grounds…well, her world had been a lot less vibrant.
“I seriously don’t have time for this, Lily. Can you not be an asshole for one day? Please?” She sighed, and the llama stared at her intently. “Okay, fine. Have it your way. Excuse me? Person in the red shirt, can you open the door and hold it for a sec?”
The student standing by the door looked on in bewildered silence, nodding mutely and inching along the wall so she could pull the door open. Audrey drew her arm back, remembering everything her school sports teacher had instilled in her during her time playing second base on the high school softball team.
“Get out of the way, everyone,” she said. “One, two, three…”
She released the muffin, and it hurtled through the café, straight on target to where the door was open. Lily’s head whipped around, and just as she was about to bolt through the door to chase her snack—
“Oof!” Devon Huxley stepped right into the path of the flying muffin, and it hit him smack between the eyes, knocking him backward out of the doorway.
Lily stamped her feet and chased after the muffin, which had bounced on the ground outside.
“Oh my God.” Audrey pushed through the swinging door separating the dining area of the café from the staff area and jogged outside. “I am so sorry!”
Devon was on the ground, pushing himself up into a sitting position and shaking his head. “What part of Kisspresso’s mission involves throwing food at customers?” he said peevishly.
“Technically, you’re not a customer, and neither is Lily.” Audrey reached down to help him up, but he waved her hand away. Typical. Devon thought he could do everything himself—except keep his damn llama in check. “She’s a menace.”
“She comes here because you all keep feedin’ her.” He stood and dusted his hands down the front of his jeans. Lily munched happily on the muffin beside them. “Now that she knows where to get muffins, she’s going to keep coming back.”
“What am I supposed to do, let her terrorize my customers? She spit in someone’s latte last time.”
He grunted and didn’t respond. For some reason, and even though Audrey had never gotten pissy with Devon before, something snapped inside her. Maybe she’d officially reached her capacity for dealing with other people’s crap. Maybe after a week of trying to ignore the yawning ache inside her, she didn’t have anything left over to keep her emotions in check.
“I am sick and tired of people not taking responsibility in this place! She’s your llama. Figure out a way to keep her locked up.” She jabbed Devon in the chest.
Which was a mistake, just like throwing a muffin like she was trying to get a double play was a mistake. Lily took the motion as a slight against her owner and immediately trotted over to defend him. She nudged Audrey with her head, startling her and knocking her off-balance. The ground was slippery from the rain overnight, and the worn tread on Audrey’s sneakers was no match for muddy ground.
She slipped straight back and landed on her butt right in a puddle. Immediately, the water soaked through her jeans and the strings on her apron, splashing Devon’s boots in the process. Like a gentleman, even though she probably didn’t deserve it, he leaned down and offered her a hand and helped her up.
“She’s mighty protective, this one.” Devon patted Lily’s neck. “Come on, girl. You got your muffin, so let’s go home and stop causing people trouble.”
Audrey watched him lead the llama away, and when she looked down at her legs, she knew there was no way she was going to be able to finish her shift. Shoulders slumped, she headed back toward the café’s door to organize a replacement. Then she’d go home and change.
Twenty minutes later, Audrey found herself driving around in circles, unable to head home. Her boss had given her the rest of the day off, but the thought of having to head home and face her father… She didn’t have the mental fortitude for that right now.
There was something pent-up inside her—a frustration that had burrowed deep into her bones. A sense of sadness and loss and anger, like a gross mélange of all the emotions she despised most. Useless emotions. Defeating emotions.
Poisonous, hard-to-shake, scary emotions.
She never allowed herself to feel these things, because they would only stop her from achieving what she wanted to achieve.
But right now they bubbled close to the surface, hot and raw.