Brazen Girl by Ali Dean Page 0,48
for now. That place in downtown Jay Beach with the offices above the storefront looked pretty promising. Have you followed up with them?”
Griff starts talking about lease possibilities. There still isn’t a physical location for Brazen, which is crazy given how big it’s become in just six months. Griff wanted to minimize initial overhead, uncertain whether it would take off, and all sales so far have been online. There isn’t even a warehouse for merchandise. He’s been storing it all in his parents’ garage. It’s time to open an actual store, get offices where employees can set up shop. Griff wasn’t sure he wanted to do it in Callaway, which is mostly a residential suburb. Summerside had some promise, but there’s no skatepark right around campus. Now that I’ve got a giant house in Jay Beach, a popular surfing and skateboarding town, it seems like we’ve got our answer.
In some ways, everything is coming together. I just hope Jordan still feels that way after she watches the show.
Chapter Nineteen
Jordan
When I wake up Tuesday morning, there’s a text waiting for me from Beck.
“Call me if you’re still awake. Love you.”
It came in after I crashed last night so I text him I’m awake and would love a ride to a skatepark before a couple of afternoon job interviews later today.
No one else in the house is up yet, or maybe they stayed at Coby’s after the “viewing party.” I’ve been taking advantage of the gym in the complex, trying to build up strength and balance. After a solid workout, I return to the condo an hour later, looking forward to eating breakfast and contemplating whether it’s worth taking a quick shower. I’ll need another one after skateboarding in the hot sun, so maybe not worth it.
I open the door to find all three of my roommates, plus Sydney, in the kitchen. Their conversation stops and instead of saying hello, they stare at me with funny expressions on their faces.
“What is it? Do I have something in my hair?”
I take a few cautious steps.
“You worked out already?” Lucy asks.
“Yeah.” I eye her suspiciously. I’ve always been an early riser, she knows this.
“Did you get any job interviews?” Ellie asks.
“A couple this afternoon.” I cross my arms and wait for someone to tell me why they’re all acting weird.
“You know you could still get a job at Happy Beans. They trained you and there’s no hard feelings about you quitting so soon after starting. Happens all the time with college employees.”
“Yeah maybe.” The thing is, I’m hoping that at some point I’ll get another pro deal, and maybe that will mean I won’t have to work weekends or I won’t have time if I’m competing. But I don’t want to explain that just yet. It seems a bit presumptuous. After all, it was only luck that Brazen wanted me and couldn’t yet afford a real pro. Now they can take on whoever they want. My only accolade so far is from one contest, not to mention I don’t even have social media now. Right, so it’s ridiculous to think about getting a pro deal of any kind at this point. That’s why I’m applying to all sorts of jobs.
“How was the viewing party last night?” I ask as I fill up a glass with ice water from the fridge.
No one answers right away and when I spin around I find them all in a silent conversation with their eyebrows and hand gestures.
“I already know he won,” I tell them. “I haven’t started watching the episodes yet though. Maybe I’ll do that tonight.”
“So, um, have you talked to Beck?” Zora asks.
“Talked to Beck? When, this morning?’
“Or last night.”
“No, he texted but I was already asleep. Did something happen?” My phone’s upstairs in my room. “You’re starting to freak me out. What’s going on?”
“Maybe you should talk to Beck about it.” The hesitancy in Zora’s voice is so unlike her. “What did he tell you about the filming anyway? You said he told you a couple girls came on to him but he didn’t hook up with them, right?”
I start to nod, but there’s a loud knock on our door. We all glance at each other and shrug. No one’s expecting anyone. I’m the closest to the door so I check the peep hole and find Beck himself on the other side. My mood instantly improves as I open the door.
“Morning,” I greet him with a smile.
He gives me a once over as I lean