Hot Mess (LBSC #1) | Completed

Chapter 17

"Maybe there's a big show at the performing arts center. Or maybe traffic's really bad downtown," Malcolm suggested. He scratched his nose nervously.

I threw my hands up in the air and leapt from the couch. "Or maybe no one's coming because this whole idea was stupid in the first place. What were we thinking?" I moaned.

It was Thursday evening and Malcolm and I were in the back room of Cuppa in the middle of what was supposed to be the inaugural meeting of the Late Bloomers' Social Club. After we'd pushed the room's low tables against the walls and moved the mismatched armchairs and love seats closer together I'd made Damien light a fire in the big hearth so the room would feel even more inviting. But there was no point in making everything feel cozy if no one showed up.

According to the fliers we'd put up the posts we made on social media, the meeting should have started thirteen minutes ago but Malcolm and I were still the only two people in the room.

"I've noticed that you like to take credit for everything when it's going well, but the minute things start to go wrong it becomes 'we'," Malcolm said. "Give people a break; it hasn't even been fifteen minutes yet. Besides, you're usually at least twenty minutes late for everything, yourself. Hold out another fifteen minutes before you start to worry."

I did what Malcolm said and gave it another fifteen minutes. Wholly frustrated with the situation, I debated getting up to grab another vanilla latte. A tall, redheaded woman wearing black cat-eye glasses entered the room timidly. She hugged a book to her chest and a lock of flaming red hair fell over one eye. I groped next to me for Malcolm's knee and squeezed.

"Are you here for the Late Bloomers' Social Club?" I asked, rising from the love seat. I tried to tamp down my excitement so I wouldn't scare her away. "I'm Reese and this is Malcolm."

Malcolm gave a little wave from his seat.

The redhead hesitated and shifted her weight. "I was looking for the board game club? We meet here on Thursday nights at six." She paused and took a breath as if she was preparing to walk in front of a firing squad. "Did it move?"

My face fell as I registered the fact that she wasn't here for our meeting. "No, this isn't the board game club and I don't know any details about it."

The girl pushed her glasses back up on her nose before turning back to the room's entrance. "Sorry to interrupt."

I waited until she was out of earshot. "Sorry to interrupt," I mimicked in a squeaky, high-pitched voice. "She was clearly trolling us. She saw there was nobody in here, let alone a group of board game nerds." I sank back onto the love seat and folded my arms over my chest.

"Just take a breather," Malcolm said. "Let's wait a little longer."

"I'm tired of waiting," I whined, but sank back down.

As we spent more and more time together I was learning that Malcolm's quiet demeanor wasn't because he was nervous or awkward in social situations, but because he was confident enough in himself and his values that he was hard to rattle. I continually found myself thinking that he'd be a nice addition to my posse.

We sat in silence for a couple more minutes, me gazing into the flames of the fireplace, Malcolm scrolling through his phone.

A cough startled me out of my daze and I looked in the direction of the cough. A pimply-faced African-American boy who looked to be in his early teens stood at the doorway holding a chess game.

"If you're looking for the board game club you're in the wrong place," I said wearily.

Without another word the boy disappeared into Cuppa proper.