Dare Me (Dare Me Series Book 1)

Dare Me (Part 15 - Alexis)

"Colby, I don't have the money for a new machine." "Don't worry about it." "I'm not letting you pay for that," I say, removing my apron. He rolls his eyes as he stands by the door. The kid walks through, still looking at his phone, and now I notice he has an earpiece in. Probably half-listening to us and half-listening to music. To be so nonchalant. "Plus, I can't just leave the shop." "Lexi, you have a broken coffee machine." He points. "No one can get coffee. Let's go get a new one and the problem will be solved." He's right. How can I sell coffee with no machine? I have a regular one, but these kids don't like regular coffee. They want espressos and lattes and every other delicious thing. I give in. "Okay. There's a place a few blocks from here that sells them." I slip my phone out of my back pocket and shoot Karen and Becca a text to let them know. "Good. I still haven't had my coffee and I'm getting ill." I scoff. "Getting? You about made that boy cry." "I doubt that." I smirk as I hop into his car, and once he gets in, I say, "I thought you liked your coffee black, anyway?" "You remembered?" he asks. I shrug. "It's my job." He nods, like right. "A guy can't switch it up?" I sigh playfully. "Yeah. I guess you can. So, you haven't had one cup today? You do know it's three in the afternoon." "I'm aware of the time, smart-ass." His lip lifts and he starts the classic. "I didn't grab a cup this morning because I was out. It's Kat's grocery day." "She does your shopping too?" I ask as we ride in Atlanta traffic. He looks over at  me. "Hey, don't judge me. She insists on the shit, and if you knew Lou, you'd know you can't tell her no." I smile. "What have you been doing all day then?" I look at his loose sweats and white shirt. "I've been riding dirt bikes outside of the city." "Really?" I ask, surprised. Damn, Colby on a dirt bike. That's kinda hot. I picture him in riding gear and his long fingers over the handlebars. He's just your friend, Lexi. You don't need or want a relationship right now, remember? My subconscious likes to remind me of shit. She's right, but annoying. "So that's why you look so good." As soon as I say it, I wanna smack myself. I feel my face redden. "I mean, that's why you're in such good shape." He lifts a brow at me with a cocky smirk. Oh my god, that smirk. Ugh. Where's a black hole when you need one? "You think I look good?" he asks with his hand loosely on the bottom of the wheel. "Oh, shut up. It's obvious you're not fat and I've heard dirt bike riding is a workout." We come to a red light and he looks over at me thoughtfully. "Yeah, it is. But I also go to the gym and hit the bag a few times." "You mean punching bag?" I ask. "That's the one," he replies as we head down the road again. "How do you just stand there and hit the bag over and over? Don't you get tired of it?" I'm not sure what I mean by this question. I guess I'd get bored with just standing there and punching a bag repeatedly. We pull into a small appliance store and Colby parks the car. "Easy. I've got a lot of anger built up from years of shit I can't shake." His face pales after he says this, like he didn't mean for it to come out. He rubs his forehead and takes the keys out. "Let's go," he mumbles. Wow, that turned sour quickly. We were just having easy talk and now he seems pissed. His legs are longer than mine so I can't walk beside him. I quicken my steps as he opens the door for me to walk in first. The place is small, and the metal rack shelves are overcrowded, but I swear it's got anything you'd possibly need for a kitchen. We can't walk side by side because of the narrow aisles so I walk in front, wondering what Colby meant by a lot of shit he can't forget and why his mood changed so much. I stop once I get to the coffee machines and scan over each one. "Know which one you want?" Colby asks me. I look back at him. He stands with his hands in his pockets, looking laid-back and emotionless. No sign of playfulness... no sign of anything really. "Yeah." I turn back and slide a box from the shelf. "This one will work just fine." I smile, but he doesn't return it. "Give it to me," he says, taking it from my hands. I follow him to the cashier. This thing costs more than I have, but I'll just put it on my credit card and Karen can pay me back a little at a time. I go to grab my card from my wallet and Colby puts his hand on mine. "Stop." "Colby, I'm not letting you buy this." "Don't piss me off, Lex," he says. I narrow my eyes and see the cashier shift uncomfortably. Not wanting to make a scene, I exhale and put my wallet back up. By the time he puts his card into the machine and gets his receipt, I'm fuming. How dare he talk to me like that. This time I'm walking in front of him. He unlocks the car doors and I climb inside, angerly buckling my seat belt as he puts the coffee machine in the back seat. Colby slides inside himself and starts the car, shifting it into reverse after. I look out the window as we pass by traffic. "Are you pissed off?" he asks. I turn back to him. "What would give you that idea?" I roll my eyes. He looks back at the road, annoyance clear in his tone. "I offered to take you to get a new machine. Why wouldn't I pay for it?" "Because it's not your place to." "Why do you have such an issue letting people help you?" And that comment resonates somewhere deep. Ricocheting off the place inside of me that holds onto years of suppressed feelings and antics I've adapted from the nightmare that was my childhood and teenage years. I was the girl in a full house, yet I was completely alone. I push people away so I don't get hurt. I don't ask for help and I don't want it. I got where I am because of me. "I don't have an issue with people trying to help me." I throw the lie out like it's not one and I don't even care. The thing that bothers me right now is how this guy hardly knows me, yet it's like he has always. He glances over with a curved brow as we pull back up to Mugs and Books. Frustration sits like a brick on my chest and I'm wondering if this friendship is worth the trouble it's starting to become. I also don't appreciate him calling me out on my shit, but I'm not going to admit that. I get out and he does too. As I walk around the car, just as Colby turns around with the box in his hand, I see Becca heading to the door to open it for us. I reach out and grab the box. He looks thrown off, but he lets me have it. "I'm not looking for complicated right now," I say. His eyes widen a tad. "So, if this friendship is going to be that way, then maybe it isn't such a good idea." I shrug like I don't care either way, but as I say the words, something in me wishes I could take them back. "Thanks for the coffee machine." I walk away from him just as Becca unlocks and opens the door for me, leaving him standing there with an expression I can't read, but shit, what's new with this guy?