Page 36 of Made to Be

“You got it,” he said, voice cheery as he typed in our orders on his computer screen. He slid the muffins across the counter wrapped in their maple-print fall paper wrappings. “Name for the order?”

“Vic.”

I watched his fingers hover over the screen for a second before his gaze shot up to my face. Recognitionseemed to spark in his mossy green eyes as they widened slightly.

“Vic? Vic Grimsley?”

“Umm, yeah?” I said, suddenly kind of nervous.

When situations like this had happened to me in the past – and they had indeed happened an unrealistic, uncomfortable amount of times – the question had always been the same.“Don’t you remember me?”they would say flirtatiously. And, nine times out of ten, I didn’t. Alcohol was a dangerous thing. Each encounter usually resulted in an insulted slap to the cheek or drinks being poured over my head. I nearly took a cautious step back, just to be safe.

“Wow! I thought I recognized you!” he exclaimed, smiling even brighter now and I stiffened. Like, what the fuck? How could someone appear so happy. It had to be exhausting. I blinked before I realized I had briefly tuned out what he was saying, expecting the worst before he continued, “We went to the same college, Cresthill U. We were in the same major. I remember you from a few of our shared classes.”

I practically sighed in relief. Thank fuck this wasn’t about to devolve into one of those awkward scenarios with Cam right here. I was not above shoving muffins into a stranger’s face to shut them up. I was a petty bitch, I’d do it. But thankfully, I didn’t have to resort to pastry abuse.

Innocent bystander. Crisis averted. Stand down.

“Oh, um, sorry,” I told him, rubbing the back of my neck. “College was a... bit of a blur.” I was surprised I’d even graduated. Plus, I had been with Ron so... yeah.

“I get it,” he said, unbothered. He then tapped his name tag. “Ash. Ash Addams. Not surprised you don’t remember me; I was pretty quiet and kept to myself. And you were also kind of intimidating.”

I stared at him dumbly and blinked. Me? Intimidating?

As Cam introduced himself, a thought nagged at my brain. If Ash was also an Arcane Arts major, there certainly weren't a shortage of jobs in that department. Not even in Briarwood. People skilled in arcane studies and magic were pretty much needed in any career field. Kinda like plumbers or electricians. They were essential to every business.

As usual, my lack of a brain-to-mouth filter kicked in and I asked,

“If you were in the same major, what are you doing making coffee?” Then I winced as the question processed in my ears. I sounded like a nosy, insensitive prick.

My expression must have betrayed me, because he laughed lightly, “No worries.”

Then, seeing no one waiting behind us in line, he began making our drinks as he talked.

“You know how it goes. Life happens, things don’t go as planned, you work your ass off for a careerthat you aren’t sure you want any more then you find yourself divorced, scrambling foranyjob you can find at twenty-nine, living in a water-stained closet of an apartment, and end up in a coffee shop run by a cheesy movie loving, cat obsessed man who ropes you into coming up with equally as cheesy drink names to change up the monotony that is every single day. But hey,” he sucked in a breath after that long-winded speech adding a brief, “at least I get to wear this cute-ass apron.”

“It is a cute apron,” Cam piped up from beside me, completely unaffected. He wasn’t wrong. It had a little embroidered cat on the front and everything.

Ash gave us his clearly perfected customer service smile as he set our finished drinks in front of me. As he told me the total and I tapped my phone to the card reader, I felt the need to say something. I didn’t know this guy, even though he apparently remembered me. But Cam beat me to it.

“Sometimes, it takes hitting rock bottom to realize there’s a better life for you on the other side.” Well damn if those words didn’t strike a chord in my soul. Theeen Cam added, “Believe me. I had to die to figure it out.”

Ash’s brows had scrunched in confusion, mouth popping slightly open.

I moved to whip my hand up to slap it over Cam’s mouth before he said anything moreincriminating but was stopped as the chain binding me and Cam’s wrists reached its length.

That was when Ash’s eyes trailed down to our hands above the counter. To the handcuffs. The fuzzy pink sex handcuffs.

I froze, watching as Ash blinked slowly at the cuffs, then up to flick between Cam and I.

His expression was... loaded. He clearly had many, many questions, all kept behind his pursed lips. Until he couldn’t restrain himself further.

“So, is this like... a bounty hunter thing? Or a... sex thing? Either way-”

“No!” I rushed out, raising my hands to waive them in front of me, immediately forgetting the cuff again and tugging Cam’s arm up, stuttering, “Nope. This is... Well, um... Funny story... Hah! Uh...”

“Wedidfind these in that sex toy collection,” Cam added unhelpfully when I trailed off. “So, it kind of is a sex thing?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose with a sigh, “Not helping.”