Page 55 of The Alternate Captain
I roll it all over in my head for a while before acting on impulse.
I drop a new message to Kelly, keeping it casual but instantly regretting how lame I sound after I’ve hit send.
Johnny
What are you up to?
I stare at my phone for a while, and when no reply comes through, I get antsy. Is she working tonight? Is she out with her friends? Is she just hanging out at home, watching a movie or whatever? Is she on a date?
I put my phone away, pull it back out again, then shove it away, telling myself I won’t look anymore, and she’ll text back when she can. But thirty minutes later, I’m wondering if anyone would really notice if I was here or not.
I figure the best place to check first is the store, as I’d easily be able to see if she’s working or not. But when I’m a few minutes away, I wonder if I’m being a complete asshat.
However, something has me pulling into the parking lot and taking a spot that allows me a glance through the huge window that, luckily, affords a clear view of the aisles. My heart thuds as I spot her at the checkout pouring coins into one of those counting machines. She’s tied her hair back in a loose bun that has bits of hair escaping around her face, and she looks so damn adorable in her uniform.
A few moments later, I decide that it’ll be worse if I sit in my car and watch her, so I get out and head towards the entrance, telling myself that I’ll wait until she’s free before I try to talk to her … before trying to find out where we go from here.
“Do you think Ishould call the police?” Linda, the other woman on my shift, says as she comes to a stop at my till.
The shop floor is completely dead, so I have no idea who she’s talking about, until she nods her head towards the shop front.
“Him. The blond guy in the suit, filling our doorway.”
I step backwards a few paces and crane my neck to align my sight to the front door, and my stomach contracts with a tingle of emotion.
Oh, my God. What’s he doing here? Perhaps he’s with Mike. Mike could have come by for whatever reason and not made himself known yet.
I glance towards the CCTV monitor in the far corner behind the tills, squinting my eyes to check the aisles, butthere really is no one else in the shop right now.
“He’s a friend of my brother’s. I should see if everything’s okay. Can you take over, please?”
I shift aside, letting Linda take my place, and I grab my fleece, slipping my arms into it before heading to where Johnny is standing. He watches me as I approach but doesn’t acknowledge me until I stop directly in front of him.
“Hi,” he says, straightening up.
Johnny’s suit makes me feel significantly underdressed. My uniform is scratchy, polyester most likely, and I have a name badge on. I can’t even.
“Are you looking for Mike?” I say, trying to swallow the lump that’s rising into my throat.
He puts his hands in his pockets and looks around before setting his gaze back on me. “No, actually. I came to see you.”
My pulse thumps in my ears. “Oh.”
“You didn’t reply to my text and usually I’d just wait, but I’m overthinking.”
A group of students, luckily no one I know, come bundling through the shop door, forcing Johnny to step aside as they pass, and his body brushes mine ever so slightly.
My knees actually quiver and I’m so embarrassed—I’m literally saved by the bell as a buzzer sounds, telling me I’m needed at the tills.
“I need to get that, sorry.”
“No problem. Sorry to just turn up.” He shifts on the spot and shoves his hands deeper into the pockets of his trousers.
“Are you okay, Johnny?”
“Yeah. I was just hoping to catch you, that’s all. I’ve just been thinking about—”
I can tell it’s about the kiss. There’s a burning in his eyes that I remember vividly from the moment we broke contact on my doorstep when he dropped me home.
