Maddie gagged. “Ugh, bro, no means no!”
“So, I ran. Kinda got lost because he was following me for a while and I just made a bunch of turns hoping to shake him. I literally had to run through traffic to put enough distance between us. I hadn’t seen him for a few minutes and that’s when I ducked into that doorway to try to get a ride outta here.”
“Then I’m glad I gave you another option,” Maddie said. She raised her coffee. “To running away from our problems.”
Brooke clinked her mug against Maddie’s. “Let’s hope they never catch us.” She sipped her coffee. “By the way, I love your hair.”
Maddie combed her fingers through it. One of the things she has picked up from Nora’s was her haircare products, so her hair was more frizzy today than she would like. It was also badly in need of a redye. Her brown roots were coming in under the bleached blonde and the pink ombre at the ends had fadedfrom its original neon shade to a faint red. “I look like a tub of Neapolitan ice cream,” she said.
“And it looks good on you!”
Nora had made fun of her for it, so Maddie had felt self-conscious. She had an appointment at her usual salon in a week, but maybe she would just touch up the pink before it faded out entirely. “Thank you,” she said, feeling warm in the face from more than just her drink. “Your makeup is gorgeous.”
“Yeah, well, I was hoping to make a good first impression.” Brooke swiped a finger under her eye and checked it for smudged mascara. “Went through all that effort for nothing.”
“It made a good first impression on me,” Maddie said. “You’re really pretty.”
Brooke smiled. “So are you.”
Maddie laughed. “Are we accidentally on a date?”
“We might be, yeah.”
The thought hit Maddie like an edible kicking in all at once. She giggled. “Alright, then, um…tell me about yourself?”
They made it about ten minutes into a conversation about Brooke’s hobby in repairing clothes she found at thrift stores and how Maddie knew plenty of people in the rave scene who would love her work when a man in a lime green jacket entered the café. Maddie was so invested in talking to Brooke, she didn’t clock him until Brooke spotted him and froze.
The man saw her too. “Brooke!” he exclaimed with a relieved grin. “There you are! I was worried you got snatched or something!” Maddie couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about this guy did give unhinged vibes. Maybe it was how his smile seemed a bit too wide for his face, or how he was wearing a bow tie over what looked like a plain polo shirt under his zipped-up jacket, or the way his feet shifted every few seconds as though he couldn’t decide what to do with them.
“I ran into a friend,” Brooke said. “And for the last time, Craig,I am not interested!”
“But you were! Right up until you found out I was a guy!”
“No, until I found out you weremy ex’s brother that I already said no to!”
“Gracie wouldn’t mind! She could see you and I were a better match!”
Brooke looked to Maddie, eyes wide and begging for help. Maddie reached for the mace on her keychain.
The door to the café slammed open. “You fucking bitch!” Nora roared. Everyone turned to gape at the five-foot-three woman in a studded and patched leather jacket who had her shoulders bunched and feet planted like a bull about to wreck house in a china shop.
Maddie’s stomach flopped. She took her bag off the back of the chair and clung it to her chest. Her arms trembled.
Nora shoved Craig out of the way. She slammed her hands on the table then held one out demandingly. “Give them the fuck back,” she said. “I know you fucking have them, and you are going to give them backright nowor Iswear to God—”
“Hey!” Craig interjected. “Calm down!”
That was the absolute worst thing he could have said. Maddie flinched. She had learned quickly in their relationship to never tell Nora to calm down.
Nora whipped around to face Craig. He was a head taller than her, but he cowered nonetheless. “Excuse me?Who the hell are you?”
Craig gestured to Brooke. “I’m her soulmate, and you’re scaring her.”
“Oh myGod,” Brooke groaned quietly, covering her face into her hands.
“Really? Because you look like some weenie-ass shithead who’s got no business telling me what to do!” Nora clapped in hisface. Craig staggered backwards. “That’s what Ithought!”
An older man with a manager pin came out from behind the counter. “Ma’am,” he said to Nora, “I am going to have to ask you to leave.”
