Here With Me (Paloma's Edge) Read Free Page A

“And he speaks Spanish almost as well as you.”
    I shrugged. “My accent sucks.”
    Blanca shook her head. “No. Mariska probably speaks Spanish more often than you do. You know what they say about practice.”
    I nodded. “Maybe Mariska can tutor me.” I got my wallet from my back pocket and took out my business card, handing it to Blanca. “If you wanna see my work, or you want me to draw a design that you may have in mind.”
    Blanca made a noise of approval. I stood up and walked around the table, looming over Mariska for a quick enough moment for me to see her sharp intake of breath. She may have been used to being the tallest person most places she went to, but I was taller. In order to see me, she had to lift up her pretty little head.
    Another girl with alabaster skin, fine blond hair, pink lips, grinned at me mischievously as she handed me the bags of take-out. She had on a regular shirt that was knotted to the side that showed off her svelte body. And I slid my gaze to Mariska, who pretended that she hadn’t noticed. She thought that her co-worker was pathetic for being friendly with me. The other girl was cute and nicer to me than Mariska was. Why shouldn’t I appreciate some harmless admiration?
     
    Mariska
     
    WHEN HUNTER LEFT, JILL whistled. Blanca and the other waitress laughed. After a customer slipped a tip into the pocket of my apron, I looked at Jill. Inwardly, I sighed, and started up front to begin my second shift at the cash register. 
    “Who is he?” Jill asked.
    I’d hoped that Blanca would’ve had Jill do something, so that I wouldn’t have to hear about Hunter for the rest of the day. He already had Beth wrapped around his finger. I’d almost been suckered in at her party by the drawing he’d done on her cake, but afterward, I’d remembered that addicts weren’t only the scary looking people with rotting teeth and skin that mirrored a spoiled orange. No, addicts were also charmers, and Hunter could be one too. He almost seemed like a regular guy.
    He could be drinking alcohol and using drugs again while Beth and Chase began to trust him more with each passing day, but Hunter had the potential to be violent. He could ruin Beth and Chase’s relationship, because she’d encouraged Chase to give Hunter a chance. Jake, Bri, and I had told her not to meddle, but she hadn’t listened to us.
    “My best friend’s friend.”
    She tapped my shoulder and I gazed at her. “Why is he your friend’s friend? Am I missing something here?”
    “His name is Hunter,” I huffed out a harsh breath, “and I keep my distance from him.”
    “That’s a shame,” Jill said with a hint of a laugh in her voice, “Do you know when he’s coming back? It looked like you and Hunter were talking, like friends do.”
    “I didn’t know he was coming in today. I didn’t tell him that I work here.”
    “Would you happen to have Hunter’s number?”
    I paused for a moment. Jill was a great girl. Pretty. Smart. Fresh out of college. She wasn’t some fragile flower that would wilt if Hunter didn’t think of her as girlfriend potential. She’d been the only one who had been willing to switch shifts with me next week, so that I could study more for my upcoming mid-term exams. However, I didn’t want to hear how great, or how bad, her date with Hunter was. I’d seen him look her up and down. I’d be concerned if he hadn’t. Would her team-work attitude go out of the window because of him? What could I do? Not give her his number?
    “I don’t,” I said. “But I’ll try to get it from my friend.”
    Jill flashed me a broad smile. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
     
    ***
     
    BETH STEPPED INTO OUR dorm room as I towel-dried my hair. She dropped her satchel on the floor and came to my side of the room. I leaned toward her and we touched cheeks. She looked as glad as I had been when I’d arrived here after work. As Beth turned around, she kicked off her shoes.
    “Hey,” I said.
    She’d