I managed not to embarrass myself again for the next hour. One other person had come in, not to order anything, just to take advantage of the A.C. while they waited on their Uber.

Nate played his game, the only sounds that came from him were frustrated sighs and curses under his breath.

I shuffled around the shop. Sweeping imaginary dirt and wiping down spotless tables. Anything to keep myself busy and to not dwell on Nate overhearing me call myself his babysitter.

After my third time around the shop with a broom I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my socials. Anything to fight of my complete boredom.

Hopefully Aunt Mimi came back soon to take over. I got the feeling Nate was getting restless and overly frustrated with his game. He might've tried to talk to me and after him basically calling me fat and then the babysitter thing, that was the last thing I wanted to have happen.

The soft jingle of someone entering the shop made me sag in relief.

"Wow, don't think I've ever seen this place so packed." Vanessa walked in, heading straight for the cookies. It was sad how true that was.

Nate looked up from his game, his gaze following Vanessa as she walked across the room. And why wouldn't he be staring? Vanessa was gorgeous. And thin. With flawless mahogany skin and big, brown, expressive eyes.

She could've had her pick of boyfriend's if she wasn't so focused on school and her future career of being a dentist. She'd known what she wanted to be since she was a kid. The only seven year old who treated a trip to the dentist like Christmas morning.

Now that we were incoming seniors, Vanessa really wanted to buckle down. Aside from some harmless flirting, she had a one-track mind. I admired her work ethic as it rivalled my own.

"Hey, Nate," she said breezily walking over to the counter with her oatmeal raisin cookies. Paying then instead of after she'd eaten a cookie or two like she did with my aunt. "What are you playing today?"

Why was I even surprised they knew each other to the point of casual conversation? She had kept her promise to show up at Cake Me Up more frequently to stalk Nate.

I stopped sweeping, returning the broom and dustpan to the small closet over on the salon side of the shop.

When I returned, Nessa was leaning on the glass counter top, looking down at the screen of Nate's game. The two of them laughing. I wasn't aware Nessa even like video games.

"Oh, Charm!" Nessa walked over to me linking her arm through mine and lead me back to the counter. "I was just telling Nate about the concert in the park tomorrow."

Nate looked amused by my friend's obvious flirting. "And I was just about tell Vanessa that I have a girl."

Nessa's surprised expression probably mirrored my own, though, I figured we had different reasons for our shock.

The main thing that went through my head was if his girlfriend's name was Princess Peach. I couldn't picture him giving another human being the same amount of attention he gave his game.

"Nate, you're killing me," Vanessa pouted, shoulders sagging with exaggeration. That only expanded his ego, judging from his smug smile. "How long? Is it serious?" She was no longer flirting, just being her usual nosy self.

"It'll be a year in July," he said, picking lint off his shirt. "She's in Greece for some school thing this summer."

Convenient, I thought. She had to be made up. Either she was imaginary or everything in the world was a lie. Because how?

Nessa's eyes went wide. "What school out here is sending students to Greece? And how do I transfer?"

Nate chuckled, drumming his fingers on the glass counter top. "Cal State."

"She's cultured and older?" Nessa listed off before dramatically burying her face in my shoulder. "I never stood a chance."

I rolled my eyes, shrugging her off. "You're getting crumbs everywhere."

Nessa raised her brows at me as Nate handed her small, white paper bag for her cookies. "What's up with you?"

That was a good question. My irritation started with Nathaniel and his dumb comments when I first got there. But I was mostly annoyed with my aunt and how she acted like she didn't care about Cake Me Up.

She should've been there doing everything in her power to keep it opened.

The twinkling from the door, thankfully, distracted Nessa so I didn't have to explain myself.

"Sorry, I'm late," Aunt Mimi said, rushing in like a cotton candy tornado. She wore a pink dress that day, with white clouds printed on it. "How'd everything go?" She directed that question to me and Nate noticed, an amused glint in his eye.

"Great," Nate answered for me. There was that stupid, ass-kissing smile. "Made two sales."

Aunt Mimi casted a knowing glance at Nessa. "You're single handedly keeping me in business, Vanessa."

They laughed at her joke, but I wanted to scream. There was nothing funny about this place only making two sales a day. I chewed at the inside of my cheek, trying to keep my mouth busy so I didn't cause a scene.

The bell above the door rang again. Nate's mom walked in. Things began clicking together. The slight flush of Nate's mom's cheeks. The way my aunt couldn't make eye contact with her. The two of them were together. The two of them hooked-up.

It was good to know what Aunt Mimi's priorities were.

I had to leave before I said something I would've regretted. I was unchaining my bike when Nessa's shadow engulfed me.

"Look, I get it," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm upset about Nate's girlfriend as well, but—"

"Nessa!" I said through gritted teeth, glancing through the store front of Cake Me Up. Just behind the pastel logo stood my aunt, Nate, and his mom, the three of them chatting it up and laughing. They weren't paying any attention to us, thankfully.

"Seriously, C, what's wrong?" Nessa asked, walking along side me as I pushed my bike down the sidewalk. "You have like five minutes to tell me everything before I have to get back to work. Or you can tell me at this concert."

We stopped at the corner where we had to go our separate ways. Nessa back to the dentist office, me to my house a few blocks away. The lunchtime traffic was heavy and we practically had to shout to be heard over the sounds of cars zooming by and honking their horns.

"Why do you go to those? The music is always trash."

"You're just being grumpy." She poked my left cheek with her left hand. When I swatted her away, she switched to the right, going back and poking my nose when I had both cheeks covered.

"Stop!" I said, laughing despite myself.

"So, she does smile?"

Nessa and I both whipped our heads in the direction of the voice. Nate was walking towards us. He had on a different shirt, one that had a tropical pattern all over it. His Switch was, as always, in his hand. And so was the backpack I'd forgotten at the shop.

"Your aunt told me to give this to you." He held it out to me. "And I think she's with my mom. Like, romantically."

I nodded, slowly, as I took my backpack from him and slipping it over one shoulder. "I noticed."

"Cute!" Nessa sang, grinning wide. Then she sighed. "Summer couples are so cute. Do you and your girl have an open relationship?"

My eyes nearly popped out of my skull. "Vanessa!"

"Charm!" She mocked, giggling. "I'm just playing. I have to go back to work, your dad's letting me sit in on root canal."

I felt my face scrunch up at that. She looked way to happy about it, a noticeable bounce in her step as she walked away waving to us. "See you at the concert tomorrow!"

"Probably not," I shouted at her retreating back.

I started for the crosswalk, pushing my bike along. Nate fell in beside me. "I wasn't calling you fat earlier."

"Right," I said, picking up my pace. I didn't want to hear whatever he had to say. Unfortunately, the cross light was red.

"Seriously," he said, ducking his head so I was forced to look him in the eyes. He was entirely too close, but I couldn't get myself to back away.

He had a scar above his right eyebrow and light freckles on his nose, cheeks, and forehead. Sweat had begun to bead at his temples. He kinda smelled like coconut. It might've been his hair. I blinked and shifted my gaze to the still red crosswalk light.

"I'm not that type of person," he said, placing a hand on his chest in an attempt to look sincere maybe. "I don't know what I meant when I said you were hard to miss, but that wasn't it. Sorry."

He didn't move. Instead, he looked at me expectantly, like time was paused and wouldn't restart until I accepted his apology.

"Okay." I croaked out, my throat suddenly dry for some reason.

There was a hint of a smile at the corners of his lips. "Cool." He backed away then, looking out at the crosswalk, said. "Light changed."

That broke whatever spell had my brain all fogged up. I started across the street and Nate followed, staring down at his game.

"That's extremely dangerous," I said once we made it to the other side.

He looked up at me, a smirk on his lips. "You're take this baby-sitting job seriously."

I threw one hand up in the air, the other one still pushing the bike. "Whatever. Walk into traffic with your eyes closed for all I care."

He laughed to himself, staring down at his game again. I had to admit, he was kind of an expert at the whole walking and playing his game thing. He didn't even trip over the cracks in the uneven sidewalk. How did he do it? I'd walked that path nearly every day of my life and still tripped sometimes.

Also, why was he still following me? Unless, he wasn't. I didn't know him. Maybe he lived that way as well.

We were coming up on the park that I rode my bike through to get home. Something about riding down a path lined with trees made me feel like I was in a movie.

How exactly did I end this... whatever it was? Just say bye, hop on my bike and go? That sounded like the best option.

Before I could say anything, someone else did. I held back a groan as Kailand Wilson jogged over from the basketball courts calling out my name. He was shirtless, his dark brown skin glistened with sweat.

I stopped pushing my bike, despite the urge to hop on it and peddle off as fast as humanly possible. "Hey, Kai."

He stopped in front of me, hands on his hips as he tried to catch his breath. It was like ninety degrees, why on earth would they be playing basketball?

He squinted in the bright light of the sun as he looked down at me. "Are you coming to concert tomorrow?"

That concert was one of the absolute last places I wanted to be, only second to in my dad's office watching someone get a root canal. Kailand was the drummer of Left Unsaid, one of the bands set to play that night. And watching girls drool all over that asshole was not on my to-do list.

Kailand and I brief...thing.

We made out in a limo at junior prom. And at every available opportunity we could sneak away during school hours. It was a fun little secret just between the two of us.

Before the last day of school he gave me some BS about not wanting to start anything serious. Which roughly translated to: I liked hooking up with you private, but I don't want to be seen with you in the light of day.

Unlike with Nate, I wasn't miss interpreting his meaning. No less than two days later, he was posting pictures of him kissing another girl on his Instagram. A thinner girl.

So, yeah, cheering on Kai and his band while they played their whiney r&b infused rock music was not how I wanted to spend my time.

"Nope."

He glanced around before leaning in. That was when I noticed Nate never stopped. He was still walking down the path, hunched over his game, almost to the park exit on the other side.

"I need my shirt back," Kai said in a whisper, like someone finding out I had his shirt was the worst thing in the world.

I knew exactly which shirt he was talking about. He spilled barbeque sauce on it during lunch before we met up in the empty choir room where we usually hooked-up.

I made him take it off because I didn't want to ruin my own shirt. He had a tank on underneath and that was what he ran out of the room wearing when the choir director, Mr. Simons, came back early from his lunch.

Looking back, that should've been my first clue that Kailand Wilson was complete trash. But he was also the only boy who hadn't looked straight pass me to Nessa. He made me feel special.

After a sad excuse to Mr. Simons about why I was trespassing into his classroom, I left with Kai's shirt stuffed in my backpack.

I was going to give it back to him. Then the "I don't want anything serious" talk happened. Now the shirt sat washed and folded in my bottom drawer.

But he wasn't getting it back after what he did to me, so I shrugged. "What shirt?"

"The Blink 182 shirt," he said as of those words made any sense to me. Kai had an extensive collection of band T's and I never bothered to learn a thing about them. Despite him always trying to sending me Spotify playlists of his favorite songs.

I pressed my lips together, pretending to think about it. Then and idea came to me. "Is it black? With, like, a yellow face on it?"

He nodded, hopeful. "Yeah."

"Oh..." I frowned, looking away and trying my hardest not to laugh. "I think I might've donated it."

He stared at me, jaw going slack. "Donated? To who? Why would you giveaway something that wasn't yours?"

I shrugged again, biting the inside of my cheek in an attempted to keep a straight face.

"That was my favorite shirt, Charm!" He was mad, a deep line in-between his brows. I was going to crack. So, I mounted my bike, and began peddling away.

"Sorry!" I yelled over my shoulder, not meaning it one bit.