Chaps & Cappuccinos

by A. J. Macey

  “Perfect timing, Babydoll,” Kingston told me when I walked up to the guys, all three of them seated at a nearby table. “Would you dance with me?” he asked sweetly, giving me a warm smile.

  “I’d love to.”

  Taking his hand, Kingston and I headed back out to the dance floor. A fun pop song was playing, Kingston taking my hand and spinning me in a very Reid-like manner to the beat. As we swayed and moved together, the rest of the room faded away. It was just Kingston and me.

  “You look beautiful tonight.” He tugged me in at the end of the song and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. A contented sigh left me, the worries that had been plaguing me melting at the gentle touch. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, King.”

  “You two are just so adorable!” Zo exclaimed in a sing-song, her and her date moving past us to the edge of the dance floor. The interruption made both of us laugh, Kingston’s chest shaking with each chuckle. He gave me one more kiss before stepping back. At first, I was confused, but in his place came Reid.

  “May I have this dance, Cali girl?” He offered his hand, giving me an almost cordial bow.

  “You may,” I murmured, the butterflies roaring to life as he started to shift us to the slower beat.

  Unlike Kingston's dancing, there was an underlying seductiveness to Reid’s. It set my blood on fire, and my stomach flip-flopped with excited nerves at feeling such things in the middle of a crowded room. Before I knew it, the song was over, but Reid wasn’t done yet. Just like the last time we danced, he curled me in and dipped me low, his scruff brushing against my collar bone and chest.

  “Wow,” I whispered.

  “Perfect, that was the exact reaction I was hoping for,” he said with a smirk before pulling me upright. “Want to take a seat for a bit? I know I get pretty tired after a while.”

  “Yes, please,” I agreed, taking his elbow when he offered it, but by the time we reached the table, I really needed to go to the bathroom, so I excused myself. Stepping out of the ballroom into the side hall that led to the restroom, I found myself swaying to the music as it filtered out into the hall despite being tired and sore.

  “Oh, excuse me,” I exclaimed, having almost collided with a girl exiting the bathroom. When I got a better look at who it was, I felt my brow knit together. She looked familiar.

  “Emma, right?” she asked, and as soon as she spoke I realized who it was.

  Veronica.

  Reid’s ex-girlfriend.

  “Yes, and you’re Veronica. I hope anyway,” I tacked on, realizing I may have misremembered.

  “That’s me,” she confirmed. “You here with Reid?”

  “Yup, and the others. You here for Arbor Ridge’s prom, or are you attending one of the others in the other ballrooms?” I asked her, wondering why I was having this conversation instead of just going to the bathroom.

  Who really wants to waste time at their senior prom talking to their boyfriend’s ex?

  Oh right, me apparently.

  “Both, technically, my boyfriend’s a junior at Arbor Ridge.” Thankfully, she didn’t seem irritated, awkward, or mean, which was a plus.

  “Fun, well I’ll let you go enjoy yourself,” I said awkwardly, trying my best to give her a friendly smile to make it seem like I wasn’t feeling out of place.

  “You too. Oh, and Emma?” she called out as I walked farther into the tiled hall leading to the bathroom. Turning back, I looked at her, praying she wasn’t about to make a mean girl comment, remembering how the bowling alley had gone. “I’m really sorry about when we first met. I was jealous then, but I’m happy Reid has someone.”

  Well, hot dang, that is definitely not what I expected her to say.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I reassured, giving her a genuine smile this time. “We can pretend it didn’t happen and our first actual conversation was blocking the entrance to a girls’ bathroom.” My terrible joke made both of us laugh, the last of the awkwardness dissipating.

  “Sounds good to me. See you around.” With that, she turned and started back down the hall and into the ballroom.

  Never would have guessed that would have gone down tonight, I noted pleasantly, going to the bathroom and washing my hands quickly before heading back into the hall. Instead of finding it empty, I saw Jesse leaning against the wall across from the bathrooms.

  “Hey, Love,” he said softly as I approached. “It had been a bit, and I know sometimes you have a bit of trouble with being in bathrooms, wanted to come check on you.”

  “I’m good, Jess,” I reassured, warmth blooming in my chest as he wrapped me in his arms. “Was talking for a bit which is why it took me a while.”

  “Fun, who were you chatting with?”

  “Veronica.” It was almost comical seeing the transformation of Jesse’s expression as he registered my statement. Shock and confusion, worry, and then finally anger before I explained what had happened.

  “So… it wasn’t like the bowling alley?” Jesse questioned, trying to understand.

  “Nope, we’re good. She has a new boyfriend.”

  “Good, I don’t want anyone to ruin your night.” Kissing me, Jesse tightened his arms around me in a hug. “Want to go dance some more? The dance itself is almost over then onto post-prom.”

  “I would love to dance some more, especially since you and I haven’t gotten a chance to dance together yet.”

  Walking side by side, we headed back into the dance, our fingers intertwined as we went to the dance floor. Looking around as we did so, I noticed Reid and Kingston standing at the snack table, no doubt enjoying all the sweet treats laid out for the students. When Jesse and I finally reached the dance floor, a slow, melodic song started to play. He wrapped his arms around my waist, not hesitating as he may have in the past and started to sway with me. Curling my arms around his shoulders, I held onto him, wanting nothing more than to enjoy our dance like I had with Reid and Kingston earlier.

  “I never thought I’d make it to senior prom,” Jesse confided quietly, his breath washing over my ear as we danced cheek to cheek together. “A majority of me never really wanted to, but as soon as you waltzed into my life, shaking everything up and turning things on their heads, this was what I wanted. To listen to a song, and for the few minutes it played, enjoy feeling you in my arms.”

  “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in this moment,” I admitted, “nowhere, no one else, other than with you, Jess.” And so, we did just that, our dance as unique and special to me as the other two, tucked away in a special corner of my heart that I knew I would cherish forever.

  The first of many moments to come for my boys and me.

  18

  April 5th

  Had an amazingly fun night… well, at least while it lasted.

  #CueTheClarkFamilyArguments #IsItGraduationYet #NOTSundayFunday

  I was tired... no, I was exhausted as Reid pulled up to my house the next morning. Post-prom had been amazing. Games, giveaways, and just general shenanigans from midnight to five-thirty A.M. at the school, but now I was paying for the lack of sleep that I didn’t think even coffee could fix.

  “I’ll text you when I’m up. Let me know how it goes?” Reid asked when we reached the front of the house. I nodded, leaning over and giving him a quick kiss before grabbing the garment bag that held my dress from the backseat. Thankfully, we’d been smart and brought a change of clothes for post-prom because by the time the dance was done, I wasn’t sure I could take another step in my heels without wanting to chop my own feet off.

  “I will, get some sleep,” I told him as I climbed from the car. As I walked up to the house, I saw the kitchen light on and knew that I was about to have a very unpleasant conversation with my mom.

  God, I hope this goes okay, I pleaded mentally, my exhaustion making me irritable. I had work in a few hours and needed to catch a nap, and the argument I knew was coming would surely cut into that.

  “Come here, Emma,” my mother called out a
s soon as I unlocked the front door. Her tone was cold and harsh, and while I had expected that, I still cringed.

  “Yes, Mom,” I mumbled, setting my dress and shoes on the stairs to grab after the fight was done. As I walked up the half staircase to the main level, I found my mom sitting at the kitchen table. A harsh frown curled her lips, and her eyes were practically spitting fire when she looked at me.

  “How was it?” she questioned sharply. I knew it was a trap, that she didn’t actually want to hear the answer, but I couldn’t help myself.

  “It was amazing,” I challenged, but as soon as I started, I couldn’t stop. It was as if everything that had been building over the last couple months since Tyler finally went back to Cali finally spilled over. “Something I know I’ll cherish for the rest of my life, but you know what could have made it even more special? Being able to share it with my mom!” I practically vibrated with everything that buzzed within me; hurt, anger, sadness, all tying into a giant knot in my chest.

  “But no,” I continued before she could say anything, “you only see the guys the way you want to see them, meaning even something as significant as my senior prom wasn’t allowed because I wasn’t doing it in the way you thought best. Yeah, I know you said you ‘didn’t approve’ of it, but we both know you meant I wasn’t allowed to go even if you didn’t express it as such. But you know what, Mom? You were right when you said I was going to do what I want, and I don’t feel bad for going, nor will I apologize for it. The thing I will apologize for is that you’re missing out on all the things that I want to share with you so badly. The guys aren’t trouble, and they definitely aren’t criminals; they’re hardworking, and they care about me, hell, they even love me—”

  “Enough!” she shouted, cutting me off mid-rant. Her cheeks were red, her hands in white-knuckled fists where they sat on the top of the kitchen table. My chest heaved as I panted, too worked up to calm down. “I don’t want to hear about it. You’re grounded until Friday. Work and school only.”

  “Fine,” I ground out, turning before she dismissed me.

  “Where do you think you’re—”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, was there more, or were you just going to send me to my room? Which was where I was going, by the way,” I snapped. My mother deflated, waving a dismissive hand toward me before she stormed from the room.

  “Just go,” she muttered under her breath, her bedroom door slamming behind her. Even though I wanted to, I couldn’t move right away, too upset to get my legs to go down the stairs. Tears trailed down my cheeks, my face contorting as I tried to get them to stop, but when they didn’t, I bolted down the stairs, grabbing my stuff on the way. Tossing the black garment bag and heels into a heap in the corner, I turned on the most calming music I could find. I needed sleep, but I was too worked up to be able to now, so I started up my computer and pulled up another blank diary entry.

  April 5th

  #SundayFunday

  Dear Diary,

  I come bearing a crap ton of emotional baggage. Yes, again. I’m hoping this post won’t be forever long since I need sleep, but unfortunately it’s not looking like I'll get any. Yesterday was my final dance of my high school career, my senior prom. It was wonderful. Literally everything I could have ever wanted or hoped for. The guys and I danced, laughed, and ate the night away with each other and our friends.

  And I did it all without my mom’s approval. Which no, technically, I don’t have to have, but come on, it’s my senior freaking prom! What kind of girl doesn’t want to be able to help pick out her dress to take photos with their mom beforehand? It’s like a tiny, downscaled version of a wedding. Well… not really, but you get the gist, Diary.

  The promposal was perfect and cheesy and exactly what I’d come to expect from the boys. Dress shopping with Lyla and Stella was the girls’ day I hadn’t realized I needed, and then Sam, my bio dad even told me he was supporting me. Yeah, a man I barely know supports and wants what I want more so than my own mom. I know she wants to keep me safe, but she’s trying to keep me safe from the wrong people.

  This is something I haven’t really talked about to anyone, the one hope I still harbor deep down even though I know I probably shouldn’t. I want—someday—for my mom to come around, to finally realize that hindsight is 20/20 and everything she thought was wrong. To realize that by listening and opening up even just slightly, she could see all the wonderful things in her daughter’s life. I don’t want to lose my mom. I don’t want to cut her off, but for right now… I realize that’s probably the best option because I hate being hurt over and over. Hate getting my hopes up only to have them crushed. Heck, we haven’t even gotten to the trial yet, no idea how that shit show will go but only time will tell… though I’m way more open to pretending it’s not coming up until I’m staring it directly in the face.

  That’s healthy, right? We can just pretend it is. Well… it’s been about twenty minutes of writing this mixed with about twenty minutes of sitting in my office chair fuming, and I think I’ve finally calmed enough to get some sleep. Good thing, too, because work starts in about four hours, so I’ll catch you later, hopefully with better and happier entries, but for now, it’s time to study the inside of my eyelids.

  For at least an hour or two.

  Here’s to hoping I’ll have enough cognitive function for my eight-hour shift, otherwise… things could suck.

  “Evening, Emma!” Rick greeted when I arrived at work, his voice radiating out into the back employee hallway as I walked past the office. “Can I have a quick word?”

  “Sure,” I agreed, stepping into the office before heading to the locker room to drop off my bag. Even though I knew it was more than likely not something bad, I couldn’t help the inkling of panic that filled me. “What’s up?”

  “It’s nearing the end of the year, and with summer coming up I was wondering if you wanted to start learning how to close the shop? Figured you can take on more hours when school’s up if you’re interested. You don’t have to go full-time, so you still have time to enjoy your summer break, but you can have as many hours as you want.”

  “Yes! I’d love to! Same for hours, as many as you want to give me, I’ll take,” I exclaimed, the temporary panic smothered by a bout of excitement.

  Closing the store? More hours? Sign me the heck up!

  “Perfect, I’ll adjust the schedule to account for that extra hour, hour and a half depending on how long it takes. If it’s not busy, Lyla can start showing you a bit tonight”

  “Thank you!” With a final laugh, Rick dismissed me to head to the locker room. As soon as the door was closed, I nearly bounced up onto the balls of my feet. That had been just the thing I needed, leaving the negative cloud that had descended this morning forgotten. I was an adult, one who was turning nineteen in a little over six months, and I would be in college soon. My mom didn’t have to like what I did or didn’t do with my time.

  And now I was officially going to be closer to a full-time employee.

  Who thought I’d be looking at working full-time here when I applied because I certainly didn’t, I thought with a wide smile. Closing my locker door, I headed out to the shop, the pep in my step obvious enough that Lyla looked at me with a brow raise.

  “Did someone get a little something-something yesterday?” She leaned over, whispering in my ear so none of the customers heard. My cheeks burned, and I immediately shook my head.

  “No, just... no,” I stuttered, a small hysterical giggle bubbling out of me at the thought of trying to have sex with any of my guys the night before. “I got offered more hours for summer! And you’re going to start teaching me how to close on my next shift. I’m excited, to say the least.”

  “Yay!” she nearly shouted, catching the attention of the customers seated around the room but no one said anything, all of them smiling at Lyla’s ridiculous victory dance before turning back to what they were doing. “That’s awesome! I’m excited.” Before she could pepper me with all of the questio
ns I knew she had, a customer came up to the counter. Starting in on their drink as Lyla took their order, we worked in tandem behind the counter.

  “Not too busy today?” I asked, noting how even on Sunday nights we usually tended to be busier than we were at that moment.

  “It was one of the first really nice evenings that it wasn’t supposed to end in some kind of sprinkling or cold,” she informed me. “First few weeks of spring are usually like that since everyone’s outside on the weekends, but it looks like some storm clouds might be rolling in so that could change. Until then, tell me, tell me, tell me! How was prom?”

  “It was amazing.” I sighed happily, leaning against the counter, memories of the night before filling my thoughts. “Got ready with Aubrey and Zoey, had a limo to take us to dinner and then to the ballroom it was being held. It was so cool; I’d never been in one before. Tired though because we went to post-prom, but it was definitely worth the exhaustion and judgement from my mom.”

  “Oh, tell me more after this wave of customers?” Lyla questioned, her eyes bright with excitement.

  “You know it,” I told her, stepping up to the register. With the filling parking lot, that might be awhile…

  A while is right.

  Four hours later, the storm finally passed and the stream of customers slowed. Unfortunately, Lyla hadn’t had any time to start showing me the ropes for closing since the storm had brought a lot of customers in. Waving one final time to Lyla and Rick, I pushed out of Coffee Grounds, digging my phone out of my pocket. A collection of texts waited: the guys’ messages from throughout the day, one from my dad in Cali, and one from Sam. Both dads were asking how prom had gone, so as I walked to my car, I typed out a quick response.

  Locking my phone, I continued my trek across the parking lot, hopping over puddles as I did so. It was dark out despite it being spring, the storm clouds still looming overhead covering the remaining sunset. The only illumination in the parking lot came from streetlights that bounced off the wet pavement. There we are, I thought, finally seeing my car. One of these days I’ll remember where I parked. Cutting through the row I’d been walking down, I darted over to my lone car, the feeling of sprinkles on my skin.