The Boy Who Didn't Love

25 - blunt brady

a/n: don't skip this note!

let's do a quick mini vote: should i keep the current cover or replace it with the picture above? comment your answer, please and thank you! back to the story—

Ali scrutinized herself in the mirror as she washed her hands. She used the automatic hand dryer instead of the paper towels, then returned to the mirror to quickly fix her hair.

  As soon as she stepped out of the bathroom, she came face to face with a lollipop.

  "You want one?" Brady asked as he held it up in front of her.

  She blinked, then slowly shook her head in amusement. "I'm good. Thank you, though."

  "Your loss," he muttered before unwrapping the Christmas-themed lollipop and sticking it into his mouth. She turned to leave, but he hastily stopped her, stretching out his arm like police tape. He tossed her a toothy grin with the lollipop lodged in the corner of his mouth. "Hey, hold on, city girl. We need to catch up!"

  "Do you just never work?"

  He waved his hand dismissively. "That's irrelevant."

  "Okay, Brady," Ali sighed as she leaned her shoulder against the wall, crossing her arms. She raised her eyebrows at him. "So how have you been? Nice to see that you haven't been fired yet."

  "Not for lack of trying, on Marina's part. But everything's good, I bought ten more packs of lollipops and my hair's been shiny as hell lately. You see it?" he said as he fluffed up his hair, and she chuckled.

  "I actually do."

  Brady nodded. "Of course you do. But anyway, enough about me! What's new with you?"

  "Hm, let's see," she murmured, narrowing her eyes pensively. "Well, I did some shopping the other day with my grandma, and I got a couple good deals. Um, I had a movie marathon too, which is always fun."

  He blinked, not the least bit impressed, and quirked a skeptical eyebrow at her. "That's it?"

  "Pretty much," she replied, shrugging.

  Brady hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should be more straightforward. Fortunately, just as he was about to open his mouth, Marina appeared with her trademark tablet in hand. Her copper red hair flew in his face as she stood in front of him, facing Ali with a bright smile.

"Ali! How are you? I've been meaning to check on you."

  "I'm great, how are you, Marina?" Ali said absently, fighting back a laugh while Brady grimaced in disgust as he pulled a red strand of hair from his face.

  "Good as well. Anything new happen with you lately or—"

  "I already asked her that. Catch up," Brady interjected as he stepped forward, and Marina shot him an icy glare.

  "Well, I meant something we should particularly know," Marina clarified, raising her eyebrows suggestively at her oblivious coworker. "Or maybe someone we should know about."

  Ali remained none the wiser, and after three seconds of silence, Brady let out a frustrated groan.

  "We want to know if you're dating Sawyer or not," he blurted out, and her eyes widened in understanding.

  Marina sighed. "Blunt Brady strikes again."

  Ali pursed her lips, uncertain of how to answer their question. Her eyes drifted over to customer support, where the subject of the matter stood idly as he scrolled through his phone, and she felt a smile crawl onto her face upon seeing him. She watched as he ran his fingers through his jet black hair and let out a yawn. If not for the two nosy coworkers staring holes into her head, she would've let herself look at him for a little while longer.

  "I don't know yet, to be honest," Ali finally replied, and their shoulders slumped in disappointment. She then furrowed her eyebrows as a thought came to mind. "Wait, what made you ask that?"

  "You two seemed to be getting cozy. I could feel the tension from the cash register," Brady answered dramatically, and she let out a breath of relief.

  "Okay, good. I thought you saw us—" she paused, promptly closing her mouth in embarrassment, and they immediately cocked their heads.

  "What? You thought I saw what, Ali?" Brady questioned intensely; Marina nodded vigorously.

  Ali's cheeks flushed, remembering the many secret kisses in the back room. "Nothing! Don't worry about it."

  "Come on—"

  "Huh? I'm coming!" Ali exclaimed to the imaginary voice before she scurried away to customer support, ignoring their calls of objection.

  Brady pouted, the lollipop stick protruding from his lips, and turned to his supervisor in annoyance. "This is going to bother me all day. I probably won't be able to fall asleep tonight either."

  "You've fallen asleep in the middle of bagging groceries while I shouted at you. I'm sure you'll be just fine," Marina quipped before yanking the lollipop out of his mouth. This time, she was met with some resistance as he bit down on the stick, and after a few unsuccessful pulls, she sighed in defeat. He watched her walk away with a grin, swirling the lollipop around his mouth happily.

  He glanced at customer service one last time, narrowing his eyes at the couple as they beamed at each other nonstop, before grudgingly dragging himself to his cash register.