Onyx (Jewels Cafe Book 10)

by Melissa Adams

  And debate is the right word because it’s the Debate Club that apparently claims to have booked the theater every day for the next two weeks in preparation for the Debate Regional Championship finals in Syracuse.

  My ex-boyfriend is facing off with Robyn and he’s put on that know-it all, condescending tone that caused more than one fight between us when we used to date.

  But the ones that attract the most attention are Valentina and Brittany who look seconds away from a cat-fight.

  I’ve never noticed before but the two girls look eerily similar to one another: same shade of blonde hair, same layered haircut, same flawlessly applied makeup and tight jeans that look like they’ve been painted on their skinny bodies.

  “We need you to go rehearse your play somewhere else. We’ve booked the theater and it’s not my problem if you didn’t bother securing a space.”

  The only ones who are observing the quarrel with unperturbed expressions are Miss Devlin and Dylan.

  When Valentina folds her arms over her chest and challenges Brittany to ‘make her leave’, our drama teacher finally intervenes and I see amusement in her eyes, so dark that they look almost black.

  “Ok, ok guys. For today our practice is cancelled. I’ll see if I can secure the basketball court or the music room for the next couple of weeks. You’re all free to go except the lead and the ‘three ghosts’, I need to talk to you in my office, please.”

  Valentina looks mightily pissed to have been excluded and whisper-yells to Allan that she’ll wait for them.

  The reply comes in an annoyed tone.

  “We’ll see you tomorrow at school, Tina. We don’t know how long this is gonna take.”

  We follow Miss Devlin into her office, and as I’m about to enter the small room, Allan rushes to keep the door open for me, brushing his muscular arm against my shoulder.

  He’s suddenly very close and he whispers ‘after you’, making me tremble with the sound of his voice and his subtle citrusy scent.

  I hurry inside the office, glad that he’s behind me and can’t see me blush.

  Miss Devlin wants us to find an alternative location to practice our scenes.

  “With the theater unavailable, I doubt that we’ll be able to practice every day. Everyone else can afford to miss a day or two but you guys can’t. Your scenes are the most important and I’m sorry to say this, but you four lack chemistry. When you act in scenes with other characters you’re fine but together, you’re rigid and you look uncomfortable. So, you need to go through your scenes as a group and as pairs. Use any chance you can get, we have less than eight weeks to show-time!”

  We’re dismissed and the boys begin discussing where we could rehearse without agreeing on a suitable location.

  The library is suggested but quickly dismissed, Robyn’s mom is having the reception rooms at their house renovated, and Allan says that he can only have people around if his mom’s Art Club isn’t meeting.

  “What about Jewels Cafe? I work there and if we go after the afternoon rush it’s quiet and I’m sure Julian and Amber won’t mind.”

  The guys agree and we decide to meet up there around six thirty with the scripts to read a few scenes.

  Onyx

  KAKAWWW!

  The afternoon has turned cold and rainy and Fred has left his usual post on the tree by my window and he’s seeking shelter on my window sill.

  I’m in my room, trying on every single outfit in my closet before walking to the Cafe to meet the boys and I know I’m totally pathetic to be putting so much effort into my appearance, since those three barely even know that I exist.

  Mom’s out with Dad for a scan and I’m eating a sandwich before going out, so I’m home alone and my heart clenches in my chest at how miserable the little black bird looks.

  I approach the window very slowly, careful not to spook him and open the pane when I see Fred walking back and forth on the sill, as if he was waiting for me to let him in.

  He stays on the sill but comes closer to me, where the light rain can no longer reach him.

  “Hey little guy! Are you hungry?

  Kakawww

  He says a lot more softly than when he wakes me up in the morning and I grab a few crumbs off my sandwich to offer to the bird.

  He gently eats from my hand, careful not to hurt me with his sharp black beak.

  His black beady eyes are shining with gratitude and he looks almost human.

  “All right Fred, I need to get dressed and go. I’ll leave the window askew for you and you can eat the crumbs off my plate. Let’s declare a truce, huh? I promise to leave you some yummy crumbs every day, if you can let me sleep till seven on weekends. Do we have a deal?”

  The bird puffs up and I laugh at the fact that I’m talking to a bird: Holly would totally say that I’m a weirdo if she saw me right now.

  I snap a selfie of the outfit I chose and text it to my bestie: I decided to go for a black fitted sweater and a dark green mini-skirt with black tights and boots.

  I came clean with her about my attraction to all my co-stars and surprisingly, she didn’t think I was crazy but she did warn me that Valentina has been saying that she’s sleeping with each of them.

  Which makes sense because she’s one of the most popular girls in school and she’s starred with Robyn and Allan in every single school play since freshman year.

  Normally Valentina’s had the female lead role, except for this play and this is why she hates me, because I stole her spotlight.

  She’s playing Tiny Kim and she’s my understudy, which I know pisses her off all the more.

  And Valentina’s shrill laugh is the first thing I hear when I enter Jewels Cafe.

  It’s so high-pitch that it even covers the door chime.

  She’s sitting at a corner table with the guys and she looks more dressed to go clubbing than for a rehearsal: she’s wearing a tight, sparkly silver dress that barely covers her thighs and a fluffy white bolero jacket.

  I take a deep breath and approach the table.

  I’m irritated that she crashed our rehearsal but after all, it’s not like this was a date or anything.

  “Hey guys! Valentina, nice to see you, are you joining us?”

  She gives me a quick once over with a malicious glint in her eyes and her lips curve in a derisive smile: she isn’t saying that I look ridiculous but her gaze is saying it for her.

  “Of course I am! I’m your understudy after all and I’ll have to play your role if something happened to you, right guys?”

  Is she threatening me?

  When no one answers her passive-aggressive question, she says meanly:

  “By the way, we’ve been here for ten minutes and no one’s come to take our order. I know this place is new but they won’t stay open long if the service is always this terrible.”

  I don’t bite on her bait for a fight.

  Valentina has been trying to come to a confrontation with me since day one, and while I’d like nothing more than to bitch-slap her, nothing good would come from that.

  So I put on the fakest smile I can manage and take their order.

  “I’d like a hot chocolate.”

  I can’t help but make fun of her and I say in the highest pitch voice I can muster:

  “Skinny hot chocolate with non-fat soy milk and sugar free peppermint syrup?”

  She nods enthusiastically but the guys all chuckle at my impression and Dylan winks at me as I walk away on suddenly weak knees.

  His hazel gaze makes me shiver for all the right reasons.

  I walk behind the counter, starting to pour the guys’ coffees when Julian offers to help.

  I thank him for letting us rehearse at the Cafe and he smiles mischievously.

  “Anything for my favorite employee.”

  I laugh at his joke.

  “Gee, thanks! I’m your only employee, considering that Amber co-owns this place.”

  “And Chase and Wes work for free.” Julian doesn’t miss a beat. “Ca
n’t get anything past you, Onyx!”

  I roll my eyes at him but I’m laughing: I love the way he treats me more like a little sister than his employee.

  “By the way Onyx, what are you having to drink?”

  “I’ll have my usual, a peppermint tea.”

  Julian shakes his head.

  “Don’t know how to tell you this, but we’re all out of tea bags. There was an afternoon rush, and we won’t be able to get any more until morning. But how about you try one of our famous Pumpkin Spice Lattes?”

  I protest that I hate coffee but Julian insists that I won’t even know its coffee and that he’ll put in extra pumpkin spice mix to make it taste sweet and indulgent.

  “Ok. After all, I guess I should at least try our best selling menu item.”

  Julian beams.

  “That’s the spirit! And look, I ordered you a custom-made mug with a black onyx on the side. So you can drink from a mug made just for you. I promise you will love it.”

  His gaze is intense and I can’t help but admire the passion he puts into the running of his business.

  When all the drinks are ready, I arrange them on a tray and that’s when Amber comes down the stairs in a pretty pink dress and black knee-high boots.

  Julian’s gaze caresses her with evident love and admiration and I find myself wishing again that the boys looked at me the same way.

  Amber greets me with a smile and asks Julian if he’s ready to go but stops mid-sentence when he notices the onyx mug with the pumpkin spice latte in it.

  “Is that for Onyx?”

  Julian’s gaze becomes suddenly more intense as he nods to his girlfriend. “Yeah. Isn’t that awesome? She gets her pumpkin spice latte in a personalized mug.”

  Amber’s eyes narrow. “Did you make that latte way too strong like the one I first tried?”

  “This one’s perfect, Bean. Onyx will love my latte.”

  Amber’s gaze is suddenly intense. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about. Juli, you really shouldn’t meddle.”

  Julian wraps a protective arm around her shoulders and reassures her. “Onyx looks like she could use a pick-me-up tonight, Bean. And one of our special PSLs is just the thing.”

  Then Julian turns to me.

  “Amber and I are meeting Chase and Wes for dinner and dancing. Since you guys are the only people in the cafe right now, do you mind locking up when you’re done? I’ll flip the sign to closed so you don’t have to deal with any customers.”

  7.

  Pumpkin Spice

  Onyx

  I REASSURE JULIAN AND Amber that I’ll lock-up once we’re done and make my way to the table where the guys are sitting, carrying the heavy tray with the hot drinks with both hands.

  I’m a little klutzy and I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of my crushes and Valentina.

  Not that the guys would even notice that I exist if we weren’t all in the school play, but I know that Valentina wouldn’t miss the chance to ridicule me if I tripped.

  When I serve the drinks everyone thanks me except for Valentina who scowls at me as I sit between Allan and Robyn.

  “Ok, shall we start from our scene, Onyx?”

  Robyn is the Ghost of Christmas Past and as I agree to begin with the scene where Scrooge hears his chains rattling in her bedroom, unsure if what she sees is a dream or reality. I take a sip of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, enjoying the sweet whipped cream on top of it, sprinkled with cinnamon.

  ‘Julian was right that this is delicious’, I think as I set the mug down while Robyn reads his first line.

  And then all hell breaks loose: before the mug touches the table, a huge, hairy tarantula lands right on the spot where I was about to set my mug down.

  I hate spiders, I’m utterly terrified of them and this is so huge that if it’s been living in the Cafe, it should pay rent to Amber and Julian.

  I let out a blood curdling scream, trying to jump as far away as possible from the monster and splashing my hot latte everywhere, hitting all the occupants of the table as the empty mug crashes on the floor shattering next to my capsized chair.

  Another scream, louder and more high-pitch than mine comes from Valentina, horrified that her silver dress is stained by brown, wet splotches.

  The latte hit her dress but got all the guys’ skin: Robyn had his mouth open while reading and got a direct mouthful of latte as I jolted back when I first saw the ginormous creature.

  If I’d been aiming for his mouth, I’d never have got the bullseye.

  After the first jump, I jerked around in terror, splashing hot liquid on Allan’s face and threw the mug toward Dylan who was hit on the back of his hand.

  Both boys lick the latte off their skin, and I’m about to apologize and check that they aren’t burned.

  That’s when Valentina grabs her heavy script and lifts it above her head, ready to swat the spider.

  And I swear that in that exact moment, the spider’s black beady eyes meet mine and call me crazy but his eight eyes remind me of Fred and even though I’m terrified of the creature, I don’t want it to die.

  “No!”

  I push Valentina out of the way, standing in front of Allan and shivering as his hands grab my hips to keep me from tripping over his feet and falling face first onto the table, near the tarantula.

  I already had goosebumps because of the disgust and terror the huge spider caused but the contact with his warm hands makes my skin tingle with a completely different kind of feeling.

  “Don’t kill it! Eugene hasn’t done anything to deserve to die. Even if he’s a huge, scary, disgusting spider.”

  I swear that the spider I’ve just named Eugene has a grateful glint in its beady eyes, much like Fred did earlier when I fed him.

  “Eugene? Did you just name that fucking icky thing?”

  Valentina’s face is contorted with disgust and I explain that I normally name every animal I come across.

  It might be because I’ve always wanted a cat but Mom has never let me have one, claiming she’s allergic to cats and dogs.

  “Whatever, freak!”

  She sneers, flipping her blonde hair arrogantly while Allan lifts Eugene with both hands and deposits him on the cobblestones right outside the Cafe’s front door.

  “There. The little dude will go find a different girl to terrorize now.”

  Allan comes back and stops very close to me, running his thumb along the edge of my bottom lip and stopping at the corner of my mouth, where he wipes off a smear of whipped cream.

  He then brings his finger to his lips to lick off the residue, looking into my eyes while he does so.

  And I swear that those eyes, as velvety as milk chocolate, cause my core to clench with a throbbing need I’ve never felt before as I feel heat rise to my cheeks.

  “A—Are you guys all right? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to give you a hot pumpkin spice latte shower.”

  Robyn and Dylan reassure me that they’re fine but it’s Valentina who complains loudly.

  “What about me? You completely ruined my dress, you fucking useless loser! It was designer, I should sue you or the owners of the cafe for damages! Robyn, take me home. I feel sticky and gross.”

  Robyn tells her that we haven’t even started rehearsing and if she wants to go, she’ll have to find her own way home.

  “But it’s pouring outside!”

  Valentina’s outraged protest doesn’t change his mind.

  “I’ll call you an Uber. After all, I told you that we didn’t need the understudy for these extra rehearsals.”

  His blue eyes are fixed on me when he tells her that the whole point of these sessions is to improve their chemistry with me.

  “Whatever! She’s such a terrible actor that she couldn’t have chemistry with a whole lab! You stay here with her, I’m gonna wait for my Uber outside!”

  She storms out and turns when she’s about to open the front door, probably expecting to be stopped by the guys but when none of them
intervenes, she slams the door so hard that the glass rattles.

  Thank God it doesn’t break or I’d have a field day explaining what happened to Julian after he let us use the cafe to rehearse.

  AFTER WE READ SEVERAL scenes, we decide to call it a night and reconvene here tomorrow.

  I’m fastening my coat when Allan asks me how did I get to the cafe.

  “I walked.”

  “Let me give you a ride home, Onyx. I don’t want you to walk alone at night, in the pouring rain.”

  “Or you could come with me and Dylan.”

  Robyn offers, setting an intense gaze on his cousin.

  “Nah. I’m going down her way anyway, you guys go home and I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”

  “Right.”

  Robyn and Allan look at each other for a long moment and if I didn’t know that it was impossible, I’d think they’re facing off out of jealousy.

  But I know that Allan’s just being kind, neither of them has ever shown the slightest interest in me since that party in ninth grade.

  Robyn and Dylan leave while I lock the cafe’s door and then follow Allan to his SUV and I’m surprised when he rushes to open the door for me.

  We drive quietly through the dark roads of Silver Springs: on a rainy and chilly night like this one, very few people are out and I don’t mind it. I find the empty, wet roads peaceful and it feels comforting to imagine how people are snuggled in bed in their warm homes.

  “Hey Onyx, I’m hungry. How about we get some tacos before I take you home? We could drive through, so we don’t even need to get out of the car and get wet.”

  I look at Allan’s perfect profile and a part of me wants to say no, because I’m sure that he doesn’t really want to hang out with me and he’s offering just because the taco place is on the way and he doesn’t want to drive all the way back if he takes me home first.

  But it’s been a long time since that sandwich I shared with Fred and the minute I think about food, I realize that I’m starving.

  We both order steak tacos with extra guacamole and I tuck in enthusiastically, just to stop at the second bite with the taco suspended on its way to my mouth.