Coasting

Chapter 20

Day 60

Courtney didn't say a word to me when she came into work for her shift at one in the afternoon. Even when I greeted her, she just kept walking and ignored me. Granted, Courtney wasn't the most optimistic or bright person in the world. But ever since we had gotten closer, she had never been so impolite.

When she emerged from the back room after putting her belongings down, we began to work in silence for a while, awkwardly cleaning the espresso machines and countertops. I finally couldn't handle it and blurted out, "Is everything okay?"

She huffed and stopped cleaning the countertop she was working so viciously on. She threw the dirty rag on the counter and faced. Her calculating eyes narrowed in on me. "Have you talked to Avery?"

"Yes...?" I drawled.

"So you heard then that her and Dan got back together?"

I inhaled deeply through my nose and then resumed deep cleaning a sticky spot just underneath the cash register. All I responded with was a, "Hm."

Courtney was annoyed. "Hm? That's all you have to say?"

"I don't know," I tested. "It's her choice. It's not like there's really anything we can do about it."

"Yes," she snapped at me. "Yes, there is. We can remind her that he's a cheating bastard and that breaking up with him in the first place was the best thing she's done for herself in a long time."

"Court-" I started.

"First, you and Fletcher breaking up. Now, Ave and Dan back together. God, relationships in this world are fucking hopeless."

"Fletcher and I didn't break up. We were never even together," I muttered.

"Oh for the love of God, Jamie," she wailed, exasperated. "When will you cut the crap and fucking see the reality. Y'all were together. Just because you didn't have a label doesn't mean it was all just nothing. Kyle and I don't have a label. But at least we can admit that there's something somewhat serious there."

"I can admit that," I protested.

"Says the Queen of Defensiveness," she shot back. "Deny this, deny that-"

"Okay, Courtney," I barked and stripped off my apron.

"Admit it," she challenged. I went into the back room and grabbed my bag from one of the cubbies. "Huh? If you say you can, then do it." I stuffed my apron into the now empty cubbyhole and clocked out. "You won't admit it, will you?"

I turned around and wanted so badly to punch in that pretty face of hers. "Fuck you," I bit out and skated around her back out into the main shop, heading straight for the door.

"Where are you going?" she called after me. Classic Courtney, completely unfazed by even the harshest words.

"Home," I clipped in response.

"You can't just leave."

I pushed the door open but turned around in the threshold to look back at her. She was leaning against the main counter, her eyes burning holes into my body. "My shift is over. So yes, Courtney. I can."

And with that, I pushed past the door and headed towards home.

Well, not home.

Day 62

I didn't have the work yesterday-thank God-so I spent the entire day in the water: surfing, swimming, floating on my back. I had to come in a few times because I got too exhausted, but after I lay in the sand and relaxed in the hot sun for a while, I regained my energy and the need to cool down. So back to the water I went.