Dare Me (Dare Me Series Book 1)

Dare Me (Part 14 - Alexis)

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but with your credit, there's no way we can give you the loan." The lady in front of me is too big for the chair she occupies and has judgment in her voice. I argue, "But I have a great down payment. I'm not even asking for more than I have already." "We understand that, Ms. Harrison, but your credit score is just too low, and you have all these student loans on your record." She moves the small fan on her desk so it blows directly on her. "And not to mention all of these credit card bills." "I'm paying them off." "We can see the progress you've made," she says, flipping through the papers in front of her. She shakes her head. "But it's just not good enough. You need to get rid of at least three of these completely and work on your score." She shrugs. "There's just nothing we can do right now. Work on these and then come back to us." I sigh in frustration before standing and grabbing my paperwork. Thunder roars when I open the bank doors, and then the bottom falls out. "Great," I mumble. I walked here. No umbrella and there wasn't a damn cloud in sight. I scrub down my face. Claire had that interview today, and she's got my car. My phone is dead, and this is the fifth bank I've tried so I'm not close to work. Guess I'm getting wet. I put the folder over my head, trying to shield some of the rain, but failing. I walk fast, getting under building ledges and apartment awnings as much as possible. I'm drenched and pissed and annoyed and disappointed. My Converse squeak with every step, and I feel my socks getting wet. Once again, my stupid father has made his mark on my life. My parents instilled in me the mindset that no one wants me. My mom left when I was only a kid. I woke one day and she was gone, leaving me with an abusive father in a run-down piece of shit house. Even after being away from him for nine years, he still somehow manages to mess up my life. I see a car slow beside me in my peripheral, and I turn to look at the '69 beauty. "Get in," Colby says, leaning over the seat. "I'm soaked! I'm not ruining your seats." "Fuck the seats. Get in, Alexis." I exhale and open the door, quickly climbing inside and tossing the folder onto the floor. "What the hell are you doing walking in the rain?" he asks as I manually let the window back up. "Not planned," I reply. "I had something to do, and it took longer than expected with no good end result." "Where's your car?" "Claire needed it for an interview." "You obviously needed it, too," he says, annoyed. "Hey, don't get all attitude-y with me. I didn't think I would need to walk this far away from work." "Why did you?" I pull the wet hair tie from my wrist and lift my soaking wet hair from my neck. "I don't wanna talk about it," I mumble. He looks over at me. "Can I help?" I exhale, gazing ahead like my problem is laid out in front of me. "No. No, you can't." "Come on," he says, reaching over and grabbing my knee. My eyes shoot down and chills crawl. His rough skin grazes my soft and he gives it a lighthearted squeeze, but he has no idea what that little touch is doing to my insides. I swallow as the car grows small. He pulls back and scratches the side of his five o'clock shadow. Clearing his throat, he says, "Friends are supposed to help each other, right?" He places his hand lazily on the bottom of the wheel. "What are you out doing?" I ask, changing the subject. "I was at an auction." "Are you buying or selling?" "Selling." I look over at him, his tats, dark jeans, and short-sleeved black shirt. He gives me a smirk as we pull up to the curb of Mugs and Books. "Thanks for the ride." "Anytime," he replies. "By the way, don't think I didn't notice how you changed the subject." I grab my folder. "Well, maybe I'll get some good news eventually and I'll never have to tell you." I stick my tongue out. "Maybe so," he replies, unenthused. I hold the folder over my head before I run for the door. "Hey, Alexis," Colby yells. I turn around and squint my eyes. "Yeah?" "You working tomorrow?" "I'll be here." He nods. "Okay." "Okay." I reply walking into the shop.

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The next day while I'm beating the side of the out-of-date espresso machine, Karen comes out of the back with her over sized vintage purse and wavy silver hair pinned back. She's the picture of hippy with her stainless steel bangle bracelets. I love that about her, and I love the vibe she gives the place. It's in need of a makeover like something serious. Everything's breaking down and wearing out. I hit the espresso machine again and it makes a gurgling noise, but it's life for her and me. I'm sad she's leaving, but I'm excited for my possible future owning this place. Hopefully, I can afford to do some fixing. Let's just hope you get it first. My chest deflates at the thought that this might not work out. I can't think that way. This is my plan. This has been my plan for years. "I'm going to run some errands. You good here?" she asks. "Yeah," I reply, thinking Becca, the other girl who works with us, will be here later if I need to step out. She smiles and gives me a wink. "Don't let that thing win," she calls out over her shoulder as she walks through the door. It gurgles again and I smack it. "You will not win." I point to it. I hear the bell ding above the door again. "Forget something?" I ask before turning around and wiping my hand on my dark blue and red frilly waist apron. It's got books and cute hearts on it, but right now the only cute thing I'm looking at is Colby. My eyes do a quick scan. He wears light gray sweatpants that hang loosely off his hips and a white T-shirt. Nike's cover his feet. My mouth slightly opens, and I blow a stray hair from my face. It's thrown up in a loose bun today, and I wish I had taken a little more time on it. He did tell me he'd be by, but I didn't think he actually would. "You gonna beat the thing to death, or can I get a coffee?" he asks. I smile because I just can't help it. He fills the place up, just standing in the middle of the room. My stomach swirls with sweet nerves and my eyes go to his full lips. "I wasn't beating it," I reply. He lifts a brow. "Really," I say. "That guy and I have an understanding." I nod back toward the hell giver. "Do you now?" He walks closer to the counter as I stand there with my hands placed on it. "Yep." His expression makes me bite my smile. "What sort of understanding?" He leans his elbow on the counter casually. "Well, he doesn't do what I say and I smack him." His lip lifts. "That's it? No questions asked. No time to hear excuses?" "Nope." His eyes dance between mine. "Does he listen after?" I lift my left shoulder. "Sometimes." Colby smiles. "Is that a normal thing for you? You just go around smacking things that don't jump when you say?" I laugh. "Only electronics. I usually don't hit people." He nods. "Good to know." This close, I notice a small beauty mark on his neck and that his blue eyes have flakes of gold in them. The bell behind him dings and I'm swept out of my trance. Jesus, was I just standing here staring at him? "Hey," I say to the young guy.  "What can I get ya?" He's obviously in college. Band shirt, saggy pants, backpack lazy over his shoulder, and staring at his phone. He hardly looks up as he shoots off his order. My eyes dart to Colby who watches him with an expression I can't read. "Hey," he says over to the kid as I turn around to prepare his coffee, but I peek behind while I'm working. "Hey," Colby repeats and flips the bill up on the boy's hat when he doesn't look up, but that got his attention. "Chill, dude, a'ight?" Colby narrows his eyes. "Why don't you look at her next time, yeah? It's fucking rude to stare at your phone when someone is talking to you." "What?" the boy says. I intervene. "Colby. It's fine." The machine stops working again and I sigh before I hit it. "It's not fine. It's disrespectful and that thing is a piece of shit." "Hey, don't talk about it that way," I say, looking between him and the college prick. "Come on," Colby says. "What?" I ask as I hit it again. The hell giver gurgles once more, but nothing else happens. I exhale. "We're going to get another." "What about my coffee?" college kid asks. "You aren't getting coffee here. Go to Starbucks, a'ight?" Colby emphasizes the last word, making me laugh as he tosses a few dollars onto the counter for the shocked kid.