Page 12 of Devon

So he couldn’t tell Nic what had happened, and he couldn’t tell him that they couldn’t be friends.That meant that he’d have to be friendly until he was ready to leave.It shouldn’t be hard considering the way Nic behaved.Devon just wished he could allow their friendship to deepen.

“Anyway,” Nic said.“You got all of that?”

Devon felt overwhelmed, but he nodded anyway.He was pretty sure hehadgotten all of it.Doing it would be different, but he’d deal with that when he had to and not one second sooner.

Nic clapped his hands.“Good.That means that tomorrow, you can come in and start working the till.”

“Shouldn’t Alex make that decision?”

“He’ll be fine with it.”

Devon bit his lower lip and glanced toward the open door of the back room.Alex had said that as long as Devon was willing to work, he’d be happy to hire him.

“Anyway, our shift is over,” Nic declared.“Hannah and Jackson will be here in minutes, and we can leave.”

“I thought you were the only one working here.”

Nic laughed.“Oh, no.I mean, there’s Alex, but the shop is his, so he has to be here all the time.Hannah and Jackson usually work shifts together.I’ve been working with Alex until now, but he keeps grumbling that he’s busy and has better things to do than help me.”Nic leaned closer to whisper in Devon’s ear.“If you ask me, he’s a slacker.”

Devon was pretty sure Nic was flirting again, although he could be wrong.Maybe this was just how Nic was.Maybe he was just a friendly kind of person.Devon didn’t think he’d ever been flirted with, so it would make sense that he didn’t recognize it.He also wasn’t used to having friends, and he suspected that the line between friendship and flirting was easily blurred.

“I heard that,” Alex said as he stepped behind the counter.“And I do have better things to do, like running this place.”

Nic grinned and shrugged.“Whatever you say, boss.So?Is Devon working tomorrow?”

Alex’s smile softened when he turned to Devon.“If you haven’t scared him off, maybe.”

“I’m not scared,” Devon quickly said.“I can come tomorrow.”

“Good.I’ll have a contract ready for you when you get here at eight-thirty.”

“Why does he get to come so late?”Nic complained.“I have to be here at five.”

“That’s because you already work for me,” Alex told him before turning to Devon.“You’ll have to come in earlier once you start working here, though.I hope that’s not a problem?Nic usually has the early morning to after lunch shift.If you’d rather come in later, we can move things around so you can work with Hannah or Jackson.”

Nic grabbed Devon’s arm.“He’s going to work with me.”

Devon wasn’t exactly eager to get up that early, but he was fine with it.“I can work with Nic,” he confirmed as he gently tried pulling his arm away.

Thankfully, Nic let go.Devon kept his focus on Alex as he said goodbye.He had to go back home, and while he wasn’t looking forward to it, at least he’d be able to leave tomorrow.He wasn’t sure how long he’d have to work there until he was ready to leave the area, but it was a start.It was a first step in the direction of being able to, and he felt relieved.He hadn’t been sure he could do this.

“Hey,” Nic said as he rushed after Devon as Devon left the coffee shop.“I was thinking we could see each other later.”

“What for?”

“Well, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

Devon blinked.“We are?”

“We just worked together for two hours.Sharing shifts makes us family.”

Devon couldn’t help but laugh.“We just went from friends to family.”

“You know what I mean.I like you, Devon.”

Devon swallowed, but his mouth was dry.“I like you too, but I have to go.”

Nic looked disappointed.“Yeah?Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

---