Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
A loud crash has all of us turning to the front of the diner. That’s when I see Liv standing at the entrance of the diner a second before she takes off running across the street.
“Shit,” I whisper because she must have seen what happened.
“Guess the golden boy isn’t so golden.” Troy smirks before he takes a giant bite of his burger.
Chapter Eleven
LIV
I will not cry. I will not cry. I repeat the mantra as I make my way back to the shop. It’s too bad I’m still starving, because there’s no way I’m going back to the diner. I doubt I’ll step foot inside that place again. If the memory of seeing Julius's face deep in Lola’s breasts wasn’t enough, when I stumbled back from shock, I managed to knock over a display rack in the process. When it crashed to the floor, everyone turned and witnessed my humiliation.
Why would someone put a display right when you walk in the door? Sure, it’s convenient and has been there for years, but that’s not the point right now!
“Whoa,” my sister says when I come bursting back into the shop. “Are you—” She trails off when she sees my face. “Who made you cry?”
“I’m not crying.” I touch my cheeks to verify.
“You’re about to burst.”
She’s right, I am. There is a weird pressure in my chest that wants to explode, but I’m scared that if I let it out, I’ll never stop. Why did I ever let myself fall for Julius? I should have known his handsome face and growly nature were going to be nothing but heartbreak.
“I ran into the display and made a mess,” I sniffle.
“That’s not it.” Lane shakes her head. She’s not buying my excuse. “I’ve seen you fall on your face and laugh right along with everyone else.”
This is true. I’m not one to embarrass easily, but this time was different. “Julius isn’t who I thought he was.”
Lane's face softens. She knows how deep my crush on him goes and has busted me doodling his name more than a few times when I’m bored.
“Don’t move,” she orders.
I watch as she goes over and turns the sign on the door to closed before locking it. Lane even pulls the curtains shut so no one can see into the shop.
“What are you doing?”
“We are long overdue for sister time.” Lane gives me a warm smile.
“Really?” I perk up. Since we took over this place together and her orders exploded, Lane lives and breathes work.
“Yes, really. I think I’ve missed a couple of things, and I need to be filled in.” It’s not normal that she doesn’t already know every detail of what happened last night.
“Will you make spring rolls?” I might as well milk it.
We both freeze when we hear the door handle wiggle like someone is trying to enter the shop. I grab Lane by the wrist, and we duck behind the counter.
“Why are we hiding?” she whispers.
“It could be Julius.” Would he chase after me? Doubtful, but either way I don’t want to know who is at the door. Of course I want him to chase me; what girl doesn’t want that? But if it’s not him, the disappointment will sting, so it’s best not to know at all.
“Maybe I should have a word with him.” Lane starts to stand, but I jerk her back down.
“No!” I hiss. “It might not be him. He probably still has his face buried in Lola’s boobs.”
“Lola’s boobs?” Lane’s eyebrows rise.
“Not that I can blame him. They are nice, but he was kissing me last night.”
“You two kissed!” she says way too loudly.
“Shh!” I glare at her to shut the heck up, and she mouths a sorry. The person starts knocking.
“Liv?” I hear Julius call out.
My bottom lip starts to tremble. It is him! Last night I told myself maybe Troy was full of crap and that I should talk to Julius. That was my plan until I saw his truck outside the diner.
“It’s okay,” Lane whispers into my ear before wrapping her arms around me in a hug.
I’m not sure how long we’re like that, but after a while, Lane checks to make sure the coast is clear. When she doesn’t see anyone waiting for us outside, we leave the shop and then head home.
“I’d take everything Troy has to say with a grain of salt,” Lane says as she makes the spring rolls. As soon as we got home, I unloaded about what happened last night and at the diner.
“I was thinking that too until the diner stuff, and look at this lame text!” I show it to her and Lane cringes.
“That is pretty bad after the whole make-out session.”
“Right.” I plop down in one of the chairs at the kitchen island that doubles as our dining room. We actually have a small table we can eat on, but I use it for painting or filming TikToks.