Page 24 of Made for You
She rolled her eyes, but a deep blush instantly burned her cheeks. She absolutely had a little crush on Kenny.
“It’s not mathletes, it’s just math club. Anyway, I’m going to head up. Lots of homework. Good to see you guys.” Her gaze jumped to mine, and she gave me a smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes.
If it had, I would’ve felt better. I would’ve felt certain. And yet, as she plodded up the stairs to her room, dread pooled in my gut.
“What’re the odds she didn’t hear all that?” I asked softly once the sound of her door clicking shut reached us.
Kenny made a face, and Tristan winced. Wilder said nothing, and even Beast’s silence didn’t reassure me.
I didn’t want her to know I felt like I shouldn’t make plans until after she graduated. She could stay here as long as she wanted, and as a kid who had beenunwantedtoo much for one short lifetime already, I refused to give her any sense that I was biding my time. That wasn’t what this was. This was me wanting her to know she was worth any amount of sacrifice. That she, just her, was enough, and I didn’t need to go looking for anything else.
So while Kenny started gabbing about something he’d heard about Dorian, our resident recluse, I prayed she hadn’t heard a word, and that loud door slamming, that thin smile, didn’t mean what I feared they did.
CHAPTERELEVEN
Nikki
Suit on, hair and makeup perfect, and stomach growling, I strolled into Diner with my bag over one shoulder and a mission: eat breakfast and hopefully see the one other person I knew in town besides Gram and Bruce.
“Hey, there you are. Good to see you!” Catherine grinned at me from across the space as she off-loaded a small carafe of coffee and a plate piled high with pancakes. She held up a now-free finger in theone minutesign, and I nodded.
A few booths were occupied, but most of the place was free. I could hear voices in the back behind the swinging door, likely where the other waitstaff were. Or maybe Catherine held down the fort by herself at this time of the morning, though I couldn’t imagine that would always work if it got busy. The bright red booths around the perimeter were obviously the preferred locations for seating, the regular tables scattered in the middle completely empty.
A glance at the max occupancy sign and the schematics gave me a best guess at square footage. Then I mentally measured the booths, calculating the numbers from there—yep. They could install another row of booths down the center of the space and increase booth seating while maintaining a section for the free-standing chairs and improve traffic flow. Maybe I’d mention it.
Or maybe it’d be one of those things I thought of as useful that would offend or bother whoever I told. I’d had enough of those moments in my life to know I shouldn’t just blurt out my thoughts.
In less than a minute, Catherine bustled over and waved me to a nearby booth.
“How are you settling in? Are you off to another interview?” She set down a water glass.
I nodded in thanks, appreciating her friendly chatting and good memory. She seemed genuinely interested, which both confused me and was exactly why I’d come. I loved Gram, and I was so grateful she’d wanted me to come help her, but it was different talking to someone your own age. Plus, more than I ever had before, I was feeling the press to take some time and make friends. If I was going to be caring for Gram and making a life here, the time had come to do that right.
“I got a job, actually.” Temporary though it was, it felt good to end the joblessness I’d been moping over for the last few weeks. My little side project thanks to Kiley’s inspiration had been coming along well, too, though I wouldn’t be explaining that to anyone until I’d developed it even more. I hoped what’d hit as a spark of inspiration when I saw that light in her eyes would grow into a gaming app to help teens and adults develop their advanced math skills. But that just sounded too downright nerdy to open with, so basic job it would be.
“What? That’s amazing. We need to celebrate.” She positively beamed at me.
“We do?” I coughed, realizing how unsociable that sounded. “I mean, I’d love that.”
Impossibly, her smile widened further. “Are you free Friday? We could go out. Unless you’ve already made friends and have your own thing going, but—”
“No, no. Other than Gram and my neighbor Bruce, I barely know anyone but you. Plus I’d like to get to know you better, if you’ve got room for a new friend.” Somewhere in a past life, I would’ve rolled my eyes, but I’d come here for this, hadn’t I?
Floating in and out of foster care had made this part of me hard. I felt the shield that forever threatened to raise readying, and yet, I’d psyched myself up for this all weekend. Well, this, and whatever this week of work would look like, but that was another issue.
Catherine sat in the booth opposite me and clasped her hands under her chin in the most oddly adorable move I’d ever seen. “Please be my friend.”
I chuckled. “I thought I was asking you?”
She shook her head, smile all kinds of sparkly. “I realize I may not seem it, but I’m kind of ridiculously shy until I get to know people really well. I have no idea why, but I feel comfortable with you, and I have a feeling you’ll like my friends, too. Can I invite a few others—just a small group, and we’ll all get drinks at Craic on Friday?”
“Sure. Yeah. Just… I mean, you have to tell them I’m kind of a nerd, okay? Give them fair warning.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’ll be in good company, trust me. Now, what’s for breakfast?”
And from there, we chatted on and off as she brought my food—a southwestern omelet and breakfast potatoes. I skipped the specialty side item, which she promised was the best thing since sliced bread but better than bread, because I knew I couldn’t be too full or I’d regret it all morning.
When the time came to go, I waved at her from across the diner again as she bussed a table. She mouthed, “Friday” in lieu of shouting over the rising din of patrons and the music, and I nodded, then left.
