But this time, his words just bugged me. I shoved his hand away from me and pulled my shirt down. “Shut up, Eli. That's messed up,” I told him sharply. Eli looked at me and for once I didn't see the stoned, could give a shit demeanor he typically wore. In fact, he looked almost hurt by my tone. Well, that was just ridiculous, considering he had never expressed an interest in how I felt about anything before.

“In your dreams loser. Now, get the hell out of our apartment so we can get ready,” Riley retorted, turning on her heel and heading into the kitchen.

Eli got to his feet and I followed him to the front door. I held it open for him as he walked out into the hallway. He turned around and took my face into his hands. He cradled me as he gave me the sweetest, most gentle kiss he had ever given me. What the heck was going on?

“I'd like to see you tonight. Are you free?” he asked me. I chewed on my lip, unsure as to what had suddenly changed between us. This was not the Eli I was accustomed to.

“Uh, I'm not sure. I'll have to see if I'm on the schedule at Barton's for the night,” I told him.

Eli ran his fingers up into my hair and pulled me toward him again, giving me another kiss. This one more hungry than the last. “I'd like to take you out. Just the two of us. I don't think we've done that yet.” I shook my head. Dates hadn't been high on his priority list. Getting both of us naked had always been number one in both of our minds. So Eli asking me out had me flustered. And for the first time, I was feeling a little guilty about my interactions with Jordan the night before.

“I'll call you,” Eli said softly, kissing my forehead before making his way down the hallway. I closed the door to the apartment softly and leaned my back against it. I closed my eyes and ran my hand over my face. Eli had left me feeling very confused.

“Lover boy gone?” Riley asked, poking her head around the door to the living room. I nodded as I headed to my room. “I want to leave in fifteen minutes. I've got to head to the library today to start my independent study proposals. Will you be ready?” Riley asked.

“Yeah, just let me jump into the shower. I'll come with you to the library. I have a mountain of work before class on Monday,” I said, grabbing a pair of jeans and a tank top before disappearing into the bathroom.

I took the quickest shower in history and pulled my still dripping hair into a bun at the back of my head. I didn't bother with makeup, so I was ready in seven minutes flat. “Impressive,” Riley remarked as we headed out.

We chatted about nothing in particular as we headed to Barton's. Riley parked around back and we made our way in through the employee entrance in the kitchen. The day staff was on. We hadn't met any of these people, so I had no idea who anyone was.

We stopped at Moore's office and I wasn't surprised to see him sitting at his desk, click clacking on his computer. I could tell he was the type to take his job as general manager very seriously. He looked up when we arrived and gave us a smile. “Good morning Maysie, Riley. Nice to see you. The schedule is tacked up on the board by the expediting station. Maysie, I put you on for this evening. Riley, you have the lunch shift tomorrow. I tried to work around the schedules you guys gave me but if there are any conflicts, let me know and I'll sort it out.”

We both said our thanks and went to find the schedule. Once we found it, we looked for our names and started writing down our shifts. I was working three nights through the upcoming week, which didn't conflict with my classes or my shifts at Bibi's. It seemed Riley and I had opposite schedules and I was bummed we wouldn't be working together.

I couldn't help but look for Jordan's name and my stomach dropped when I saw that we pretty much had the same schedule. Just great. Clearly avoidance wouldn't work. “Looks like I'm being thrown in the deep end this evening. Let's get back to the apartment so we can grab our stuff and head to the library. I've got to be here at 4:00,” I said, trying not to show how freaked out I was at the prospect of working with Jordan tonight.

Riley tucked her handwritten schedule into her pocket and we headed back through the kitchen, calling out our goodbyes to Moore as we walked by.

We spent most of the morning in the campus library. It was dead since most students were away for the summer. I was able to finish the rest of my statistics homework and got a good head start on my biology research paper on natural selection. We went to a deli around the block to get lunch and I sent a text to Eli, letting him know I had to work.

I didn't hear back from him, which wasn't surprising. I guess whatever had been up with his behavior that morning was fleeting. We finally headed back to the apartment around 3:15. That gave me enough time to eat something and get changed for my shift. I went ahead and laid out clothes for tomorrow. I had to open Bibi's in the morning and knew that I would be wrecked from having to help close tonight.

Riley was heading to a movie that night with some of her friends, so she let me borrow her car. My little VW Bug was in the shop with a dodgy alternator. I'd have to use some cash to pay for that now that my parents had closed their wallets. I tried not to panic over how fast I was accruing debt.

I pulled into Barton's and hurried inside. I clocked in and went to Moore's office to let him know I was there. It looked as though he hadn't moved. He was still sitting behind his desk, pecking away at his keyboard. Did this guy ever go home? He gave me a shift checklist and instructed me to go through it. I was to use this as my guide until I got into the swing of things.