Love Bait

31| Calm before the storm

It's not until the next day that I finally gather the courage to tell Jordan. What with the hurricane watch and the weather picking up, I figure there isn't much time before there's full-blown warning, making leaving the house impossible.

I shower and change, slipping into a tank top and shorts before grabbing my bike. As much as I want to avoid this conversation, I need to tell Jordan about the fundraiser and just get it over with.

Jordan isn't at the New Wave inn, so I head to the cafe next. Overhead, the sky has turned an ominous gray, and there's a warm, gentle static in the air – a storm is coming. I pedal faster, trying to get to the cafe before the first raindrops fall, but I'm not quick enough. By the time I pull up, the sky has opened up and released its fury on the island, soaking me to the bone.

For a second, despite being soaked, I just stare at those same cracked shutters and pastel blue walls. My eyes shift to the peeling paint around the window frame, then drop to the wilting Frangipani flowers. They might not look as zestful as they did when I was little, but the thought of them not being here, even in their current state, feels like a knife to the chest. Dad's right though, as much as I love this cafe, it isn't my mother.

Shoulders back, I head into the cafe and hover in the door, surprised to see it so busy. I'm not sure if it's a lingering buzz from the recent scavenger hunt or the upcoming storm that has caused the surge in business, but either way, both Lina and the other waitresses are running around, trying to keep up. Kali is busy boarding up one of the windows, but he stops when he sees me, blows a curly tendril from his face, then grabs an apron from the counter and throws it at me.

"I don't care," he says when I raise my eyebrows. "Let that city boy come after me. We need your help. Go dry up and help out, will you?"

My hands fasten the apron faster than humanly possible. It seems absurd that anyone would want to work, but God, I've missed this. I grab a towel and head into the bathroom, squeezing out the excess from my hair. When I'm finished, I still look like I've been for a swim, but at least I'm not leaving a puddle in my wake. Straightening up, I head back onto the floor and grab Kali's arm, forcing him to look at me.

"Where's Jordan?" I ask. There's a nervousness behind my voice that isn't like me.

"Not here," Kali says. "Said he had some errands to run and would be back in a little while. Come on, come on, get a move on." He starts hurrying me toward a table, so I roll my eyes, still smiling, and serve the nearest customers.

In some ways, I'm relieved that I get to postpone my talk with Jordan. I get to pretend a little longer that everything is fine, that we didn't just lose our last chance at saving the cafe. I get to pretend that Jordan and I could happen for real and not just in my head.

I'm busy serving tables, having forgotten how demanding some of the customers can be, but I don't mind really. It's nice to be back in my element, to work here one last time before it's sold. It's almost like closure.

When Jordan walks in, time stops. He's wearing a black hoodie with the hood pulled up, shielding his face, but as soon as he yanks it down, my heart flips. It doesn't seem to matter what the weather, he always looks effortlessly handsome.

As though he can feel me watching, he looks over. He smiles like it's the first thing he thinks of to do around me, but it drops just as quickly, something dark clouding his features.

"He knows," Lina says as she walks to her table.

Of course he does, because there's no such thing as a secret on the island. I straighten out my apron, take a deep breath, and start my walk over. He's already over to the counter when I get to him, pretending to clean an invisible mark on the wood.