Page 29 of What He Never Knew

Smoke left my lips as I shook my head, that relief a joke compared to what tension still existed. Eventhinkingabout Charlie made my chest tight, and that just made me feel pathetic. To make matters worse, she’d been assigned to work on the end-of-the-year concert with me again. She’d been blowing up my phone all week, trying to get together to discuss some details, but I’d been avoiding her.

I couldn’t wait until school was over, until I didn’t have to see her every day in the halls of Westchester.

Summer break couldn’t come soon enough.

I leaned against the brick wall of the building, crossing my right leg over the left as I took another drag of my cigarette. I lazily scanned the employee parking lot, not really seeing anything, just existing, relaxing, taking a break. But when I noticed a familiar face, I did a double take.

Sarah wasn’t supposed to be here, Wednesday being her night off, and yet there she was, not even a full fifty-feet away. She was barefoot on her yoga mat again, wearing her work uniform, but she wasn’t meditating this time.

And she wasn’t alone.

One of the bus boys at The Kinky Starfish had his apron slung casually over his shoulders, his arms folded over his chest as he said something that made Sarah laugh. My chest pinched at the sight of her cheeks flushing, the same way they had the first night she’d met me.

Sarah’s stance mirrored his, her arms crossed in the same manner, and the way she shifted her weight side to side told me she was nervous.

I realized the longer I stared, the more I should have looked away. They were having a conversation, one I wasn’t a part of. But I found I couldn’t look anywhere else now that I’d seen her.

I recognized the kid the longer I watched them. It was Danny Caruso, the owner’s son. I didn’t know much about him, but from what I did know, he was a good kid. He treated his mom like gold and was a hard worker around the restaurant. He went to college and still managed to pick up extra shifts when people called out. I didn’t really know him, but he’d always been nice to me.

I couldn’t place my annoyance with the way he was staring at Sarah.

He waved goodbye to her after a few minutes more, and I lit up the second cigarette as I watched him walk away, making sure Sarah was safe. I had no reason not to trust Danny, but Sarah was young, and new to town. I didn’t want him taking advantage of that like most guys his age would.

Like I would have when I was that young.

Sarah bent to pull on her shoes once Danny was gone, rolling up her yoga mat with a smile that stretched from ear to ear when she stood again. It was almost as if she was laughing at an inside joke she had with herself, or maybe it was something Danny had said, something she was replaying.

Whatever the case, that smile slipped when she saw me.

I took a drag from the cigarette hanging between my lips as she made her way toward me, mat under her arm. She stopped when there were a few feet between us, and I glanced over her shoulder, watching Danny pull out of the parking lot.

“Hey,” she said on a breath.

“I thought you were off tonight.”

Her smile slipped even farther, brows tugging together. “I was… they called me in.”

I nodded, taking another drag. “You know Danny?”

Confusion washed over Sarah’s face before she followed my gaze to where she and Danny had been standing. “Uh… yeah, kind of. I mean, we work together.” She paused, facing me again. “Obviously.”

“What were you guys talking about?”

The question left my mouth before I had the common sense to stop it, and once it was out in the air, I couldn’t take it back. I aimed for nonchalance, leaning against the brick wall and flicking the cherry off my cigarette. It was just an easy question. I was just making conversation.

Sarah lifted a brow. “He asked me on a date.”

I sniffed, bracing the sole of one shoe on the wall behind me. “He’s a good kid.”

She watched the smoke floating between us for a moment, adjusting the mat under her arm before her eyes found mine again. “He is.”

“So, when are you going?”

“I’m not.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not,” she said again with a shrug. Her dangly earrings moved with the gesture, and I realized I’d never seen her wear them before. She was always so natural — no makeup, no accessories — but tonight, she wore two long, flowy, sparkly earrings. “I told him no.”