Page 30 of Apparently, I’m A B!tch

My breath caught and my stomach sank. I cleared my throat and stared at the button-up. “I guess I could.”

She turned back to me with a fake brightness, her gaze searching mine for a moment before she said, “I’m glad you like it; I hope she does. Although, she’ll probably pick your shirts from now on, won’t she?” Her laugh was hollow as she turned to pick up the pastry from its perch on the plate.

“Nikki–”

“I’ve got to get back to the office. Thanks for this.” She nudged the coffee cup to me first, then to the counter where Lilly was no doubt watching us with some kind of weirdly intense focus. “I’ll see you later.”

She turned and left, leaving me as I held the shirt she bought.

I had a full coffee shop with more customers than I could’ve decently served, a beautiful woman who wanted to date me, an expensive shirt gifted to me, and a new painting to light a fire through me. But there was this solid drag inside my chest and stomach, making my shoulders slump and jaw slack open as I watched Nikki leave.

I went back to the counter where Lilly finished serving another customer. She eyed the shirt and my expression without any discretion whatsoever.

“Nikki has good taste, huh? Why did she buy you a shirt though?” Then she gasped, stepped back from the register as Shawn stepped forward, seamlessly filling in for her. “You took Nikki on a date, didn’t you? You’re dating the two of them at the same time! Ohhhhh noooo. How could you do that?” Her hands were on her hips and her tone was more aggressive as she asked me again, “How could you dothat?”

I held up the shirt and my free hand, surprised at the turn Lilly’s mood had taken. “I didn’t, geez. I have to put this in the back, hang on.” I dodged her and made my way to the backroom, planning to hang the shirt and get back to the counter.

“Oh no, you’re going to explain this, Tristy!” she called after me.

I turned and almost ran into her. “Lil, you need to calm down, okay? My dating life is not something you can control here.”

She put her hands on her hips again and glared up at me, her voice cracking with what I thought was hurt. “If I could control you then maybe you’d be less of a thoughtless idiot! It’s Nikki, Tristan, not some eager art-lady who scoped you out for two seconds and decided to buy her way into your bed. Nikki doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.”

“Like what, Lil? At this point, we’re not even friends anymore. I’m just her barista, that’s all.”

“Then why did she buy you a shirt?”

“Uh, guys? Help?” Shawn called out as I ran a hand through my hair.

“She got paint on the shirt I was wearing yesterday, and she bought me a new one to replace it.”

Color seemed to drain from Lilly’s face as I stepped around her to get back to the counter. Shawn yelled orders at me, and I settled into a speed that almost made up for Lilly’s absence.

When she came back, she was more morose than that time I told her what being lactose-intolerant meant. She stood next to me, arms and legs working without her usual energy, and when the last customer of the lunch rush exited our doors, she said, “So, it’s just you and Rochelle then, huh?”

I nodded, my stomach dropping lower as I said, “Yep. Guess so.”

She hmphed and stretched onto her toes to grab a chocolate-chip cookie from the artisan display jar. “Good luck with her, Tristy. I’m not helping you out with this one.”

She bit her cookie and turned away from me.