Page 9 of Sweet
“Hmm?” She looked at Roni.
“Why is the hot tattoo boy staring at you?” Her cousin was smiling like she’d discovered a secret. “Do you know him?”
“No! I don’tknowhim. He comes in the café sometimes to get coffee before work.” She shook her head. “That’s all. He seems nice.”
“So what kind of coffee does he get?” Olivia asked.
“Just coffee. Normal coffee.”
“That’s dumb.” Roni snorted. “Ruby keeps a pot of coffee at Misspent all the time. She offered me some when I went in with Ashley Nelson to get her ear pierced.”
Olivia’s gaze swung to Daisy. “Is that so? Just regular coffee he could get at work but he pays for. At the café.” Her cousin leaned forward and tapped her finger on her chin. “Why would he do that, I wonder?”
Daisy felt her cheeks heating up again. “Shut up. He probably just doesn’t like how Ruby makes the coffee. Don’t make a big thing about—”
“He keeps looking at you,” Roni said. “He looks away, nods at his buddies—does the guy ever smile?—then he glances over here again.” Roni lifted her hand and waved. “Hi!”
Daisy slapped her leg. “Stop it!”
Olivia hissed. “Roni, don’t be a brat.”
Roni pouted. “Looks like I scared him away.”
Daisy’s head popped up. “What?”
“He’s walking out. See?”
She saw Spider heading toward the back door; she looked at the table. No one was bidding him goodbye, which probably meant he was just going outside for a cigarette or something.
“Roni, don’t tease her,” Olivia said. “She obviously likes the guy.”
“I don’t like him,” Daisy stammered. “Like,likehim, I mean. I just— He seems like a nice person. He knows Emmie; he’s sweet and everything. With her. Emmie. He knows Betsy, remember? I saw him at the bookshop the other day, and he was kind of watching her.” Daisy reached for her drink, wishing suddenly that Nestor had ignored her request and given her a real beer. “Stop staring at me.”
“Daisy has a cruuuuuush,” Olivia whispered, “on the mysterious tattoo artist.”
“Get some.” Roni did a little dance in her chair and Olivia laughed. “Hey, what do you have to lose? You’re heading off to some fancy college next year anyway. You might as well have a little fun before you go.”
“Honestly, Daisy, you really do need to fool around with someone besides Johnny Rosa.” Olivia leaned closer. “I mean, did the entire experience even pass fifteen min—”
“Oh my God, please shut up and never mention this again ever in my life.” Daisy pressed her hands to her face, which felt like it had been baking on the surface of the sun. “I can’t believe I even told you it happened.”
“I didn’t hear about that!” Roni protested.
Olivia said, “Yeah, cause you were, like, fourteen.”
“Three years?” Roni was incredulous. “You’re twenty. Are you telling me—?”
“I have an idea.” Daisy felt desperate. “If I go out and talk to that man, will you two stop talking about my lack of a love life? For, like, the entire night?”
Olivia pressed her lips together and nodded, her eyes laughing.
“Oh man,” Roni whined. “That means if you go talk to him, we can’t ask you about it when you come back?”
Daisy nodded. “Correct.”
Roni looked at Olivia. “I can’t promise that; I might die.”
“Do it!” Olivia slapped Roni’s arm. “It’s only one night.”
