FOUR

Skye 

 Working at the coffee shop on these early Monday mornings was a pain in the butt. Even though I had early courses in college, all I had to do was sit there and pay attention. This was a whole other game. I was stocking beverages, hauling buckets of ice, and getting ready for the early rush. At least I wasn't forced to do it by myself. Mandy and I were working together this morning.

 

 

Despite the fact that we were very much polar opposites, Mandy had been my best friend for years. Mandy was reserved, introverted, and hardly ever did anything that would draw attention to herself. She would listen to my stories over and again while rolling her eyes at the reasons I did things the way I did. She was still fantastic at delivering solid, no-nonsense guidance while frantically attempting to control me. She had decided to go graduate school, so my father assisted in helping her secure employment at the café to help cover her tuition.

 

Naturally, when my dad learned that she was enrolling in graduate school, a whole new bag of worms had been opened, and I had to put up with over two months of his guilt-tripping until he eventually gave up and turned his attention elsewhere. Mandy and I had come to work together in the meantime, and I was happy to have a friend alongside me. I turned back and placed the tray of muffins on the counter before opening the display case and placing each one one at a time. Regarding its pastries, the facility maintained rigorous regulations. The stripes on the muffin wrappers needed to line up, and everything else needed to be arranged precisely with no crumbs. Although it was tedious, I wasn't too bothered by it. It provided me with work to accomplish.

 

Mandy stated as she started a pot of coffee, "I still don't understand why you work here. Instead of making pennies to sort muffins, you could purchase like fifty of these cafés."

 

I smiled and replied, "I like it.  Making me feel more like a real person as opposed to the little privileged kid who depends on her father. Also, he stays off my back when I work every day at a real job. He occasionally speaks to me as if I were fifteen, I swear."

 

She chuckled. " Skye, I'm sorry to be the one to break the terrible news to you, but this is your first job and you are twenty one years old.

 

“So? " I retorted sharply. I attended college to acquire skills and to find employment, but I never imagined I would end up working in a coffee shop."

 

“Well, if you could make up your mind about what you want to do, you could get out of this place,” she said, poking me in the side. “You have an Ivy League education; you can use it anywhere. Just decide what pumps you up, what makes you want to go out and get a job—and I don’t mean for more shopping money .”

“I will,” I said, smiling. “Right now I just like being part of society .”

As I placed the last muffin on the rack, my thoughts began to wander back to Derek. Mandy was going to berate me for making such a careless choice, so as much as I wanted to tell her what had occurred, I also knew that she would. She was still my best friend, so I had to let someone know. I thought I was going to blow up. I was thinking a lot at the time—about my future, my father, and Derek right now. I definitely didn't want to keep that experience to myself because it had been the greatest sex I'd ever had with anyone. Actually, what I needed was advice — someone to give me the truth as they saw it. Mandy was that person, I knew it. In all the years we had known one other, she had never lied to me.

 

I contemplated whether or not to bring it up. I made a valiant effort to keep myself occupied while getting ready for the café to open, but it was practically impossible. All I could think about was having the wildest, most gratifying sex I'd ever had on Saturday night. I felt heated and agitated just thinking about it. Then, on Sunday, I had felt lightning tingle through my chest as I had looked across the room and caught eyes with Derek. It had been challenging, but I had forced it down since I wanted to concentrate on my work. As I poured a customer's coffee, he had been so seductive as he crossed the lobby, his hair flawless, his smile kind, and his eyes fixed on me. The only thing that had cleared the ideas from my mind was watching him leave with my father, which served as a reminder of the need for caution on my part. No matter what, my father was never able to learn.

 

By the sink in the rear, I had the dishes stacked while I thought about what to do next. I finally had to let this out. I was about to lose my mind from it. Even if Mandy mocked me for it, I had to tell her. I went back to the front and took a seat next to her.

 

I placed the tray down and turned to face her, saying, "I have to tell you something.

 

“What?"   She showed some interest.

 

I looked around and said in a low voice, "Something happened last night at the pool.  Derek was there when I went there to swim. We chatted, flirted, and before I knew what was going, we were completely enamored with one another. It was not planned. It simply sort of developed naturally. "

 

The information I had just given Mandy was racing through her head as she regarded me in silence. She seemed to be going through each emotion one by one, in my eyes. There was a glimmer of fear followed by a hint of exhilaration before the feeling I was anticipating: disappointment. In order to be sure no one was listening, she grabbed my arm and dragged me back.

 

You should never divulge that to anyone else, she said. "Do you comprehend? ”

 

I sighed and replied, "I know. Just to get it off my chest, I had to tell you. It was honestly the best sex I've ever had, Mandy. "

 

"Who cares about sex? ", she inquired with evident annoyance. "What we're discussing here is your connection with your father and his reputation."

 

I answered, gazing down, "I know. But it's more than that. Derek is really hilarious, kind, and attractive. I feel like I'm the only girl in the room when he stares at me. I have always. When it comes to business, he is quite serious, but he also exudes an absolutely ridiculous charisma. Every time we are near to one another, I grin.

 

Mandy said, "I don't know, Skye," with disdain. 

“I’ve had a thing for Derek ever since I was a teenager,” I said. “I just want to see where things go. If it’s just sex, then I’ll take advantage of it for a while and then cut it off. But who knows? Maybe it could be something more .”

 

“He could be your freaking soul mate and your dad would still murder both of you,” she said, shaking her head .

 

“That old man can sit on it,” I said in irritation. “It’s my life, not his to control .”

 

“Well, he controls the bank account, so he kind of has an edge,” she pointed out .

 

“I’m not going to let my father rule me forever with money,” I said, shaking my head. “One day I will be self-sufficient .”

 

“And I applaud you for your goals, but sleeping with your father’s best friend is not really the way to start out,” she said, looking over at the elevator as people began to come down. “We’ll talk about this later. Can you get one more bucket of ice ?”

 

“Sure,” I said, smiling .

 

I walked to the back with the bucket, but Derek was the only thing on my mind. It was hard to concentrate on anything else. My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out, smiling down as Derek’s name flashed across the screen. I poked my head around the corner to make sure Mandy wasn’t coming and then answered .

“Hello?”

 

“Hey there, beautiful,” he said, filling my chest with butterflies. “You busy ?”

 

“I’m at work, but I have a second,” I said, not wanting to sound too desperate to talk to him .

 

“Good. I’ll cut to the chase then,” he replied. “Have dinner with me tomorrow night. I made reservations at the Lovehouse at eight. You can meet me there so no one sees us leaving together .”

 

“Sure,” I said happily. “That sounds awesome .”

 

“Great,” he said. “I’ll let you go. Have a good day at work .”

 

I hung up the phone and held it to my chest, excitement flowing through me. I wanted to run and tell Mandy, but I knew she would disapprove. I took several deep breaths and finished filling the ice bucket before returning to the front. Dinner with Derek at the Love house. It was going to be amazing .