Hired Hottie

With a sigh, I admit, “Yes. You are an ass to every other person on this planet. I know that. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to be an ass to me.”

“You’re right.”

That’s it. That’s all he says. And it makes me want to see if he’s really my best friend standing in front of me or if he’s been replaced with a doppelganger.

“Did you just admit someone else is right instead of yourself?” I tease, shoving his chest playfully.

He laughs at my reaction, clearly pleased that I’m softening. “Yeah. I guess I did. But I am sorry, Charlie. I know that I touched on a sensitive subject, and I didn’t even have the decency to figure it out when it happened. I was pounding my brain for the whole last week, and I couldn’t piece together why you were so pissed at me. But once it finally hit me….” He shakes his head. “I’m such an ass.” Running his hands through his hair, he tugs on the roots until a bite of pain must spread across his skull.

“We already agreed on that part,” I joke before reaching up and tugging his hands back down to his sides. His skin is warm, but I let go as if it’s scalding before rubbing my hands along my shorts to erase the feel of his skin against mine.

Clearing my throat while praying he didn’t notice my reaction, I ask, “But why are you here? You could’ve just apologized over the phone.”

“You weren’t talking to me, remember? I tried texting, and all I got was bullshit one-word answers. I know you better than that. I know that an apology text wasn’t going to make up for my slipup. You’re my best friend, Charlie. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I want us to go back to the way we were. I know things have been a little weird since I’ve been gone at school, and that they’ll continue to be weird while I’m finishing my degree for the next two years. But I don’t care how much the world changes around me; I just can’t let you change with it. I can’t let our relationship change.”

“People change, Levi. It’s just a fact.”

“But not us. Please. Please? I’m begging you.”

The desperation makes me pause.

“Promise me that things won’t change between us. Promise me that you’ll always be there for me, and I promise that I’ll always be here for you. I won’t use you, and I won’t be an asshole and invite girls when I’m with you. Our time is important to me, and I’m sorry I made you feel like it wasn’t. From now on, I’ll make it a priority. I won’t look at you like a wingman. I won’t look at you like one of the guys. I’ll just…I’ll just look at you like you’re Charlie. My best friend.”

That’s the problem, though, isn’t it? a voice inside of me whispers. That’s all I’ll ever be. His best friend. And only his best friend.

With a soft smile, I nod even though a small part of me dies inside. “I’ll always be here for you, Levi. You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”

Relieved, Levi throws his arm around my neck and pulls me in for a brotherly hug. “Thank God. ‘Cause I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Chapter Three

Charlie

Two Years Later

“I’d like a cup of coffee with cream, two eclairs, and a cronut, please,” the customer orders. Her mouth is practically watering as she eyes the pastries behind me. I have to hide my laugh when I witness her set of twins tugging on her flowy skirt in an attempt to get her attention.

Her trance makes me smile. I might be an avid runner and a softball junkie, but I’m also a sucker for sweets, so I can totally understand her fixation with the fresh-baked bread in baskets along the back counter.

After high school, I spent a few months at a fancy restaurant uptown, then another six months working the batting cages, then a few odd jobs here and there before I finally found Get Baked.

I started working here when I saw a Help Wanted sign in their window on one of my morning runs. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

When the customer realizes her kids are starting to whine, she finally pulls her gaze away from the bread behind me and murmurs, “Faith. Hope. So help me, if you guys don’t calm down, I’m going to eat your eclairs for you, and you’ll be left with nothing.” Rolling her eyes, she looks back at me. “Sorry. I swear they’re better behaved when we’re at home.”

With a light laugh, I wave her off. “No worries at all. I’d be whining too if I hadn’t had my sugar fix yet.”

“Right? And coffee. A mama needs her coffee.”

“Amen to that.”

Ringing in the order, I give her the total then she hands me her credit card as a familiar face enters through the doorway.

After giving him a subtle head nod, I tell the customer, “Let me get those for you. One second.” I grab a pink cardboard box with the logo of a cupcake on the top then fill it with two eclairs and a cronut. Once everything is boxed up, I hand it to the customer along with a receipt and a steaming cup of coffee.

“Thank you so much!” she gushes as the kids reach for the box. “Guys. Stop. We’ll dig in when we get home.”

Satisfied with their mother’s promise, the two six-year-olds practically skip behind her before the mom skids to a halt. “Levi?”