Page 56 of Late Fees

Tilly

“Is he gone?” I asked, peeking my head out from the shelves furthest from the counter.

Naomi laughed. “All clear, girl.”

With placated apprehension, I walked into the main aisle of the store and back to the counter. Naomi tapped her long fingernails against the counter as I approached.

“Okay, first of all,” she said, “who is that hottie? And second, where have you been hiding him?”

Mixed feelings surged through me. “That’s Wyatt. He’s my…ex-boyfriend from high school. And it’s a very long story.”

She leaned her elbows onto the counter. “Girl, it’s a Sunday afternoon, and the store is dead. Spill it.”

Hopping up onto the counter, hoping Sully wasn’t around to add his two cents into the conversation, I crossed my legs and placed my hands in my lap. “I really don’t know where to start. He was my first love, and he broke me.”

“Yikes. That was…not what I was expecting.” Her tone was apologetic, and even though I didn’t know Naomi that well yet, I felt safe with her. I knew I could trust her with Wyatt’s and my story.

“Yeah, it pretty much sucked. The breakup, I mean. The relationship was…well, kinda perfect.”

“So, what happened?” Naomi said, patting my knee with her hand.

“His family moved to Norway.”

A puzzled expression crossed her face. “Like, you mean the country of Norway?”

“Yep.”

“I thought that only happened in the movies.”

“Me, too.” I shrugged, my voice cracking despite my resolve to stay detached and aloof from the girl who was smitten with Wyatt Johansen. The girl with hopes, dreams, and peace of mind, who I no longer recognized. “Worst part is, he didn’t tell me. I found out the day he was leaving for the freaking airport.”

“No way,” Naomi said, pressing her hand to the center of her chest. “That’s harsh.”

“It sucked. Like, really sucked. And I hadn’t seen him since, until last night when he appeared out of nowhere…with a girl, I might add.”

Naomi wrinkled her nose. “Was she cute?”

I nodded. “Not that I care. I mean, I’m over it. I moved on, like, right away. And I didn’t even know he’d be here when I transferred. Part of me thought he’d stay in Europe, you know?”

“Right. So, now he’s back.”

“Yep. He’s back, and now I feel like someone has taken my life and just rattled it around like those maracas we used to play in grammar school.”

“Really? Because, I gotta tell you, for someone who doesn’t want to be an actress, you had me fooled.”

“What do you mean?”

“You looked like you couldn’t have cared less when he was here.”

“For real?”

“Um, let me think about that,” she said dramatically. “Yes! Girl, you were what my director calls impervious. You were Joan of freaking Arc.”

“Not sure I’d go that far,” I said, shaking my head and tapping my hands against my knees. “He just…he hurt me so badly, you know? I didn’t want him to know how much I’ve missed him. How he gets under my skin, even after all this time.”

“The guy is gorgeous.”

“Tell me about it.”

---