Friend-Zoned (2 page)

Meems breaks my thoughts
with, “Well?”
Uh,
what?
Confusion settles over my
features and I reply, “Well what?”
“Did you have a nice trip?” Mimi smirks. “You were miles away,
babe”
Oops
.
I cringe and say, “Sorry. What were you saying?”
She looks livid. Her blue eyes flash at me and she spits, “I said
that fine ass man is out there again!”
I want to stroke her shoulder length silky sunny blonde hair but
this is a no-go with Mimi. I’m very affectionate and hugged Mimi
once. Once was enough to realize this is a no-go because when we
parted from said hug, she looked at me like I ran over her
dog.
I save all my workplace affection for Lola who is a bit younger
than me and comes from an affectionate household. She gets
me.
I sigh through my response. “Yeah. I saw him, Meems. He’s looking
pretty good today. Lilac is a good color on him.”
Her eyes widen and she almost yells, “That’s all you have to say?”
She narrows her eyes at me. “You’ve been watching him for two
weeks, Tina. Grow some balls and ask the dude
out.”
Um, No.
I don’t do relationships.
I’m twenty eight years old and have only been in one relationship.
It was good in the beginning. It totally sucked at the end.
Never
again.
I’ve dated men since my relationship went bust, quite a few
actually. But not one of those men broke through the thick wall
I’ve built around myself. I call it protecting myself. It works and
I’m sticking to it. It’s a bit lonely but at least I have my
friends.
I lower my eyes, fold another sweater and whisper, “You know I
can’t do that, hon. I think a new box of those linen shirts came
in. Can you please steam and shelf them?”
Her face shows her frustration and she mutters, “Way to change the
subject, boss lady.”
I watch her walk into the stock room but my attention is pulled
back to building across from mine.
On the counter next to the register are two clear cellophane
wrapped bags of candy. One has Raspberry bullets in it, which are
my all-time favorite; the other holds red wax
lips.
I don’t have to talk to him to
be nice to him. He won’t ever know who they came
from.
I set aside the wax lips on the
counter and taking a piece of paper from next to the register I
write three small words. I fold up my note, punch a hole in it, and
tie it around the candy using the red foil ribbon we use to gift
wrap items with.
I look at the time on the register.
Another hour and he’ll be back for another cigarette
break.
I walk into the stock room and
tell Mimi I need a break. She comes out front to man the counter
for me. I walk out of Safira’s and turn left to the coffee shop
next door.
I know every person who works at Winnie’s coffee lounge and they
know me and my girls pretty well, too. We’re there at least three
times every day to get our coffee fix, and believe me when I tell
you Winnie’s coffee is the
bomb
.
It’s not a large coffee lounge. In fact, there is only one three
seater lounge in the store because that’s all it can fit. It’s
about a quarter of the size of Safira’s and I’m sure at one point
our two stores used to be one.
I go in to find Sammi behind the counter.
Perfect. Just who I need to see.
I walk over to him and smile, he smiles back flirtatiously.
Sammi is eighteen; he works at Winnie’s part time and goes to
college. He is cute. At least, I think he is under all that dark
hair. His hair is long and brushed forward over one eye. The eye
that I can see is a warm brown color.
He smiles and says, “Tina, babe, what can I get you?”
Ever the charmer, I reply, “Actually, Sammi, I need a favor.”
His face shows unconcealed surprise. A small smile forms on his
lips and he says in a husky voice, “Sure! Whatever you need…” He
licks his lips in invitation.
I laugh, put a hand on my chest and say, “Oh my, not
that
kind of favor!
Sammi, I’m old enough to be your Mo…uh, older sister.”
He wiggles his brows at me and responds, “My sister ain’t a
hottie.”
I can’t help but laugh. We banter like this all the time. It’s
harmless and Sammi is a sweetheart.
“Can you help me or not?” I say in mock sternness with my hands on
my hips.
That charming smile appears again and he replies, “Anything for
you, babe.”
I explain to him what I need done and he looks at me like I’ve lost
my mind. After pleading with him and planting and a wet, sloppy
kiss on his cheek, he finally agrees.
I jump up and down in victory, thank him and walk back to Safira. I
relieve Mimi, take my place at the counter and wait to see what
happens.
A half hour passes and the beautiful man across the street appears,
right on time, cigarette in hand. I spot Sammi making his way
across the street and anxiety knots my
stomach.
This was a bad idea. What
was I thinking??! God, I am such a turd!
Sammi approaches beautiful man and hands a small brown paper
bag to him. Sammi says a few words and walks away. He spies me
through Safira’s window and winks at me.
I watch Mr. Beautiful open the brown paper bag and take out the
candy.
He looks confused. I’m not surprised.
He tears the note off the ribbon, opens it and reads. He looks even
more confused and my heart shrinks.
What I see next makes it all worth it.
His eyes crinkle and a small smile twitches at his lips.
Not great, but definite progress. This is the first smile I’ve seen
grace his gorgeous face and it was nice. I can’t help but smile,
too.
Yay, me! See?! Not such a bad
idea after all.
A deep sigh escapes
me. I feel at peace once again. I go about my work with a huge
smile plastered on my face.
***
Rawr
Raaawr
I inwardly cringe and glare at
the damn door.
A man stands there.
He’s smiling but his eyes look at me like being a girl is a disease
and you can catch it from visiting a boutique.
He is tall, probably 6’2”. Olive skin tone and amber colored
eyes.
I’m mesmerised.
His eyes are like honey! I’ve never seen that eye color before. He
has dark brown spiky hair and a
nice
five o’clock shadow.
Wow, this man is gorgeous.
He looks to be about my age. He walks over to me, places both
forearms on my counter, leans in close and asks, “Can you help me,
honey?”
“I. Ahh…” I’m tongue tied. His voice is as smooth as his honey
eyes.
Having obviously heard a man’s voice in the store, Mimi comes to
stand next to me.
She looks Mr. Gorgeous up and down and narrows her eyes. She says
firmly, “I can help you.”
He looks her up and down the same way she’d done mere seconds
before and smiles a big smile. Mr Gorgeous has a dimple.
My knees almost buckle and I start to sweat.
He smirks as he responds, “Great. I’m looking for the owner of
this.”
I look down and feel the flush rise from my chest up. This is
because on the counter sits my Mr. Beautiful note.
Mimi looks down, brow scrunched in confusion. She reads the note
and I know I’m totally busted. Meems knows my handwriting.
I feel her stare bore into me, I won’t look at her.
“You didn’t…” Her voice colored with amusement.
I’m red, splotchy, and embarrassed. I look towards the man who is
now looking at me with narrowed eyes, his head at a tilt. Like he’s
trying to read my mind or figure me out.
Before I can stop myself, I answer with a shrill, “How did he know
it was me?”
Mr. Gorgeous takes the note from the counter and turns it over. We
all look down and what I see makes me even redder. I hear Mimi
burst out laughing. Mr. Gorgeous quietly
chuckles.
Safira
Boutique.
I wrote on Safira
stationary!
I. Am. Mortified.
He was never meant to know!
Mr. Gorgeous speaks, “C’mon, sweetheart. You’re comin’ with
me.”
Uh, What?
I whisper, “Excuse me?”
He flicks his head to the note and says, “Boss wants to see
you.”
Uh, What?
My eyes widen and I whisper loudly, “Am I in trouble?”
He looks me up and down and his lips lift a little. He answers,
“I’m not sure, sweetheart.” He says sweetheart in a way that makes
it sound like sweet
hawt.
He takes my hand that rests on the counter, pulls me next to him,
and tucks my hand into the crook his arm. I know he sees
uncertainty in my eyes. He looks to Mimi and smiles as he speaks,
“I’ll have her back in one piece. I’m Max, by the way.”
She does a little head lift and responds, “Mimi.” She points to me
and says, “That’s Tina.”
He smiles and says, “Great, she’ll be back soon.” He starts pulling
me along with him and I turn to glare at Mimi.
Standing tall with eyes wide, she smiles big and lifts her hand in
a wave.
Crud! I knew this was a bad
idea.

Chapter
Two
Friend-zoned

I’m waiting for Max to get
back with information on who sent me the candy and note.
Curiosity eats away at me.
Who the
hell would send a guy candy?
Not
just any candy, but those goofy wax lips that taste like
cardboard.
Someone nutty, that’s for
sure.
Maybe even a past fling. I’m
wracking my brain trying to think if any of the girls I’ve slept
with recently were a bit nutty.
There
was that one girl who wanted me to…Nah.
I
smile at the memory.
She was the good kind
of nutty.
The door to my office bursts open and Max tries to walk in but it
looks like something is holding him back.
Max starts laughing and says, “C’mon sweetheart, he won’t
bite.”
I stand and step towards the door, my brows furrowed. I decide to
sit on the front of my desk.
What
did he bring me, a Pitbull?
Max is
struggling with whoever is out there and Max is big. And strong. He
looks at me like he wants to burst into laughter. Walking back out
the office door, he emerges seconds later.
Walking backwards towards me is a woman; Max has his hands on her
shoulders and is walking her toward me. Once she hits the middle of
the room, he stops walking. He lowers his face to hers and says,
“He just wants to talk, hon.” He flicks her hair playfully, turns
and walks out. But not before he winks at me.
The woman standing in my office still has her back to me and she’s
looking at the floor. I do a quick scan of her from the back.
Medium height; maybe 5”5 or 5”6 without the black pumps she’s
rockin’. Nice body.
Great
ass. Long dark hair to her waist. It’s shiny and
has a nice natural wave to it.
It’s now been over a minute and this slip of a woman still hasn’t
turned to face me.
I’m getting irritated now.
I have to break the ice.
I say, “He’s right, you know. I won’t bite.”
Her shoulders stiffen but she slowly turns to face me. Her face is
still lowered so I can’t see what she looks like.
I take a look at her body from the front. Decent boobs. Nice curvy
body. She’s dressed nicely, wearing a white linen shirt and a high
waisted grey skirt. You know the ones that are tight around the ass
and get tighter around the knees?
Nice.
She’s also wearing a thick black belt that goes just under her
boobs. The more I look at her, the sexier she becomes.
This somehow makes me more irritated.
I ask a little too firmly, “Can you look at me, miss? I just wanna
ask you a few questions. Nothin’ to be worried about.”
She nods and lifts her head.
Oh,
Hell.
I fight the urge to roll my
eyes.
Not a past fling, that’s for
sure.
She’s cute. And flushed, I
mean,
really
flushed. It kinda makes her cuter. Not just cute, but
adorable.
And she’s petrified.
I have no idea why. I mean, I know I’m a big guy but I don’t think
I’m
that
scary.
She has light green eyes that are unusual because they have a black
rim, a cute little nose, and her lips…Oh, man.
Her top lip is full and her bottom lip is
fuller.
Damn.
Using my foot, I pull out
a chair and motion for her to sit. Thankfully, she does so without
hesitating.
Who is this
girl?
***

Uh, that
voice.
It’s the type of voice you
hear in your own made up fantasies. Deep and sexy.
I look up at Mr Beautiful and Wow. He’s actually even more
beautiful up close.
Now that I’m close enough to him, I can see he has the same eye
color as Max. He looks a lot like Max, too. I’m guessing they’re
brothers or at least related.
Just above his eyebrow is a scar; it goes through his eyebrow at an
angle and ends at the outer tip of his eye.
A scowl mars his face and he sighs deeply.
He stands up and walks around the desk, sits behind it and takes
his cufflinks out of the button holes of his silk lilac shirt. Not
many men could pull off looking manly in lilac. But he’s
just
that
awesome.
He rolls up the sleeves to his elbows. I think he’s done this to
make me a little more comfortable around him. I’m surprised that it
works. The simple move has made him much less intimidating and I
feel myself loosen up.
He sounds bored when he says, “I’m Nik.”
He already thinks you’re a weirdo, don’t you dare freeze up
now. It’s just talking.
I reply a
little too loudly, “I’m Tina.”
His lips twitch. He asks, “You work at Safira’s Boutique?”
I simply nod.
He points to the note which now sits on his desk and asks, “Can you
tell me who gave me this note?”
Immediately I respond, “I did.” Just like ripping off a band aid,
the quicker you do it the less painful it is.
His brow furrows in confusion, he taps his pen on the desk and
says, “Oh. I guess you could say I’m a little curious about the
note. And what’s written on it.”
I flush even warmer and slide deeper into the chair.
I’m so embarrassed!
I quickly respond, “I’m
so
sorry if I offended you in any way. I, ah, I
think I should just go.” I move to stand but he reaches over the
table and takes my hand in his huge one.
He says, “Sit down, please.” This is not a request.
He places my hand back on the desk and I park my butt back down. He
reaches for the note and reads aloud, “Smile sometime,
handsome.”
Yep. I’m an
Idiot.
***