The New Normal

Chapter Eighteen

Over the next few weeks, Tyler and his group of friends and my new group of friends and I, fell into a routine. Tyler and I worked Wednesdays and Thursdays, as well as the closing shift on Saturdays, whereas the other days of the week we still spent at the cafe hanging out and talking. I wouldn't say Tyler and I were best friends or even close friends, but we were friendly and that was good enough for me. Kimberly on the other hand, took a liking towards Seth and I could tell that they would go out on a date soon. Stella, was surprised at this because Seth, despite rolling with the Bad Boys of Sacred Heart, is incredibly shy and Kimberly is probably the most outspoken person I had ever met.

We were all sitting on the left side of the cafe, where there was a long red leather sofa and two leather chairs on either side and another red leather sofa across, its back against the window. Colson, Tyler, and I sat on the sofa that was against the window, whereas Stella and Ryan were seated on the sofa opposite to us, and Seth and Kimberly on the leather chairs. Colson sipped his coffee and eyed the group. "So, what's everyone's plan for Homecoming?"

Ryan took Stella's hand and kissed it, causing her to blush deeply. "Well, I'm taking my girl."

Tyler obviously rolled his eyes and I had to suppress the urge to snort. Kimberly eyed Seth but said nothing, I could tell she was hoping for an invitation. Seth caught her eye and she quickly looked away and I felt myself wanting to turn the attention to me rather than her so she could recover from her embarrassment. "I want to go," I said loudly, but I quickly added, "But, I have no date so I don't think I'll be going. The last thing I want is my ex to see is me all alone at Homecoming."

I added a small laugh at the end to add some humor, but I didn't care much for what they thought. Truth be told, I didn't care for Homecoming or Blake being there with Ariel, I only spoke to help Kimberly. I looked at Tyler and I could see him deep in thought, so I highly doubt he was even paying attention to what I was saying. Colson shot me a wink but I rolled my eyes. Stella, on the other hand, nodded her head thoughtfully. "I mean, it's a couple weeks away, I'm sure you'll find a date."

"Maybe," I sighed and took a deep sip of my hot chocolate.

The next night, I was in the cafe, cleaning off the tables and placed the remaining dirty dishes in my bin. There was still a half hour left until closing, but I found myself bored and wanted to get everything done early so I could lock up and go. It was my first closing shift by myself and I wanted to get it done as swiftly as possible. I went to the back to load the dishes in the dishwasher when I heard the front door bell chime. I raced to the front to greet the customer. "Hey, what can I get y-"

I stopped talking when I recognized the person who stood in front of me. "Brody, right? You were a teammate of my brothers— lacrosse."

He grinned and sat on one of the stools at the counter. "Glad I leave a lasting impression."

I shook my head with a smile. "I only remember because when my brother threw a victory party at our house, you passed out in my bed and when I came home I screamed when I laid down to find you under my covers."

Brody scratched the back of his head and grimaced. "I hoped you had forgotten about that."

"I don't think anyone can forget a stranger being passed out in their bed," I countered, my tone laced with goodwill humor. I pointed to the back with my thumb. "Is there anything you want?"

"Hmm," His hazel eyes scanned the menu and ran a hand through his sandy coloured cropped hair. "I'll just take a hot chocolate with a little bit of cinnamon, if that's okay."

"Strange," I muttered to myself as I got to work on his hot chocolate. Once I was done, I placed it in front of him with a smile and handed me a couple of dollar bills. "I haven't met anyone else who likes cinnamon in their hot chocolate."

His took a sip and closed his eyes as if he were savouring the taste. "You like it too? It's my favourite."

I nodded my head and I went back to cleaning the rest of the cafe. Brody sat silently, watching me clean and would talk about his day. Although it was strange, I didn't mind. It was nice to have some company, especially when it was a late Saturday night. He finished his cup and I brought it to the back. "So are you and Tyler, you know, a thing?" I heard him question loudly so I could still hear him behind the swinging doors.

I laughed loudly as I went back to the counter. "God no. Tyler hated me up until a few weeks ago and even now he's barely friendly. He just puts up with me because some of my friends like his friends."

"I can't imagine hating you, it seems impossible," Brody replied with his eyebrows scrunched in genuine confusion.

"Thank you," I said, thoughtfully. Other than that incident during the victory party Tristan threw, I didn't spend many moments with Brody. We've had some classes together and even this semester we have one or two with one another but we've haven't had any significant times with one another. It was strange to me that he was so nice, but it was good to have company who didn't just tolerate me but actually liked talking to me. I gestured for him to go to the front. "I'm about to lock up."

Brody held up his hands. "I shall leave you to it. Do you want me to wait outside and walk you home?"

I paused for a moment, thinking about the long walk I had ahead of me, through the city. Alone. At night. Leading him out the door as I shut off the lights and locked up the door, I said, "If it's not too much to ask. I hate walking home alone, especially at night."

Brody grinned and shrugged off his letterman jacket. "It's no problem. Here, so you don't get cold."

I looked down and noticed the veins popping out of his skin and up his muscular arm. My eyes wandered to his chest, which was covered by a thin white t-shirt, it didn't do much because I could see the muscles that lingered underneath. Snapping myself out of my ridiculous staring, I blushed. "Sorry, that was weird. Are you sure you're not going to be cold?"

Brody smirked at me being obviously flustered and threw a hand to the side. "The cold does nothing to me."

I nodded my head and put on his jacket that basically swallowed me whole. We began to walk on the dark, but not empty street. There was still many people out and about, mainly because of the few clubs and bars that inhabited the street. We passed club after club and shop after shop in silence and eventually hit my neighbourhood and stood on my when Brody spoke. "Hey, Juliet, do you have a date to Homecoming?"

Heat raised to my cheeks, I barely knew him and he was asking me to Homecoming? I doubt it. He couldn't be. I was just getting ahead of myself. I spun to face him and I gave him a cheeky grin. "Why?"

Brody matched my grin and I have to admit, he looked charming as he did so. "I happen to know someone who has been interested in asking you for awhile now."

I arched a brow and placed my hands in the pockets of his jacket I was wearing. "Oh? And who may that be?"

"That's a surprise," he responded with a lopsided smirk. He jerked his head toward the jacket. "You can keep that. See you Monday, J."