Something Gained (USC Series Book #1)

chapter five

SOMETHING GAINED
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BROOKLYNN

My shift at the cafe is ending in half an hour and those 30 minutes couldn't be coming any slower. All I wanted to do was go home and take a long, scalding hot shower and cuddle up into bed.

It was Wednesday night and I'm at my last shift this week at the cafe. I love working here but on nights like tonight when there's nothing to do except clean; I fucking hate it.

Luckily, I'm not alone. I have a co-worker—and a close friend—Daisy that is suffering this torture alongside me.

After what feels like hours, my shift finally ends. I sprinted out of there before anyone could even blink my way.

The sweet aroma of vanilla entering my nostrils the second I planted myself down in the car.

For as long as I can remember, I've had the biggest pet peeve of things smelling bad. I have scent diffusers everywhere. Brinley says I'm crazy for having this obsession to have everything smell good. I know, deep down though, she is thankful we don't have a smelly house.

The drive from the cafe to Brin and I's apartment didn't take too long. The roads tonight were pretty bad, which I expected. It had been drizzling all day. Small puddles scattered the roads and paths all around the small town of Haven Valley.

The familiar brick apartment complex came into view as I turned onto our street. The dull street lamps cast a soft glow onto the asphalt. I parked my car, exited, and rushed inside, ensuring I didn't get too wet by the downpour.

The addictive smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies flooded my senses. The scent swam around our entire apartment. Brinley and Ben's friendly faces were both sitting in the living room, cuddling. Both heads turned towards me as I walked in.

"Hey Brooks, how was work?" Brinley asked. I had texted her halfway through my shift, telling her how eager I was for it to end. I'm guessing she already knew the answer she was going to get.

"Tiresome," I groaned out, kicking my shoes off at the doorway.

I have no clue why I wore these boots to work today. They were brand new, and they did nothing but give me blisters the whole time.

"Don't worry about me, though. I'm just going to have a hot shower and doze off. Goodnight Brin, goodnight Ben," I say, a tired smile tugging on my lips as I wandered off towards our bathroom.

I heard them mutter goodnight back. And I'm assuming they went back to whatever they were doing before I interrupted.

I flicked on the shower and discarded my dirty work clothes. Flo's, the cafe I work at, insists on all their employees wearing these stupid vintage outfits that the servers wore in the '80s. The red dress with a white apron tied at the front matched the whole vintage vibe the cafe was going for.

The second the scorching hot water came into contact with my back, I tried my best not to let out a groan. My muscles relaxed and I could feel all the built-up stress from the past few days washing away.

I still had no idea what I was going to do about that humanities assignment with Aidan. And considering that I do not know what we are even meant to be doing, it may prove to be more difficult than I expect.

Aiden and I had exchanged a few brief text messages since our last conversation. He had informed me that he asked around, like he said he would, and found out what the assignment was about, but that was about it. He revealed little else.

I'm kind of nervous about tomorrow afternoon, not gonna lie. Truthfully, I would've much rather met up at the campus library or something to work on it. But he didn't give me much of a say in where we would work. All he did was zone out, then tell me to meet him at his place Thursday night.