The Art of Losing(44)

“Hi,” I said.

Audrey smiled and pointed at the empty chair on the other side of the room. “We’re watching TV,” she said. Her words were slow, but her diction was clearer than it had been.

“It’s a show about wedding dresses,” Neema added. “You’d probably hate it.”

“You’re probably right,” I said. I left the hooded sweatshirt and gossip magazines that I’d brought at the foot of the bed. “I’ll come back later.”

Audrey needed time with her best friend, I told myself. I knew I should feel guilty about not spending time with her, but I didn’t. I was relieved that I didn’t have to.

As I turned the corner on our block, I spied Raf’s maroon Jeep driving toward me. It was customary in our small neighborhood to slow down and chat for a minute, or at least shout a hello, so there was no avoiding him. These are the pitfalls of living next door to your crush.

Raf slowed to a stop in the middle of the block, and I pulled up next to him. We rolled down our windows at the same time.

“I always feel like a cop when I do this,” he joked. “Like I should be telling you that we just had a big bust. Or that it’s your turn to take over the surveillance.”

I racked my brain for a witty cop joke but came up empty.

“So, how are you?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Busy. I got a job at The Flakey Pastry.”

He smiled. “Oh yeah? Maybe I’ll swing by and have you make me a cappuccino.”

“I would hold off on that for at least a few shifts,” I warned him. “Cappuccino is complicated.”

“Damn,” he said. “Well, maybe I can be satisfied with a chocolate croissant.”

“That I can probably manage.”

He nodded. “Okay, well, good luck. Gotta run. I’m already late for my meeting.”

“Thanks,” I said. I rolled up the window and watched him drive off with a quick wave goodbye. I’d managed to escape without either of us bringing up the fact that we hadn’t spoken in more than a week. It was what I wanted, though, right?

Maybe we’d slipped into Cassidy-and-Will territory, flirting whenever we saw each other, and nothing more. I brushed the thought aside. It was too depressing.

My first day on the job, Cassidy tried to be patient. Maybe she was showing off for Will a little, too; we were the only three behind the counter. Apparently, Janine was the one who’d quit, which made me wonder if that meant she and Will had called it quits as well, but I couldn’t ask while he was in earshot.

Cassidy spent a couple of hours teaching me how to use the register, brew coffee, make a shot of espresso, and a few other things. I was so distracted that I gave almost every customer the wrong change and burned myself three times by over-pouring the cup. The result: a scalding splash on my hand whenever I put the lid on. My skin had turned red in the crook between my thumb and forefinger.

When I spilled a full cup of coffee, I nearly lost it. My eyes began to water. Cassidy quickly waved Will over to cover for us and pulled me aside.

“What’s going on?” she whispered. “You seem really off. Is Audrey okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, she’s fine. I’m sorry, I’m just nervous.”

“Why? Wait, did Samir give you the ‘three strikes’ line?” Cassidy asked with a reassuring smirk.

“Yeah,” I said. I hadn’t talked about Raf with her lately and I didn’t want to get into it, so this was a handy excuse. “You’ve heard it?”

Cassidy glanced at Will, who must have been eavesdropping, because they shared a laugh. “Samir is big on sports analogies. He hardly ever gets them right. But the point is, he’s never actually fired anyone. He’s a good guy.”

I felt a little better, but I was still a little shaky. “Okay, but maybe you should still show me again how to make a shot of espresso.”

“You should have Will show you,” she said. “Now’s a good time; there’s no line. Besides, customers always look relieved to see him on the bar instead of me.”

He shook his head. “Doubtful.”

“You think I don’t see it?” she teased. “I’m bad at making espresso, not blind.”

“Are you sure?” he said dryly. “Because somehow you always overfill the filter and get dark, bitter shots.”

“You can be on the bar the rest of the night then,” Cassidy said, disappearing into the back room.

I tried not to groan at how obvious they were being. Best just to concentrate on not screwing up anymore. With Cassidy gone, Will showed me how much espresso should go in the filter, how to tamp it down hard enough, and what to do when the filter got stuck in the machine (which was: pull it harder).

“So, um, you know Janine quit, right?” he said. “That’s why Samir needed a replacement so quickly.”

“Yeah, Cassidy told me.”

“We kind of broke up is why,” he added quietly.

“Oh,” I said, shooting daggers from my eyes in Cassidy’s direction as she emerged through the swinging double doors. I’d figured as much, but leave it to her to omit the most important detail. “Well, I’m sorry.”

Will shrugged off my apology. “All for the best. Refill the espresso beans in the grinders, okay?”