C H A P T E R S E V E N

I'm currently standing in front of my body length mirror, holding up two different bathing suits and trying to figure out which one I should wear to the beach today. One is a simple black bikini that I bought at a small boutique during a trip to California last year, and the other one is a floral high waisted bikini that I bought at Target.

I've always despised bikinis. Showing off my entire body isn't really something I enjoy doing, but unfortunately, I look hideous in a one piece. I've always envied girls, Jack included, that can pull off almost anything they put on. It has something to do with my height, I think. My 5'9 figure is quite difficult to deal with most of the time, and slipping on a one piece when I have the longest legs out of most of the girls in my high school isn't exactly the best way to go.

So I always just buy two pieces, for the fear of looking a green bean in anything else.

Deciding to live dangerously, I quickly change into my black bikini, tying it up and making sure it's all in the right places. Once it's on, I examine myself in the mirror and smile at my choice. It's not too revealing, and that's just the way I like it. I've never been one of those girls that likes to show off my "goodies" to the opposite sex.

My phone goes off, informing me that I have text message, so I check to see who it is. My eyebrows furrow when I see that it's from an unknown number.

My eyes go wide at the text, and I can't help but growl in frustration. I bet he asked for my number just so he can harass me into working shifts for him.

Not happening.

I let out an angry breath of air, glaring down at my phone. Of course he's treating me like I'm the bad guy, why am I even surprised? He does this every time, and I'm sick of it.

I send him one last text before throwing my phone into my bag and grabbing my keys from my dresser.

☆

"Hey!" Jack says from her spot on the large beach towel she brought, and I can't help but smile when I see that she made room for me.

"Hey." I say back, happy that I get a day of relaxation with my best friend.

"You ready to relax?" She asks, wiggling her eyebrows and I can't help but smile.

"I'm readier then ready." I say, enthusiastically pumping my fists in the air enthusiastically. She laughs, chucking a handful of sand at me.

"You're so weird."

"You just cant handle my exotic personality." I say, playfully glaring at her as I take a seat on the beach towel. She gives me a pointed look.

"If I couldn't handle your "exotic" personality, then I would have ditched you all the way back in the first grade when I would bring you my extra pencil sharpener everyday." She states, bringing her sunglasses to her eyes.

I nod my head. "Yeah, you're right."

"Like I always say. . .I'm right a lot."

We stay silent after that, deciding to just enjoy the soft sound of the rushing water in the distance.

☆

"You missed a spot."

I let out a large breath as I close my eyes, frustrated.

"Oops." I spit out, shooting Quinton an icy glare as I re-sweep the floor. I can just feel the satisfaction radiating off of him as I dump the dirt from the dust pan into the trash can. I stomp over to him after putting the broom in the back room.

I stand in front of him with a glare.

"Coming back for another job to do?" He smirks. "Good, because the windows at the front really need to be wiped down." I roll my eyes at him.

"No," I say, folding my arms across my chest, "I'm here to ask you why you're so rude to me."

He just rolls his eyes at me grabbing the cleaning supplies off the counter and shoving them in my face. "Just do your job, Evelyn."

I snatch the cleaning supplies out of his hands with a glare, stomping off towards the windows at the front. I don't know why he has the right to be this way.

He literally treats me like I was a piece of dirt.

I can feel his glare on the back of my head while I clean the windows, and I can't help but feel insecure with every move that I make, just knowing that he's scrutinizing me.

I hurry to the back once I finish up the task, sighing with relief when I make it back there without getting even one negative insult about my work from Quinton.

"Hey." Percy says to me as he comes out of his office, a smile on his face. "How's business?"

"The usual, but we did get some pretty friendly feedback on our Facebook page today." I state, returning the smile. He lets out a laugh at that, the wrinkles by his eyes appearing.

"That's great. I love positive feedback, it gives me something to look forward to every time I walk into this place." He sighs, shoving his hands into his pockets.

I give him a smile, before silently groaning when I hear Quinton calling my name again from the front of the store.

"Better get out there before he rips someone's head off, we all know how gets when he doesn't get his way."

I nod my head with a laugh as I trudge back to the front.

"What do you need from me this time?" I ask him with a sigh, pushing a hand through my hair. He just rolls his eyes before pointing towards the front book shelf.

I turn my attention in that direction, mentally shooting myself in the head when I see Alex looking through a row of books on the top of the shelf.

I swear, this day couldn't get any worse.

Quinton, being the devil that he is, decides to clear his throat to get Alex's attention before I can make a run for it. I shoot a glare in his direction as Alex turns around, a smile creeping onto his face when he sees me.

"Evelyn, hey." He greets me, the smile on his face only growing larger. I force a small, almost non-existent smile back.

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

"I came to get a book that I've been wanting. . .and I wanted to see you."

"Oh." Is all I can say before I turn around and head into the back to grab a stack of books, returning to restock the shelves.

"Isn't it hard to carry all of those books by yourself?" Alex asks, following me through the store.

I roll my eyes, making sure he doesn't see.

"No, it's actually very easy." I say as nicely as I can as I place them on the floor. Wow. . .people are really into werewolf books.

"That's a good one." Alex says, gesturing to the werewolf book thats in my pile of books. I just nod my head at him, my lips pressed into a thin line.

We stay silent as I finish restocking, and I have to keep reminding myself to stay calm, because if I don't, I'll probably end up strangling him to death for being so close to me. And I would have to suffer the consequences of going to prison for murder.

Quinton seems to be enjoying my torture, from the satisfied look on his face as he watches Alex follow me around.

One day I will dance on his grave.

An hour passes of just non stop following from Alex, so I decide to speak my mind a little bit. "Why are still here? You've kind of been following me around for that past, I don't know. . .hour."

He rubs the back of his neck, obviously nervous about something. "I actually want to talk to you about something."

Oh no.

"Uh, okay." Is all I can say, soon being slightly forced to follow him to the small seating area near the back of the store. He smiles at me, looking more nervous which is not a good sign.

"So, what you said the other day, about us being just friends, really had me thinking about my feelings.

Oh no. What did I do?

"And I realized. . .that I really like you Evelyn. I know that I asked you out before and you said no, but that was a while ago and-" he pauses, taking a deep breath in through his mouth, nervously looking between both of my eyes. "What I'm really trying to say, is that I want you to go out with me." He finishes, a hopeful look in his eyes.

Oh.

If I'm being honest here, I kind of knew this would end up happening again. Him constantly flirting with me and following me around, hoping that I would accept another offer to go out with him. I saw right through him this entire time, just waiting for him to confess his feelings again.

"Listen, Alex." I start, forcing a small smile on my face. "You're a nice guy and everything, but I don't think of you in that way." I say, and the hopefulness in his eyes immediately vanishes. Sadness and rejection replaces it, and I can't help but feel a bit guilty. For what, I'm not sure.

"Oh. . .well, we can still be friends, right?"

Any bad feelings I had before vanish once those words leave his lips, and they're immediately replaced with annoyance. Don't kill me for saying this, but I honestly thought that this would make him leave me alone once and for all. I have no desire to be friends with him, because I know he'll leave me alone for about a week before crawling back and start flirting with me again.

"Whatever." Is all I say, shrugging it off before standing up out of my chair. "Well, it was nice talking to you, but I have to get back to work."

He nods his head before standing up as well, and we awkwardly part ways. He slowly waves to me before leaving the store, and I feel a heavy weight lift off of my chest. Thank god that's over with.

"Is your boy toy leaving so soon?" Quinton asks me, and I turn to see an annoying smirk plastered to his face. I roll my eyes, not in the mood to deal with his games.

"Shut up, he's not my boy toy." I hiss with an angry glare before stomping to the back again.