Where the Stars Still Shine(35)

Mom was here.

The bushes outside are unmoving—as if, like me, my mother would hide in someone’s landscaping—and of course she’s not going to be lounging on Greg’s porch steps. Why would she stay long enough to smoke a cigarette, but not long enough to wait for me? I whirl around, my eyes narrowed as I look closer for something. Anything. A note, maybe. Or, a message that only I’ll understand. Except the message she’s left makes my heart slide into my toes. She didn’t come to see me.

The laptop Greg gave me is missing.

My stomach curls in on itself, and I wonder if this is how the Ruskins felt after we lived in their house. Violated. Unsafe. I’ll lock the trailer door tonight because I don’t want her sneaking in when I’m sleeping. My face burns with shame that I feel this way about my own mother, but also—how am I going to tell Greg? I don’t want him to know it was her, but I don’t want to lie about what happened to the computer. I hate that she’s put me in this position.





Chapter 12


“Does this come in green?”

Alex is back, and I watch through the open doors as he and Jeff load sponges into the back of Alex’s pickup truck. Today he’s bandanna-free, his bangs pulled back with an elastic the way a girl might wear her hair. Except there is absolutely nothing feminine about the way he looks, and I love how comfortable he seems in his skin.

It pains me to tear my gaze away from him to deal with the customer who has been nagging me with questions for the past fifteen minutes. I want to tell her that if the T-shirt she’s waving at me came in green, it would be there among the dozens of available styles. No, that purple dress doesn’t come in gold. No, we don’t have more necklace colors in back. No, you can’t have three sponges for ten dollars because the place down the street is selling them for that price. I shake my head—again. “I’m sorry.”

Theo comes into the store and flashes me the “you’re not trying hard enough” look I’ve been getting all week. He goes over to the woman and by the time he’s done schmoozing her, she comes to the register with a T-shirt that’s not green and a dress that’s not gold.

“Callie,” he says, when the customer is gone, “I know you’re new to all this, but you really need to work it a little more. Make the sales.”

“I’m sorry.” I’ve attempted to compliment the customers the way Kat does, but the words always trip over my tongue and taste insincere. And although I am Greek, what it means to be Greek is an alien concept, so I can’t use it to my advantage the way Theo and Alex do. “I’ll try harder.”

He sighs as if he doesn’t believe me. “Go ahead and take your lunch break now. I’ll cover you, and Kat should be here by the time you’re done.”

It feels as if I’m being punished.

My bench is empty, so I go there with my daily hummus and Coke. When Alex sees me, he says something to Jeff, hands him the keys to the truck, and they do one of those complicated guy handshakes. Jeff glances in my direction as he climbs into the cab and drives away. The whole exchange unsettles me somehow. Maybe because it feels as if I’ve answered some sort of silent booty call and now even Jeff knows what’s going to happen next. And maybe I’m embarrassed because I wouldn’t mind being something more than Alex’s booty call. Still, that doesn’t stop me from stepping aboard the boat and following Alex down into the cabin.

“Hi.” His arms come around me and he pulls me against him.

I thread my fingers through his curls as he lowers his face. His mouth is almost on mine when my own hoarse hello comes out. Just before he kisses me, he gives me that grin that makes my knees go rag-doll limp.

“I’ve been thinking about you all week.” Alex’s mouth is against my neck as his hand slides under my T-shirt. His skin tastes faintly of salt and sweat, and any hesitation I had about being nothing more than a booty call dissolves.

I’m pulling my shorts back on—and four minutes past the end of my break—when he asks me what time I get off work.

“Five.” I’m not worried about Theo, but I’m afraid that Kat has started her shift and she’ll be watching for me. That my T-shirt won’t hide the bite mark on my collarbone.

“Do you want to come over later?” His eyes follow my movements, as if I’ll disappear if he looks away. Ironic, considering he was the one who disappeared without a word. “I’ll get Chinese and maybe we could watch a movie or something.”

“I, um—” I pull my shirt over my head so I can escape his gaze for a second or two before I have to tell him the truth. I look at the floor when I say the words. “I kind of already have—plans.”

“Oh.” His eyebrows pull together, as if it hadn’t occurred to him that I’d be busy.

“You just left, so I thought”—the cabin grows smaller and I’m not sure how to end that sentence—“you could have called or something.”

“No, you’re right.” Alex looks away and I hate that. I could break my date with Connor. God, I want to break my date with Connor so much. But that wouldn’t be right. I don’t want to be that kind of girl. “I didn’t really think about it. So, it’s cool. Maybe another time.”

“Definitely. Absolutely. Yes.” Too many words are coming out of my mouth, but I hope that one of them might be the spark to reignite whatever it was I saw in his eyes before. I want him to suggest we do something tomorrow night instead, but he leaves me hanging.