Hot Mess (LBSC #1) | Completed

Chapter 16

"Are you sure you don't want to run home for a quick shower?" Zoey asked me. She patted her forehead dry with a hand towel. It was the first time in a while that she'd come to yoga with me, and I was secretly glad to see her huffing and puffing through some of the stretches while I was gliding through them with ease.

I sat back on my heels and rolled my neck a couple more times before answering. "This isn't a date, Zoey. I'm going to get the chocolate raspberry eclair that is rightfully mine. Then I'm going to say, 'Thank you' and leave."

Zoey shook her head as she tossed the towel aside and started to roll up her yoga mat. "You're so going to regret it when you see him."

"Not so much," I said. I stood up and pulled my coziest ALF sweatshirt over my head. "I'll see you back in the apartment this evening?"

Zoey shook her head and frowned guiltily. "We're having dinner with Hayden's aunt and uncle."

"Well, maybe I'll see you sometime in the next decade," I said.

Zoey groaned. "Reeeeese."

"I'm just kidding." But really I'm not.

I left Zoey chatting with Daisy and headed to Cuppa to meet up with Javier. I knew I'd be fairly early, but I figured I'd grab a latte and review my self-improvement attempts.

Once I had my drink, I settled into one of the leather armchairs along the wall that gave me a perfect view of the door to the cafe. I pulled up the notes I'd typed on my phone.

Task #1: Find a big girl job. I made a strike through 'EME Open House'. Then I typed "After School Teacher" and marked through that as well. I added "Leasing Consultant" and remembered that Malcolm and I were going to meet up the next day to flush out my resume. Hopefully the third time really would be the charm.

"Hard at work or hardly working?" a familiar, rich voice asked. I looked up to see Leather Jacket–Javier–and forced myself not to react with anything other than a cool smile. Zoey had been right; the man was scrumptious. I must not have seen it through my previous hangry hazes.

Studying his face, Javier reminded me of Wilmer Valderrama, but with long, full lashes that looked they could cause a small child to blow over if he blinked quickly enough. His face was clean-shaven, but his eyebrows were a bit unwieldy, making him look less like an adonis and giving him an air of humanity. His chocolate brown eyes sparkled mischievously down at me.

I hated to admit it, but Zoey had seen into the future; I was regretting my decision to not go home and change. I also hated the fact that Javier's smile produced a not unwelcome flutter in my nether regions.

"The first one," I spluttered. Well, that negated the cool smile. I stood up. "So...eclair?"

Javier gestured to the line, and I joined him.

"So, you like ALF?" he asked eyeing my sweatshirt with curiosity.

"Yeah, it's kind of my thing," I said, playing with the hem of the shirt.

"I love that episode where Uncle Albert visits and dies, and ALF wants to embalm him in peaches."

My hands fell to my sides. I looked at the man standing before me with renewed interest. "You know, you might be the first person I've met around my age that's an ALF fan."

The corner of Javier's mouth lifted as he eyed my sweatshirt. "Well, I don't think I'm quite the fan that you are, but I really enjoyed the little bit of the show I managed to see during my childhood. It was the one thing my little brother and I would watch together without trying to kill each other..."