Page 5 of Love Triangle
“Well, hi there! My very first customer has come back to me. That’s got to be a good sign, right?”
Her smile is magnificent, the light reflecting off her glossy lips, the corners of her sapphire-blue eyes crinkled up with her happiness. That happiness feels so contagious, so pure. How am I going to tell her I have to leave?
“Ah, I see you’re quite full, unfortunately. I do have to be home on time so can’t wait too long. I must be going.”
Her smile falls, and I wonder for a moment if I might not be able to get home a little late after all. My stomach turns thinking about it after already having such a disturbed schedule yesterday. If only someone would leave right now.
“Cliff! Hey Cliff! Come sit with me!” I hear shouted over the chatter in the dining area.
I groan internally when I recognize the voice.Trig. Crystal’s eyes, however, light up.
“Well, there’s your solution! You can sit with your pal!” She waves me in his direction as she begins to walk toward his table.
Fuck. When I watch her perfect ass sashay away, I have no choice but to follow. She seats me across from him and pulls the pad and pencil from her apron as he smiles boyishly at me.Annoying.
“What can I get for you?”
“Just black coffee. I’ll be quick today.”
“Right away!”
As she goes off to get the coffee, I frown at Trig. His smile falters a bit as he clears his throat.
“How’s it going Cliff? Anything new on the geology front?” he asks awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck the way he does when he’s nervous.
“I’m currently working on setting up displays of gems and minerals, which can be anywhere from thousands to billions of years old. So no, nothing new.” I watch him, unsmiling, waiting for my coffee so I may drink it and leave.
“Oh, okay.” We’re quiet for a moment, his head down, before he looks up again, directly into my eyes. “Cliff, I’m really sorry about when we were young. I know you’re still mad, but it really was an accident.”
“That’s enough,” I cut him off. “I’m not getting into this with you again. Especially not here.”
At that moment, Crystal returns with the coffee. She sets it down in front of me and pours just the right amount into the cup without me having to tell her when to stop.
“Anything else for you two?”
Your telephone number.
“That will be all, thank you,” I say.
“That’s it for me!” echoes Trig.
“Well then, here are your checks. Come to the register when you’re ready to pay.”
She walks away and it feels like I can’t drink my coffee fast enough, even though it practically scalds my throat. Not only to get away from Trig but to see her again, if only for the moment it takes to pay my bill.
“Cliff, can we please be friends again someday? We were so good together.”
Trig stops me cold with that question. An apology I expected; he’s made many of those over the years. Outright asking to be friends again is another thing entirely.
“You know how difficult change is for me, Trig. I spent every single day with you. You were almost my entire routine. And yet, I dropped you easily. No, we will never be friends again. Goodbye, Trig.”
I stand up then and pay my bill. Seeing Crystal doesn’t feel as good as I thought it would. Not because she isn’t amazing; she very much is. But because I am too busy choking to focus on her.
Lies are difficult to swallow.
Chapter Eight – Trig
“You alright, sugar?”
