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“Huh,” I hear Jason. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him leaning against the counter, watching me with an almost brotherly gleam in his eye. “You haven’t broken a single dish this week.”
I perk up. Slowly setting the cup down, I try to think of the last time I royally fucked up during my shift. I could feel a smile taking hold of me, joy breaking through my pain. “You’re right,” I say, more cheerfully than necessary.
The bell on the door rings and Jason slowly turns towards the sound of it. “Keep up the good work, Lucas,” he says with a wink.
I set the towel down and sidle next to Jason. “Hello, can I-” I stop, my eyes widening on Rachel stepping towards me, with Seth and Alex standing close behind her. “What the hell?” I breathe. How is it that Seth is standing next to Alex and not punching him in the face? Or yelling at him? Or doing anything completely obscene?
Seth scowls at the ground, a faint flush on his face while Alex’s gaze roams over the menu hanging above me. It’s like everything has somehow been swept under the rug. Rachel leans against the counter, a bright smile on her face as she glances at Jason. “I think Lucas has this,” she says. “Go take your break, Jason.”
Jason’s gaze narrows, and he stares at her for a moment, as if he isn’t quite sure he should put all his faith in me, before giving a curt nod. “Yeah, you’re right. Lucas can handle it.” He pats my shoulder while striding past me. “Let me know if you need any help. I’ll be having a smoke out back.”
I wrinkle my nose in distaste. I hate it when Jason returns from his break wreaking of tobacco. It’s not like I can say anything, though, given it’s a free country and all. I just have to smell him for the rest of the shift.
Rachel chuckles at the apparent horror on my face. “Alright, what’s going on?” I ask while nodding towards Alex and Seth. “Are they high? Is that why they’re getting along? You gave them some Mary Jane, didn’t you?”
Rachel covers her mouth and giggles. “No, no, nothing like that,” she says while waving her hand. She glances over her shoulder at Alex, her gaze brightening with adoration. “I was wondering if you’d be okay with Alex moving in.”
I take a step back. “Moving in?” I shout, my attention flying to Seth. I watch him flinch. His hands bury into his pockets, and he doesn’t lift his eyes to meet mine. “Have I died and am waking up in the twilight zone? What’s going on?”
Alex grabs Seth and shoves him forward.
“Hey!” Seth shouts, smacking Alex’s hand away from him.
Well, at least not everything has changed.
“Come on,” Alex says while waggling his eyebrows. “Why don’t you tell Lucas?”
Seth makes a face. I didn’t think it possible, but his face flushes an even deeper red, and I worry it’s going to somehow pop off his neck and float out of the cafe at this rate. “We, uh,” Seth’s gaze lowers and I watch him play nervously with his fingers. “We, uh, talked it out.”
Alex scoffs. “Lies.”
Seth scowls and stomps his foot. “We’re in public.”
Alex motions around at the cafe, which is completely empty except for us. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he says loudly. “Are you worried someone might find out that I rocked your world?”
Seth’s mouth gapes so far open I’m surprised it doesn’t smack the floor. “What the fuck, Goode!” he shouts, his hands fisting. “Can’t you just… just…” Seth sputters, and I lean against the counter, waiting for him to say whatever it is he needs to get out, but instead his eyes widen and he jerks towards me.
My head tilts to one side, and suddenly it clicks. The red face, the rocking of worlds, Rachel’s satisfied grin. “You guys had sex, didn’t you?” I ask while glancing between them.
“Yep,” says Alex and Rachel cheerfully.
Seth glowers at the floor.
“So does this mean, Alex is part of our group?”
“Yep,” says Rachel and Alex, once again, very happily.
Seth makes a face, but I don’t see him denying my words. This should be very interesting indeed. However, I can’t say that I’m angry. Only interested. It’ll be different having Alex around. I can’t believe Seth actually agreed to it, but I guess they came to some kind of understanding. One, I will most likely never be able to comprehend.
“Where exactly is he going to stay?” I ask. “All the rooms are filled.”
Rachel places a hand on mine. “Well, that’s just the thing. Your room is the biggest. And I know you’ve been having issues with paying the rent. What do you think?”
“Yes,” I say my head bobbing up and down.
Her eyes widen and she straightens. “Really?”
“Yeah, I’m totally cool if Alex stays with me.”
