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“Nothing,” he pauses, rubbing his hands on his thighs. “I can go in alone if you don’t wanna come in.”
What is he hiding?
“No, I want to come in. I could use some coffee.” I feel like the walking dead.
He nods once and we head inside.
I’m familiar enough with June’s now to expect several kids from Rayon High to be here but I don’t expect them to look up all at once when we enter. I don’t like it, and I have a feeling it is because the star of the Nacoma Knight football team has arrived.
Shy places his hand on the small of my back, sending shivers up my spine, and guides me to the counter. We order two coffees and after the transaction, Shy asks the barista, “Hey man, did you happen to see Lily in here about a week ago?”
I assume Shy knows the barista. He’s a short, round kid with glasses. His name tag says, Jorden. “Maybe? She came in here a lot. It’s hard to say.”
“Was she talking to anyone you didn’t recognize?”
“No, not really. Just the same people.”
I watch Shy’s face, and he raises a brow. “Like?”
“You know, Thane Treadway and her boyfriend.”
“Remind me of her boyfriend’s name, will you?”
“It’s Jake Harjo.”
/> “Thanks, man. Tell your dad I said hi.”
“Sure.”
Shy retrieves our coffees, but just as he turns around, two muscly boys approach. One has dreads that come to his shoulders and one is trying to grow a mustache, but it just looks like he missed spots shaving.
“Savior,” says the one with dreads.
“Jeremy.”
The kid’s eyes slide to me and he smiles, nodding. “This your girlfriend?”
“We’re actually pretty busy at the moment, Jeremy,” Shy says, handing me a coffee. He places his hand on the small of my back again, and starts to guide me to the door.
“Sure, sure,” Jeremy says and then, “Heard you were backing out of The Queen’s Ransom.”
“We’re not backing out, it was cancelled,” I snap, frustrated that this kid would bring up something so superficial in the face of Shy’s loss.
The kid smile widens. “Who said it was cancelled, princess?”
Shy pulls me closer and directs me toward the door. Outside, he walks me to the passenger side of the Jeep. He’s never done this before. I want to tell him not to worry, I won’t disappear getting into his car, but I watch his face as he closes the door and I know what Jeremy said has made him mad.
“You okay?” I ask as he starts his Jeep. We ask each other that a lot.
“Yeah,” he says. “Let’s get you home. I bet you want a nap.”
It’s something I feel he should say with a smile, but he doesn’t even look at me. He just backs out and heads to my house. Before I get out, he stops me.
“Anora,” he says. “I don’t trust Jeremy. Don’t go outside tonight.”
I start to laugh, but there’s something in the way he’s looking at me and the way he feels that makes me nod.
“Okay.”
