The After Girls by Leah Konen Read Free Book Online Page B

confused.
    “Ella,” she said, standing up straight as soon as she saw her, her blue eyes opening wide. “I didn’t expect
you
to be here.” Her voice was sugary and sympathetic and fake. Like,
Oh, you poor baby. How hard it must be.
There was polite, sure, but Ella hated fake.
    “I still work here,” Ella said, crossing her arms in front of her.
    “Well, yeah,” Becky said. “I know. I just can’t even
imagine
how hard this must be for you,” she said, wrapping Ella in a bony hug. She pulled back, looked her straight in the eyes. “We just all loved Astrid so much. I just never would have expected this from her.”
    Jake stepped out from the back in time to save her, and Becky immediately forgot her sympathy speech. Her concerned face softened, turned to the beginnings of a smile.
    “Hi,” he said. “You’re Becky?”
    Full smile this time: “Yeah.”
    Then she shot a look at Ella, like,
You didn’t tell me a hot guy started here.
Apparently her sadness about Astrid hadn’t lasted all that long.
    Ella ignored her and headed to the back to get an apron. Becky throwing herself at yet another cute guy was just too much of a train wreck to watch. She pushed the door open slowly, breathing a sigh of relief when she realized no one else was there. No Claire. No Grace. Today would be at least a little less heart-wrenching than the one before. She grabbed her apron and knotted it tight at her waist.
    “We still have to brew all these pots,” Jake said as soon as she was back up front. “The tables need to be prepped, the counters cleaned, the pastries are in the back, and I’m getting the register together.”
    “Of course,” Becky said. “Where should I start?” She looked at Jake like she’d looked at pretty much every guy on the football team at one point or another. A look that said,
I’m interested. I’m available.
    “Why don’t you brew?” Jake asked, without returning her look. So far he seemed immune to Becky’s charms. One thing, at least, to count in his favor.
    Ella set to work scrubbing as Jake counted out the bills. Soon, the place was bustling, the three of them taking turns at the register and at the espresso machine. They didn’t talk about the day before — it was too busy to talk about much.
    Around one o’clock there was a lull. Ella was wiping down the espresso machine — she wanted to get it nice and clean before the next rush. Jake was quiet, changing out the tip jar. Becky was dramatically wiping down a few tables.
    Ella thought about the day before — she hated what Jake had said, but at the same time, she knew that he never would have said it unless he really loved Astrid. And it was nice to be around someone who cared about her, not someone who felt compelled to say sorry, like Becky. Or someone who would promise to be there, like Ben. Someone who really, truly missed her — maybe not as much as she and Sydney did — but some.
    Before she could change her mind, she cleared her throat. She was no good at olive branches but she might as well try. “You like music?” she asked, and immediately she regretted it. What kind of question was that?
    “Me?” Jake asked, even though it was so completely obvious that it had been directed at him.
    “I mean, do you like going to see music?”
    Jake nodded all big and dramatic. “Uh, yeah.”
    Ella smiled, recovering. “My friend, Sydney,” she said. “Well, she’s — she was — ” Jake winced, but she kept going, “Astrid’s friend, too. Anyway, she’s in this folksy kind of band and they’re playing tonight, and — ”
    “I’d love to go,” he said.
    “Oh, I mean,” Ella felt the blood rush to her face. She hoped that he didn’t think she was hitting on him. She was no Becky. Plus, she had Ben.
    “You’re asking me, right?” he asked.
    “Uh, yeah,” she said hesitantly. Inviting him and letting him know about it were two different things. “I mean, and Becky, too,” she said. “If you guys want