“Yeah, but it’s bro code number one,” he said.
“And I broke it. Oh well.”
The bell over the door chimed, and Kason walked into the store.
“Speak of the devil,” Jesse said.
“What’s up, bro?” Kason said before he noticed me sitting behind the counter. He instantly looked to Jesse. “I’m just here to pick up my board.”
“It’s in the back. Let me go grab it,” Jesse said, quickly disappearing into the back room.
Kason dug his hands into his pockets and twisted away from me, like there was something more interesting happening on the opposite side of the store.
“You’re seriously ignoring me?” I asked.
He didn’t respond and kept his back to me.
“That’s bullshit.”
He twisted around and leveled me with his glare. “Don’t get me started on what’s bullshit.”
“Like I told Jesse. I’m not an asshole. But do you know who is? Fucking Gino.” I stood up and rounded the counter. “I’m gonna treat her right, and I think down deep you know that.”
He didn’t respond as I moved toward the door.
“See you in Steamboat,” I called as I walked out of the store without another glance.
Giselle
I drove through town, eager to meet Thayer after his class at the mountain. I hadn’t been this giddy over a guy since high school, and I loved the feeling. The excitement. The novelty of it all.
My phone rang, and I answered on my car speaker. “Hello?”
“Hey,” Gino said, his deep voice echoing in my car.
A shiver rushed up my spine. “Hey,” I said, hoping like hell that Thayer’s dad hadn’t reached out to him yet. I needed warning if he had.
“I miss hearing your voice,” Gino admitted.
“Well, you’re hearing it right now,” I said, awkward and uncomfortable.
“What are you up to?” he asked.
“Just driving,” I said, leaving out who I was driving to see. “How about you?”
“Not much. Just working.”
Instantly, I was transported back to his office. Carlo. The secretary who didn’t know me. “Sounds boring.”
He chuckled. “Spoken by the boutique queen of Colorado.”
A pit formed in my stomach. I wasn’t a boutique queen. I was nothing right now. And I didn’t know when I would be again.
“I want you to reopen the boutique,” he said. “I think you need to get back in there so you can remember how amazing you were.”
Anger flared inside of me. “Don’t you get it, Gino? That night ruined everything.”
Silence on his end made me wonder if he felt sad or guilty.