I force my gaze back to the napkins.
About twenty minutes later, Clare comes over to me. I’ve moved on to sorting the silverware. I’m grateful there’s only a half hour left on my shift because I’m rapidly running out of busy work.
“I’m taking my break, okay? Can you cover the register?” Clare asks.
“Yup, I’ve got it.”
I walk to the register, entertaining myself with sorting the receipts as a new way to tune out the loud laughter I can hear coming from the corner booth.
“You haven’t run out of shit to do yet?”
I startle at the sound of the unexpected, familiar voice, and look up to see Wes’s grinning face. I glance over at his booth for the first time since I left it, surprised he’s talking to me in public. None of his friends are watching us, but a couple of cheerleaders are.
“I’m working.” I roll my eyes.
“I can see that.” He smirks, and my attention is drawn to his mouth.
I’ve kissed those lips. It’s a bizarre thought to have when we’re standing in public, in front of his friends, while we’re so obviously Weston Cole from Alleghany and Maeve Stevens from Glenmont. Enemies.
“So, what’s the damage?”
“Damage?” I’m still thinking about kissing him.
“The bill?” Wes holds up the wad of cash he’s carrying.
“Oh, right.” I pull up his table. “It’s $86.43.”
Wes holds the money out. “Keep the change.”
I reach out and grab the offered money. He holds it between his fingers for a moment, then lets me tug the thick stack of bills away.
He starts to turn away, but then glances back at me. I can feel more eyes on us. “You should probably count it.”
I raise my eyebrows. He smirks slightly before continuing back to his table.
I stare at the stack of money for a couple of minutes before I fan the bills out. There’s a flash of white amongst the green. I pull out a ripped piece of napkin. It’s unused, the cheap material void and vacant. I flip it over. Also unmarked. Wes gave me ablankpiece of paper, and it’s a struggle to keep my expression empty and not glance over at his table. I slip the ripped shred of napkin into the pocket of my jean shorts, and resume sorting the receipts.
Clare returns from her break just as I’ve moved on to wiping the counter, signaling the end of my shift. After saying goodbye to her, I literally flee fromMo’s.
It’s a relief to not have to keep myself from looking over at him.
To not have to wonder if he’s looking at me.
Maggie and I made plans to go to the lake, and I make a quick stop at home to change before heading straight there.
The lake is crowded, which is hardly a surprise given how warm it is out. Liam and a bunch of other football players are playing volleyball, and several of them wave at me as I stroll down the beach. I wave back, and then am stopped by a few of my soccer teammates, followed by some friends from student council.
Maggie’s easy to spot; she’s the only solitary person on the entire beach.
“Sure you’re willing to sit with a pariah?” she asks caustically as soon as I sit down.
I sigh. “I’m sorry, Mags. You know how stupid I think this whole rivalry is.”
“You do?” Maggie asks, sounding surprised.
“Well, yeah. Don’t you?”
“Now that I’ve lost most of my friends for no reason, yeah. But it’s never taken anything from you. You’re MaeveStevens. I mean, the rivalry is in your blood, right?”