Page 28 of All Your Firsts

“Thanks, bro. I owe you one.”

He can trust me with anything... besides his sister.

Fucking kill me.

“That’s what family’s for.” I clap him on the back. “Now, let’s give you some ink. I know your ass didn’t come all this way just to chitchat with me.”

“You know me well. How much time you got?”

“For you, my schedule’s wide open.”

“Fuck yeah. Let’s fix some of this shit you did when we were younger,” he says, referring to the not-so-great prison tats I gave him. He was my first canvas.

“Hey, what do you expect, motherfucker? I was limited on supplies.”

“Let’s start with the first one,” he says, looking down at the name of the girl who has been his everything since day one.

“You ever get your girl back?” I ask while I set up.

His face lights up with a huge-ass grin.

“Something like that,” he says cryptically. I wouldn’t expect anything else.

Fuck it. I’m already in too deep, with no way of making it out whole.

I tried to make her hate me, to make this easier on both of us, but it’s not working.

I put the pen to the paper.

Dear Rosie.

Seven

Rosie

The moment Vic leaves the coffee shop, my new coworker, Samantha, comes barreling toward me with a scowl on her face.Great.

“So, what’s going on with you and Vic?” she asks with an icy stare, something I’m assuming she tries to do to intimidate people.

“Not a thing. He’s my brother’s friend,” I say, keeping it brief. I don’t know if they have a past, if she’s waiting in line for her number to be called, or if she’s just jealous, but I’m not a fan. I don’t like mean girls.

“Okay, good. Because he’s bad news. I’d hate to see you get hurt,” she says, not sounding at all worried about my physical well-being.

I look over at her, and recognition hits.

Blond hair, scowl, and screechy voice. She’s the girl he threw on the bed the first night I came. She has to be. I felt like she was a little snappy with me this morning, but I thought she justwasn’t a morning person. Looks like she and I won’t be forming a friendship anytime soon.

“No worries. I’m not interested in Vic,” I say as I resume stocking the rest of the coolers with pastries and ignoring her stare.

The last person I’d be interested in is Vic. Well, he comes in a close second to Manuel, my hopefully ex arranged marriage fiancé. Vic is a jerk and has weird mood swings. Let’s not forget about his endless roster of women. Just thinking about that reinforces the reason I’d never be interested in him.

“Good,” she all but snaps before stomping away to help a customer. Hopefully, that will suffice, and I’ll stay off her radar.

Jess kneels next to me and gives me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about her, girl. She’s harmless, but jealous a certain someone isn’t paying her the attention he’s paying you.”

“I don’t want his attention.”

“You sure? Every girl wants him in this town. They always have, and if they were getting his attention, they’d be all over him like a popsicle on a hot summer day.”

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