as soon as he sees us. Nick sends him home after we’re done cleaning, leaving the two of us to lock up.
“Thanks for letting me come with you guys tonight,” I say. “It was . . .”
“Boring?”
“No,” I say, grabbing my bag. “I really loved it. Doug and Shivan are great.”
Nick sighs, as if he’s reluctantly admitting something. “They are.”
“I never thought your friends would be . . . bros,” I say. “Actually, I never thought about you having friends.”
“Thanks,” Nick snorts.
“I mean . . . I don’t know, you don’t seem to enjoy talking to people.”
“I enjoy talking to some people,” Nick says, and I ignore the subtext in his comment.
“How did you guys meet?” I ask, pulling on my jacket, then leaning against the counter.
“We were roommates in college,” Nick says. “Random assignment. When I walked into my room freshman year, Doug had already put up a giant motivational poster about missing one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take, and I almost turned around and went back home.”
“But then you were deeply inspired by that poster, right?”
“I was not. But eventually, even though Doug and Shivan were always talking about leg day and carb-loading and knew so much more about drinking than I’d ever learned in my nerdy, sheltered childhood . . . I figured out that they were good guys. They made me leave the dorm, even go to some parties.”
Wistfully, I say, “I so wish I could see young Nick at a kegger. Did you stand in the corner with your arms crossed, wishing the music were more depressing?”
Nick points at me. “It’s like you were there.”
“Well, they seem nice.”
Nick shrugs. “They are nice.”
After years of knowing Nick but not even knowing about the best friends he’s had since college, now I’m curious to learn more. “What was your major?”
“Philosophy.”
“Ohhhhh,” I say, nodding my head. “So you’ve always been like this.”
He looks at me, eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I smile.
“Anyway, uh.” Nick grabs his jacket. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For coming tonight. It was . . . fun. To have you there.” He clears his throat and doesn’t meet my eyes.
I’m glad he’s not looking at me, because this innocuous statement makes me start to blush.
“Yeah,” I say softly as we walk out the door and Nick locks up. “It was a good time.”
It was the best time I’ve had in a long time and a rare opportunity to get out of my own head for a minute . . . but it also made me wonder how much I don’t know about Nick Velez.
Chapter Eleven
“What are you doing this weekend?”
I look up from my business management textbook and blink a few times. It’s Wednesday evening and hardly anyone’s in, which means prime homework time as long as Annie’s not around to distract me (and she rarely is anymore). And I know I’ve been in a business management haze, but I could swear I heard Nick ask what I was doing this weekend.
“Um . . .” I say, standing up from my hunched position. I rub my sore back; I’m getting old. When have I ever worried about a sore back? “Why? Are you inviting me to go bowling again?”
“Bowling’s on Tuesdays.” Nick taps his fingers on the baked goods case. “There’s this coffee convention in Indianapolis . . .”
I furrow my brow. “There’s an entire convention dedicated to coffee?”
Nick puffs out an exasperated breath. “Chloe. I go to this every year.”
I smile and poke him in the arm. “I know. I was kidding.”
Nick runs his hand through his hair and, with his head tilted down, gives me this annoyed look that is, like, too much for me. When he looks at me that way, it’s like his hands are all over my body even though we’re several feet apart.
“So!” I say more loudly. “Coffee convention. Do you need me to work another shift to cover for you?”
“No. I want you to come with me.”
My mouth drops open, and I quickly close it. “What?”
Nick sighs. “You know how you’re always on my case to freshen things up here? Be more adventurous with what we offer?”
I nod. “Yes, stop being such a boring old man. I do say that often.”
“I’m only two years older than you.”
“Biologically. Spiritually, you’re an elder.”
“Maybe I should rescind this invitation.”
I wave him on. “Keep talking.”
“Since you have some, well . . . good ideas about how we could change things up, I thought maybe you could come, too. See if there