Page 24 of Fall of Us
I sighed and pulled back to look at him. “You always smell good. I was trying to figure out today’s flavor.”
That blush was back. It was amusing how he was so shy about it, but it was what made Brandon so different from everyone else. It made him special to me.
“Did you—if you want, I can help you pick some out?”
I tugged on his shoulder and kissed the side of his head. That blush deepened, but he didn’t push me away. “I’d love for you to pick some out for me.”
“So, tell me a little more about this guy.”
I set down my bag of chips and crossed my arms over my chest. Rebecca sat across from me in the break room, nursing a cup of coffee. She’d followed me back here when I came in for the day and was intent on making me talk. At least I was making a new friend.
“Brandon?”
She giggled. “Yes. You said he’s your best friend?”
It was my turn to feel a little embarrassed now. Even though she wasn’t part of our usual group of friends, she felt safe. I cleared my throat as I sat forward, leaning against the table. “He’s been my best friend since we were little kids, but recently, he’s become a bit more.”
Rebecca set her cup of coffee down and squealed so loud it was almost enough to shatter glass. “That’s adorable. What changed?”
I sat back and ran my hand over the back of my neck. Sweat had gathered there because this still felt like I was doing something wrong by talking about it. “It’s recent. And we always sort of felt that way about each other, but finally agreed to give it a real chance.”
She nodded, her smile bright. “I love that for you. I hope it works out. You should bring him by sometime so I can meet him.”
When I instantly deflated, Rebecca’s smile dropped. “What’s wrong?”
“Well... everything is great.”
“But?”
I sigh and sit back in my chair, running my fingers through my hair. “We’ve agreed to keep things between us for now.”
Rebecca screwed up her face. “Why?”
That was the question of the century, but Brandon had just gotten out of a relationship. Maybe he didn’t want to look likesomeone who bounced from one person to the next, although I didn’t think any of our friends would view it that way.
“I don’t have an answer for that, but I want to be respectful of him and his wishes.”
Rebecca nodded. “I can understand that, but you’ve basically waited forever for this guy. I bet it’s killing you not to scream it from the rooftops.”
She knew so little about me and Brandon, but over the past couple of shifts, she’s become invested and supportive. It was nice having someone to talk to about it.
I shrugged, hiding my apprehension. “Well, I’ve waited this long, so I can wait a little longer to do some shouting.”
She picked up her coffee and took a long sip, staring at me over the rim of her cup. “If you say so.”
With that, it was time to get to work. I threw the now-empty bag of chips into the trash, and we walked back to the pharmacy. There was a different pharmacist working today, grateful it wasn’t Todd. As far as I was aware, nothing came of the complaint from Miss Carmichael. Todd had tried to make a big deal out of it, saying that I needed to grow a bigger backbone with patients like her, but I appreciated Rebecca had come to my rescue.
I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Brandon standing in line. He had an envelope clutched in his hand and a huge grin plastered on his face. My heart beat a little faster knowing that I’d just been telling Rebecca about him in the back of the store.
“Andrew!” He broke from the line and came running up to me, wrapping me in a hug. I returned it, shaking slightly with nerves.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I asked when he pulled away.
Rebecca laughed, looking between the two of us before she entered the pharmacy, leaving us to talk.
Brandon held up the envelope, and I recognized the logo for the clinic. He shoved it into my back pocket. “I wanted to bring this to you. Check your mail when you get home, see if yours came.”
I laughed and pulled the envelope from my pocket to inspect it. “You didn’t even open it?”
