a satisfied smile on his face.

“What was that about?”

“I affected you.”

“No you didn’t.” The only effect he was having was making me angry.

“Yes I did.” He stepped toward me again.

I glanced at my watch. Two minutes till closing. Sixty two minutes until James picked me up.

Luckily he returned to his table and played with his phone while I finished cleaning up. “Ready?”

“Sure.”

We walked out into the dark night. I longed for summer when it would still be light at closing.

“Are we walking or driving?”

“Walking.”

“You sure? It’s pretty cold.”

“I’m positive. It’s a short walk.” I locked the door and double checked it twice.

“Afraid to get in a car with me?” His expression hardened.

“No.” Yes. I was. Something about Brad made me incredible uncomfortable. It’s not like I was always afraid to get into cars with guys. I’d gotten into James’.

“Whatever you say.”

We walked down the sidewalk. “I hope this place has good coffee.”

“It’s great. The owner is usually there herself.”

“Which can be good or bad.”

“Why would that be bad?”

“Because it could mean bad service. Owning a place doesn’t mean you have a knack for customer service.”

“What do you do?” He sounded elitist, and I wondered what profession he was actually in.

“I work in compliance.”

I didn’t care enough to ask what that even meant. Instead I moved on to the next question. “How old are you?”

“Full of questions suddenly.”

“I don’t know you.” And that bothered me a lot. Way more than it did with James. Everything about Brad put me on edge. If he wasn’t related to Grace I’d have run the other way.

“That’s the point of tonight. It’s to get to know each other.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m asking questions.” I resisted the urge to wrap my arms around myself. I was cold, but I didn’t want to admit that to Brad. He’d probably try to warm me up or something.

Brad held open the door to Coffee House, and I eagerly ran into the familiar store. I was hit immediately by the aroma of roasting coffee beans. It was one of my absolute favorite smells. I went right up the counter. As I suspected, the owner, Louise, was working.

“Hey, Ainsley. Should I get you your usual?” Louise was in her early forties, but she tended to talk and dress much younger. She represented what I viewed as the new generation of hippies. They were cleaner cut than their predecessors, but they held onto the past with the same nostalgia and maintained a youth the rest of their generation didn’t.

“Yes please.”

“What’s your usual?” Brad came up beside me. For a moment I’d forgotten he was there.

“Black coffee with a chocolate biscotti.”

He nodded. “I’ll have the same.”

“You don’t have to get a biscotti if you don’t want.”

“Worried I’m having too many sweets?” He patted his stomach.

“No, just letting you know.”

“I appreciate the concern.” He turned to Louise. “I’ll be getting hers as well.”

“I can pay for my own.”

“If you won’t let me drive you, I’m at least going to pay for your coffee.”

“What does one thing have to do with the other?”

Loud laughter had me turning around. My eyes locked with James’. My heart sped up. “You’re early.”