Pay Off

Is this what having a BFF is like?

Cole opened the door to Smokey Bean and ushered me inside. Stacey was behind the counter and turned at the sound of the bell signalling a customer.

“Oh Amelia, I’m a coffee lover but have you seen the time? You’re on the morning shift lady!” She smiled at me then her eyes moved to the figure next to me, “ and who is this hottie you have been hiding?”

“This is Cole, my roommate” I gestured to Cole, making sure to put emphasis on the roommate part.

“And by Roommate, she clearly means BFF. We had this chat just five minutes ago Lia” Cole’s face displayed mock hurt.

I laughed and slapped his arm slightly. “Stace, please could I have a cinnamon Latte and ..” I looked to Cole to see what he was having.

“Hot chocolate with Marshmallows and Cream please Stace” The way he so easily used her nickname was just so Cole. Laidback and lovable. The fact he ordered a hot chocolate before bed was adorable.

“Sure, one DECAF cinnamon latte and one hot chocolate coming up” she looked at me pointedly.

“Come on, Stace don’t do this!” I practically begged.

“Amelia, you start your shift in seven hours, and lord knows it’s going to be hard enough going to sleep thinking about this fine specimen sleeping in the room next to you without all the added caffeine” she gestured to Cole. I couldn’t help but hear the light chuckle Cole let out at that.

“I’ve been sleeping just fine for the past four weeks in the room next to him Stacy!” The way I whined I knew I sounded like a child but I wanted the caffeine so bad.

“How about this. You take Decaf now, and I’ll let you have a full caffeine drink on the house when your shift starts in the morning AND one on the house when you leave. How does that sound?”

Again, like a child I jumped up and down squealing, “Deal, Stace!”

Stacey and Cole laughed at me and I didn’t care. The less money I spent on coffee, the more money I could send back to Dad to help out.

As Stacey finished preparing the drinks, I noticed Cole smiling at me from the corner of my eye, “What?” I subconsciously wiped my face, preempting there being dirt or something.

“Your a special kind of girl little Lia, you know that?” He pulled me into a side hug with him and I nestled my head on his shoulder.

Stacey rang up our order and before I could grab for my purse, Cole had already paid using his phone.

“Hey, I was paying!” I protested.

Cole laughed. “My dads a billionaire d**k Lia, he’s paying for this. Now let’s go home shall we?”

Like a petulant child I mumbled, “well I’m paying next time!”

Cole just laughed pulling me back into his side and guiding us out the door. “See you tomorrow Stacy!” I shouted back just before the door closed. Through the glass I seen her smile and wave at us, then she suggestively wiggled her eyebrows at me. I threw my palm over my face and buried it in Cole’s shoulder to hide my embarrassment. She clearly knew I had a thing for him, but being the good friend she was, she had no idea just how out of my league he was.

Once we were in the apartment, I put my drink down in the kitchen and headed straight to my room to change. Simple pyjamas shorts with a cami. Next my hair went up into a messy bun and then I headed to the bathroom to wash my face. I examined my reflection, and despite the turn the party had taken I was still smiling. It wasn’t lost on me who the person was that was responsible for it being there. It would break my heart if he ever found out the truth and walked away from our friendship. In my years on this earth, I had never had a true friend and Cole was quickly becoming the best one anyone could ever have.

After I was satisfied I had all the makeup off, I headed back to the kitchen to grab my drink and then plopped myself down on the sofa, put my drink on the coffee table, threw my feet straight up and leant back against the arm.

I was just leaning my head back staring at the ceiling when Cole came out his room wearing only a pair of sports shorts. “Hey Lia, I know Stace said you were in early in the morning but do you have time to watch an episode with me before you have to sleep?”

“Sure I could do one. JUST ONE though Cole!”

His smile lit up the room as he walked over to the sofa. I was about to move my feet so he could sit when he grabbed them, sat himself down and pulled them down on his lap.

“ I could move them?”

“Don’t be silly. You look comfortable and it’s no harm to me. So seeing as tonight we became best friends, let’s share a secret to each other that no one else knows! We’ve got to really get to know each other now Amelia”

“Okay. Like what? I don’t have many secrets!” I stopped myself from saying other than the one about the deal I have with your father. That would probably spoil the night.

“Well I’ll go first then. How about when I was twelve I stole $1,000 out of my dads safe to see if he would notice. He didn’t, obviously” he gestured as if to say - what you going to do - “so I donated it to a domestic violence charity in his name. He was so confused when he got the thank you letter so I convinced him his accountant must’ve done it for tax purposes.”

“Was this secrets thing just a ploy for you to have a reason to tell me another way in which your just an amazing person Cole?” I rolled my eyes at him.

“No doofus. I just don’t have many secrets and that’s one I didn’t actually tell anybody else. So come on then. Your turn” he lightly poked my foot.

I looked down at the floor. “I had a major crush on you in middle school!” I blurted whilst I threw my hand over my face “now start the show”.

“That’s cheating. I said a secret no one knows about and I already knew that!”

“WHAT!! No you did not!” I practically screamed at him.

“How could I not notice the beautiful girl who was always watching me Lia? And why else would she always be looking at me the way you did! I tried to find out your name the first time I noticed. Asked all the guys and no one else knew you. And then you became a mystery I had to solve. I asked literally everybody and no one could tell me your name. Then after class one day, I seen you talking to Mr Fitzgerald and you laughed at something he said then walked away. So I went over and I asked him your name and he told me. I explained how I’d asked everybody and not one person could tell me your name and I couldn’t understand why. You know what he said?” I shook my head ‘no’.

“He said your family had no money and students here didn’t notice something unless it was or had money. And that it was a real shame as you was one of the most extraordinary students he ever had the pleasure of teaching. And then that got me curious how you could be in the school with no money, it wasn’t a cheap school Lia and it didn’t offer scholarships? And then I seen you again, here, and dad introduced you as a family friend? Dad didn’t have family friends and he definitely didn’t have acquaintances that didn’t have money, that’s why I was so quick to figure out something was going on.”

I quietly replied, “Dad came from money. A lot of it actually. When he met mom, my grandparents were not happy. They gave him a choice. Her or their money. He chose her obviously” I rolled my eyes at the thought of his romantic gesture. “They didn’t cut him off completely, they put money in a trust to pay for my education until I finished high school to give the ‘Wyatt name a chance of succeeding again’. Apparently a real Wyatt would make something of themselves in high school and wouldn’t need a college fund according to my gran. So my grandparents paid for my school but nothing else. All the books and trips my parents had to pay for. They made it work the best they could but it was still obvious I was the poor kid”

“Man, your grandparents must’ve been friends with my dad for sure. He would totally do something that messed up to me. It’s why I’m smart you know. I’ve worked hard to make sure once I get my degree, I won’t need him or his name for anything”

“That makes sense. Dad didn’t see it coming. He met my mom in college. They cut him off before he graduated and he had to drop out. Even now when he’s working double shifts most days to keep going and support Mom, I ask if he regrets it. Of course he says he doesn’t, he’s richer now than he’s ever been before as he has the two most precious jewels on this earth to call his own - you know soppy bull like that” I roll my eyes and let out a nervous giggle as if to say I’m too cool to believe that. But really I love my dad and how he tells me that all the time.

“So that explains how you paid for the school, but please Lia, do explain how on earth you thought I wouldn’t notice you watching me?” His smile lit up the room again. He was loving this!

I threw my hand over my face, not for the first time tonight, and mumbled “do we have to discuss this? I have to go to bed soon let’s just watch some TV OK?”

I think he sensed my discomfort so he double tapped my foot “sure, but you can bet your bottom dollar we are so coming back to this conversation soon!” With that he picked up the remote and started the episode.

I leaned back into the cushion, when I suddenly felt him grab my foot so I shot up a little look at him. He absentmindedly rubbed my feet in the most delicious way as he watched the TV. He didn’t look at me or say anything and it was so heavenly I thought I’d leave him to it so I leant back again to watch the episode. If this is what having a BFF was like, I’m pretty sure I could get used to this.