Use Somebody (12 page)

“Wait,” I called out and stopped him by grabbing his arm. Little sparks shot up my fingertips at the connection between his flesh and mine until my entire body was humming with electric energy. I looked up into his handsome face. “What’s your name?”

He stared down at my small hand on his arm, fixated, and I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of emotion. It looked something like elation or wonder and my heart swelled with hope that he felt it too. But his eyes were clear and bright again when they met mine. “Forgive me. Where are my manners,” he said smoothly. “Gabriel… My name is Gabriel.”

“Gabriel,” I echoed, closing my eyes in momentary bliss. The very word was like a heavenly song on my tongue, beautifully divine and riveting and perfect. Such a fitting name for an angel of a man.

Side by side, we walked to the campus coffee shop. He bought us both chai tea lattes and we sat outside, letting the cups keep us warm. His blue eyes watched me closely, but I still couldn’t ascertain his intentions. He made no move to touch me. Twice now he had helped me when I was in need, but that didn’t mean attraction. It just meant he was a good person.

“What is this thing? It isn’t even coffee,” he said after taking a sip.

“I know,” I smiled. “It’s Christmas in a cup.”

He chuckled. “Well aren’t you sweet.”

Maybe he only had friendly feelings for me? That wouldn’t surprise me. Some guys saw the nice girls as friends rather than romantic interests. My young appearance had a tendency to bring out their brotherly, protective sides.

This was confirmed when he asked the next question: “If I may… Do you always walk through dodgy fields alone?”

“Not usually. Most of my classes I have with Lexi. Normally we walk together.” I frowned, remembering the way she so hastily took off after class.

“And today?” he prompted.

“Today…” I was more than a little embarrassed. The whole thing was stupid. What could I tell him? That Lexi was mad at me because the frat boys were making brainless comments about my virginity instead of hitting on her? That she was the one who instigated the teasing that led to my near assault?

Holy schmoly…

Assault.

It all happened so fast… And after Gabriel showed up, I was so distracted with seeing him that I didn’t register what had nearly happened with the other boys. It had escalated beyond harmless comments in the classroom. They put their hands on me. They surrounded me. They didn’t listen when I told them to stop.

What would have happened if Gabriel hadn’t shown up?

He was at my side in an instant, taking the cup from my trembling fingers. I could feel his gaze washing over me, vying for my attention.

“You’re safe, Scarlett. Do you hear me? They can’t hurt you now.”

Panic was so prominent I couldn’t speak. I could barely force a nod. I wanted to believe him, but it did nothing to slow my rapid breathing. Those boys would be in my class all semester, yet I had no idea what they were capable of. What any student here was capable of. It had been such a close call. What if Gabriel had arrived even ten minutes later? Or not at all? Maybe nothing would have occurred. But maybe…

The ambiguity of not knowing what might’ve transpired frightened me. I imagined the worst case scenarios. The possibility that I could have been seriously hurt in unthinkable ways. I never thought anything like that could ever happen to me. Crossing the field alone without paying attention to my surroundings had been so careless.

“I thought I was smarter than this,” I mumbled.

He let out a hushed curse. “This wasn’t your fault, love.”

“Am I putting something out there?” I pleaded, as if he had all the answers. Within one week he had witnessed two of my quandaries. Either I was doing something wrong, or fate had a vendetta with my name on it. “And what about next time, when I’m alone, and…” you aren’t around to save me?

His eyes darkened, looking back at me with undue intensity. “That’s not going happen.”

“Oh?” I said, trying to push a smile through my fear. “Do you have some kind of crystal ball?”

“No,” he said, his jaw locked. “That’s not going to happen… because I won’t let it.”

Had I heard him correctly?

I stared in disbelief, trying to muster up some form of resolve before I fell under his spell again. “Why do you say that?”

He hardly moved. “My reasons are my own.”

“But I don’t understand.”

He leaned in closely, trapping me in his gaze. “Listen to me, love. I am not in the habit of making hollow promises.” His voice, urgent and demanding, succeeded in capturing my attention. Those eyes staring into my own were nearly cobalt. “I see you and I find myself… needing to do this. Too many times I’ve seen good people fall into greedy hands. I could never allow harm to come to someone like you. Believe me when I say, I will see to it you have no reason to fear.”

His intensity jump-started my heart. And once again, I was transfixed by his blue eyes. His deep, musical voice. The strength and passion behind his words. My first instinct had been correct. He was a natural protector. A guardian angel. A white knight. Not to mention, the man I was in danger of falling hopelessly in love with.

I answered him without having to think about it.

“I trust you, Gabriel.”

Taking a visible breath of relief, he took my hand, entwined our fingers together and vowed, “I don’t take this lightly, Scarlett Rossi. I swear on my life you will be safe.”

I had no idea, at that time, the lengths he would go to keep that promise.

* * *

[Present]

“Don’t bother me Vance. I’m writing.”

“Oh really? Is it a story? Is there a brave young hero who’s quirky yet lovable?”

“Heroine,” I corrected.

Vance’s eyes bugged out of their sockets. “Your story’s about drugs? Who are you right now!”

I rolled my eyes at him, but couldn’t fully suppress the smile. I was actually writing a grocery list. But this was more fun. “Har har. It’s about a girl who has an extremely annoying coworker, and how she struggles not to shove an ice cream scooper down his esophagus every day.”

He just shook his head and flashed me a grin. “So violent. Why don’t you make it a comedy?”

“Or a horror,” I countered.

“Or a romance,” he said, batting his eyelashes obnoxiously.

I backhanded him lightly in the arm until he fell away laughing. “No one wants to read that!”

“Sure they do!” He grabbed a pad of paper off the desk, cleared his throat and pretended to write. “The enchanting but elusive… Charlotte… had fallen helplessly in love with her unattainable boss… Wolfgang. Yeah, Wolfgang. Even though her love was forbidden, and they’d both ruin their careers if she were to give into her burning desire, she couldn’t deprive herself any longer. She had denied her attraction for months, pretending to be indifferent to the phenomenon that was Lord Wolfgang, but could no longer resist his insufferably engaging charms, impressive arcade machine skills, and hilarious geometry teacher impressions…”

I crumpled a napkin into a ball and threw it at his head. “
Charlotte
?” I said, and threw another. “
Wolfgang
? You’re a GOOBER!”

Laughing, he retaliated by tearing off the page, rolling it up and tossing it back at me. Before I even had a chance to dodge, it bopped me right on the nose!

Acting affronted, I stared at him slack-jawed. I could not believe he just did that. When I noticed the bag of mini marshmallows to my right, it was all out war.

I lunged for the bag and ripped off the tie, pelting him with one handful of tiny mallows at a time. His hands came up to block my attack, still laughing as they bounced off his shoulders, ears, and knuckles.

He reached for his own bag of gummy bears then ran to hide around the corner.
Coward.
I perched on the chair and swiveled so that it was mostly blocking me, then waited. In a flash, he flew from one side of the room to the other with a maniacal laugh, and chucked a handful of gummy bears right at my face! Before I could even throw one mallow, he was hidden again, this time behind the kitchen station.

I rolled the chair forward and waited him out. He was sneaky but now I was ready for him. Finally he emerged and we both threw our handfuls. This time, they all stuck to my apron.

“Ew!” I squealed, plucking a sticky gelatin bear from my front. “Did you lick these?”

He burst into laughter and just pointed to the sink. It didn’t matter that it was only tap water, I was still gross and sticky.

My grimace turned into a nefarious grin when a plan of retaliation occurred to me.

The twinkle in my eye tipped him off. He threw his hands up and backed away in surrender. “Oh no you don’t,” he stated. But he was nuts if he thought that was going to deter me.

“Oh,
Wolfgang!”
I crooned, heading in his direction with my arms open wide. He ran, and I chased him while dodging errant gummy bears, both of us in hysterics. It turned into a little game of cat and mouse. I didn’t really want to catch him, and he didn’t really let me. But we still had fun gallivanting around an ice cream parlor like kids, and getting paid to do it.

We ran in circles until we both collapsed in a ridiculous fit of laughter and tears. He could barely hold it together as he helped me clean out a bit of green gunk that had gotten stuck in my hair.

“Look… what… you… did,” I tsked. But I didn’t really care. We were having too much fun to care.

Still trying to catch our breaths, we were interrupted by the chime of the merry little bell. He climbed to his feet and looked through the small window on the swinging door. “Only two customers. I got it, you keep writing,” he offered.

“Your story sucks!” I called out, chastising him in jest. “No offense!”

He stopped briefly by the supply cabinet and rummaged through a box. He tossed something to me, winked, and disappeared to the front to serve the customers.

I looked down at my lap. Thank goodness. It was a new apron.

I tied the strings of my replacement apron and folded the dirty one next to my purse to bring home and wash. I also added marshmallows and gummy bears to my grocery list to replace the candy supply that we turned into weaponry. Since Vance could handle the customers in the front, I decided to clean up our mess in the back. I swept all the little marshmallows, bears and napkins into the trash, avoiding stepping in anything and smearing it across the floor. I would do a better job later tonight with the mop.

A balled paper in the corner caught my eye. It must have been the one Vance pretended to write his stupid novel on, before he crumpled it and threw it at my face.

Probably doodled boobs.

Somehow it had survived the sticky candy war. Whatever it was, I didn’t want to leave it for management to find. So I picked it up, fully intending to throw it away.

Just before dropping it into the waste basket, curiosity got the best of me. I unballed the piece of paper and flattened it with my hands, revealing something that I should have expected from my quirky but lovable coworker. I stared down at the page that contained neither cheesy romance story nor cartoon boobs. Just a single simple sentence that made my dimples pop:

“Made you look.”

I did it. I finally bought myself a new car. A sporty Mitsubishi Eclipse in teal blue. All interior leather with chrome trimmings on the dashboard features, a high-tech stereo system with a sub woofer in the trunk, and all kinds of engine upgrades that didn’t mean much to me other than it made the car purr. It was beautiful.

It was also a stick shift, which meant I couldn’t drive it myself just yet, but I was willing to learn. My father came with me to do the test drive and drove us home after I made the purchase. As persnickety as he was, the car still got his stamp of approval. I wasn’t completely over the loss of my first car, but it was easier to be giddy about a new little hotrod like this.

We had just pulled into the driveway for the first time when my mama came out to meet us. I got behind the wheel and she took the passenger seat, beaming in excitement as I proudly showed off all the awesome features. After ten minutes of pushing buttons, we got out to stand in the driveway and admire the exterior. The metallic teal paint glittered in the sunshine like the ocean on a sunny day. Although I’d been reluctant to move on, I was more than ready to regain the independence that I had lost.

“Good heavens! It’s so lovely, Scarlett,” my mama smiled, her cheeks like two dimpled peaches. “See? There’s a rainbow at the end of every rain. Thank you, Lord, for this marvelous blessing.”

My mama often spoke like a Hallmark card.

“Thanks, mama,” I said gratefully.

As we stood in the driveway drooling over the new car, my brother James came around the corner. His eyes narrowed the instant he spotted us together. I snorted softly. I didn’t understand why he had to react like that. One happy moment and it was as if we were all plotting against him.

“Look, James! Did you hear the wonderful news? Your sister has a new car,” my mama made a grand gesture towards the sporty blue vehicle in our driveway.

He eyed it like a cockroach. “Had to get the fanciest, shiny new car, did you?” he sneered. Always melodramatic.

“Well, it’s not new, it has a few years on it,” I explained, running my fingers affectionately down the hood. “But it doesn’t have too many miles, and—”

“Spoiled brat,” he muttered, lighting a cigarette and climbing into his own boxy Acura with a dented bumper. My father reprimanded him, but he didn’t listen. He never did. He started up the engine until it choked and sputtered to life.

I did not consider myself a materialistic person. I didn’t own expensive accessories or jewelry, and when I shopped for clothes maybe once a year, it was only at Kohl’s or Target. I didn’t get regular massages or manicures. I was the last of my friends to get a cell phone, and it was still a few generations behind. To put it plainly, I didn’t need
things
to make me happy. My parents had taught me the value of a dollar since I was young, and anything I owned, I had worked for and bought myself, including this car.

Sure, it was a little nicer than the old Honda that I had loved, and certainly newer than the lemon James drove. But let’s face it, I didn’t know much about cars and needed something reliable.

Did James care that I had been dreading this moment but was trying to make the best of it? No. Did he care that I saved all my wages and the insurance money and paid for this car all by myself? No. Did he care that I did a ton of research and found a great deal from a wealthy housewife who was now expecting and traded up for an SUV? No. James didn’t care about any of that. I had a nice car, therefore I was a spoiled brat.

“I will not tolerate another filthy eyesore in my driveway,” my father warned. “Make sure it gets washed every week. Do not test me.”

As James drove away and my father stomped inside, the celebratory mood significantly deflated.

“Looks like you have a lot of trunk space, too. That’s fantastic,” my mama said cheerfully, like the last two minutes never happened. It was a nice effort, really, but I was already over it. I hated that even though I decided at fourteen years old not to expect anything else, I still let his stupid comments get to me.

Asshole
.

* * *

Long summer days meant the sky was still light and sunny, even into the late evening. The shop was aglow with natural light shining in through the glass storefront. I was wiping down the countertops when a group of four walked in.

I almost didn’t recognize him without the bright apron, but his familiar smile finally caught my attention. I did a double take.
Wow.
Vance cleaned up nicely—slacks and a collared button-down shirt peeking out from under a solid green sweater that made his eyes look even more green. His thick brown hair was gelled and slicked back. He looked dapper, albeit a little posh, and… you know, different.

He had his arm around a pretty brunette, who must have been Evelyn. I perked up, happy to finally meet the girl who gave Vance his never-ending smile, his perpetual sunshine. They looked adorable together.

I gave the group a friendly welcome, then turned to Vance. “Isn’t it your day off? Don’t tell me you missed this place.”

He grinned back. “Couldn’t stay away. Is that your new ride parked out back?”

“Of course.”

“How many times did you stall on the way in?”

“Three,” I said with a hand on my hip. I was getting better. My father promised to teach me, and he did… he just didn’t have a whole lot of patience.

“Not bad,” Vance nodded. “What’s the hardest part for you? Downshifting?”

“No. Going uphill.”

“Ah. There’s definitely a knack for it. I can show you a trick next time we’re working together.”

I smiled at the offer. “Cool.”

“Can I take a closer look?” I tossed him the keys from my pocket and he caught them without missing a beat. “C’mon Cole, check this out!” The boys disappeared through the back as Vance started boasting about engines, cylinders, horsepower, and other details I had texted him earlier.

My attention returned to the two girls standing in front of the ice cream case. “Just let me know whatever you’d like,” I said with a friendly smile, giving them time to browse our selection.

The blond eyed the neon blue flavor skeptically. “Extreme.”

“Stay away from that one,” I warned, pointing at the cotton candy with my scoop.

“Uh, yeah. Then what do you recommend?”

“Well,” I said, “Are you feeling fruit, or peanut butter?”

“Definitely peanut butter.”

“Awesome. I got this,” I said, confident, and began scooping out the chocolate ice cream. I carried it over to the icy mixing board, added in crushed peanut butter cups and mini Reeses Pieces, then put it in a cup and topped it with a swirl of peanut butter sauce. It was a work of peanut butter art.

I was just handing it over with a plastic spoon when the two boys finally returned. They entered through the swinging door, still babbling on about cars, when Evelyn spoke up, interrupting.

“Babe, I know what I want. Make it for me?”

Startled, I glanced at him, hoping he wouldn’t think I neglected his girlfriend’s order. I would be happy to serve them all. He shouldn’t have to get behind the counter when he wasn’t even on the clock.

But Vance, seeming unbothered, just turned and smiled at her, ceasing his conversation with Cole. “Sure Princess, what’ll it be?” he asked, and walked behind me to get a scooper.

For some reason (unbeknownst to me), the endearment kinda rubbed me the wrong way this time.

While Vance was fixing her order, I chatted with Cole and his date by the register. He used to work at Mooshi before I got hired, and had since moved on to work at a nearby conference hotel. The sandy-haired boy was Vance’s best friend and Summer’s twin brother, and I even vaguely remembered him from school. But we had not yet had the opportunity to talk.

“You’re James Rossi’s little sister, aren’t you?” Cole asked.

Of course that’s what he’d remember.

My eyes narrowed, watching for it, for that look that said,
“I wonder if batshit crazy is hereditary?”
I’d gotten it before. And maybe they were right. But the funny thing was, I didn’t hate being James’ little sister, I just hated being judged for it. Sure, I thought he was a degenerate asshole, but no one else was allowed to say that to my face. Especially a stranger.

“Yes,” I said, sure but wary, “I am.”

But he just smiled kindly. “Thought so. My dad used to be the Scout Leader. James was in his troop.”

I stared, aghast. “Boy Scouts? Wow! That was so long ago!” Before James was old enough to boycott my parents’ insistence in organized activities. “I even went to the meetings sometimes and sat in the back.”

“I know,” said Cole. “I was always back there with you.”

I’d always had a vague recollection of Colton Elliott. Now I knew why. The memories were dim and fuzzy as an old fashioned film, but they were there—Wednesday night pack meetings with the little sandy-haired boy who always shared his crayons.

“I remember that! We used to hang out during their meetings and color!”

Cole glanced to his date and back to me with a sheepish grin. “Coloring? No. I only did manly things, like build stuff. With tools.”

Amused, I shook my head. “We must have been six and seven years old, Cole. I don’t recall any tools.”

At that point Vance and Evelyn rejoined their friends, ice creams in hand. I looked at his girlfriend, hoping to introduce myself or at least offer a cordial smile, but she would not acknowledge me. And I was unsure what to say.

“You’re here by yourself,” Vance observed. “Who’s supposed to be working with you?”

“Um, Gwen, but she called out again,” I shrugged sadly. “At least it’s been slow.”

Vance’s forehead creased. “Will you need help closing up?”

“Don’t worry about me,” I waved him off. “You guys have fun tonight.”

Vance hesitated, but his girlfriend put her hand on his arm. “Ready to go, babe?”

“Sure,” he responded to her, then turned back to me with disquiet in his eyes. “Call if you need anything?”

I nodded, knowing full well I wouldn’t be calling anyone for help. I may not be a lead, technically, but I was competent. I wished the foursome a nice evening, received three warm replies, then watched as they walked out the door.

* * *

“Your girlfriend doesn’t seem to like me,” I said quietly, gripping the warm sides of my hot chocolate, and watching the whipped cream melt into foamy swirls.

After another long night of closing at Mooshi, we sat in our regular booth at Honey’s, waiting for our food to arrive. I had been curious if our pancake nights would continue since we no longer needed to carpool. But when Vance suggested we meet, I agreed and drove separately. It was the perfect opportunity to bring this up, anyway.

I had been feeling off ever since earlier this week when he came in with Evelyn. I was really looking forward to meeting her, but it hadn’t gone well. To be honest, it seemed like she had purposefully ignored me. Surely she was a sweet girl to have captured the heart of someone like Vance, so I couldn’t help but take her snub personally.

Vance grimaced. “Yeah, don’t mind her.”

“So it’s true?” I probed, disappointed. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No. She just…” he shook his head, stirring his drink. “She needs time to warm up to people, that’s all.”

Sensing that he wanted to drop the subject, I let it go. I didn’t want to step on any toes. I almost commented on the fact that he cleaned up nicely, then didn’t think that was appropriate.

“I finally got a chance to talk to Cole.”

That made him relax. “Yeah, he mentioned that.”

“Whadduya know? I’ve known him almost as long as you have,” I said, sipping my drink. “I wonder if our paths ever crossed that far back.”

Cracking a wistful smile, his eyes unfocused. “You wouldn’t remember me. I was all buck teeth and glasses back then.”

I laughed, trying to picture Vance in his awkward phase, while the waitress delivered our plates. We didn’t even need to order anymore. She knew.

“Were you a Boy Scout?”

“Sure was. Me and Cole,” he said, digging in. “And I didn’t know you had a brother.”

Now it was my turn to dodge the subject. “Yep.”

“And he was in Scouts with Cole and Summer’s dad, too?”

“Mmmhmm.”

“And you don’t like to talk about him?” he deduced with a chuckle.

“There’s a perfectly good reason for that.”

“Which is?”

“He’s an asshole.”

Vance laughed outright. “I have two older brothers. I get the gist.”

I gave him a tepid smile. I’d never met his older brothers, but I seriously doubted they were anything like James. For his sake I hoped they weren’t.

“Have you talked to Gwen?”

“Just for a few minutes on the phone,” I said. “She and Hunter are getting back together.”