“Who are you?” he asked. His booming voice radiated the same power as his intense brown eyes on me.
“I’m...” My voice box squeaked. “I’m Sang.”
His face softened but it looked like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to believe me yet. “How did you get in here?”
“Luke let me in.”
His lips pursed. Was he mad at me? Maybe I should have gone with Luke for the breaker box.
The overhead lights above us turned on. They were dim but revealed the large expanse of black and white tile on the floor. Most of the tiles were cracked and there were a few missing completely. There was a collection of old mops and brooms covered in cobwebs in the corner. The yellow Formica counter tops went around the entire room, leaving a large space in the middle. There was a normal-sized fridge sitting open and empty, and a single stove, and a double sided sink in the middle. There was plenty of counter space, but I knew no one could run a diner with just one fridge and one oven.
I turned back to the guy, who was looking me over. His eyes went up from my hips to my eyes again. “Sorry I scared you. I’m North.” He was wearing black jeans and boots with a plain black t-shirt. There was a cord around his neck, dangling from it was something in Japanese that I didn’t understand.
“Luke’s brother?” I didn’t mean to sound like I hadn’t heard of him, only he didn’t look anything like his brother.
“We’re step brothers,” he said. “We’re still family.”
I nodded. “No, I get it. I just...” I felt like I was fumbling. His eyes were so intense that it made my knees shake. “He told me about the diner. I think it’ll be great.”
“My brother has unrealistic ideas,” he said, turning around and walking toward the stove. He bent over, opening the door to it and checked the inside.
I stepped up behind him, looking in from behind his shoulder. The oven had a layer of ashes at the bottom. “It could be fixed up,” I said.
“It’ll take a lot of work.”
“But once it was done...”
He let go of the oven door and it closed with a bang. I leapt back, holding a hand to my chest.
He turned to look at me. “It might not work. Most restaurants fail within a year.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. His face was so serious. His eyes held mine. Did he want me to agree with him? To say that there was no hope?
“A good one can stay open for a long time,” I said softly, my fingers lightly touching the base of my neck. “I supposed it depends on how good the food is.”
He blinked at me. “My uncle’s the best.”
“Then what are you worried about? People will taste how good it is and they’ll love it. I mean if you work hard and put your heart into it, who wouldn’t love it?”
His head tilted back sharply and he squished his lips together.
“Hey! You found her,” Luke’s voice drifted in behind me. I turned to see him coming in, his smile still on his face. How different he was from his brother amazed me. “What happened to the curtain?”
“She broke it,” North said.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to.”
North blinked at me again, looking perplexed as to how to accept my apology. “It’s no big deal,” he said in a quieter tone. “Just be more careful next time.”
“I like it like that,” Luke said. “I wouldn’t want anything blocking the natural light.”
Having Luke back in the room eased the tension. I felt my heart calming down a little but I still felt my skin tingling as North continued to shoot glances in my direction.
The phone in my pocket vibrated to life. I had forgotten all about it. I pulled it from my pocket and looked at it.
“Who is it?” Luke asked.
I wondered how much the two of them knew about me and my situation. “It’s Kota. He’s wondering if I can come over.”
“We should go talk to him,” Luke said to North. “There’s not much else to do here. We’ll have to start with cleaning it up.”
“We need to take a few walls down,” North said. “We probably should gut the place before we spend too much time sweeping the floor.”
“Yeah,” Luke said, sounding excited. He pumped a fist in the air. “Let’s break some walls.” He started out of the kitchen.
North rolled his eyes and followed.
I poked at the phone to let Kota know North and Luke were with me and we’d be there in a second.
We found our way out of the building. There was a motorcycle parked near the jungle gym. It looked like the bike had been a custom job. I didn’t see a logo.
“Is that yours?” I asked North.
A dark eyebrow lifted. “Uh huh.”
“Take her for a ride,” Luke said. “I’ll walk.”
“What?” I blushed. “You mean, you’d let me?”
North looked uncomfortable. His hand lifted to the back of his neck, rubbing. “If you want...”
I smiled, nodding. I’d never been on a motorcycle before.
The corner of North’s mouth went up a little. It was so slight but it softened his scary face. Just a twinge. When he did it, he was actually really handsome.
Luke smoothed a lock of blond hair from his face and shoved it behind his ear. “I’ll turn the lights out and lock up.” Luke turned back to the church, disappearing behind the door.
North headed toward his bike. I followed behind him. He stopped short and turned to me. “You’ll have to hang on to me,” he said.
“Is that bad?” I asked, not understanding.
His lips twisted and he shook his head. “I was just warning you.”
“Why?”
Again he seemed confused by my response. I felt like an idiot. I had no idea how to talk to people. He said nothing but moved to the bike and then got on it, kicking back the stand and balancing the bike between his legs. “Come on,” he said, holding his hand out.
He instructed me on how to get on the bike. I dropped my hand into his. Compared to my hand, his was massive, but also warm and in a way, I felt safe that it was him driving. I slid into the seat behind him. It felt awkward because I was wearing the skirt, but the material became tight against my butt as I sat and it wasn’t going to fan out.
“Wrap your arms around my waist.”
I blushed but felt with my hands around his stomach. My palms pressed up to his abdomen. I could feel his smooth strong body through the material of his t-shirt. When I leaned in to press my stomach and chest to his back, I could smell a light, musk scent. It tingled my nose when I inhaled, warming me. My stomach flipped and my nerves jumped. Touching was difficult.
“Hang on,” he said, and he started the bike, the engine roaring to life.
The vibration rattled right to my bones. My fingers dug a little into his stomach, but I tried not to claw him with my fingernails. He felt so big in front of me. My face pressed below his shoulder blades.
He turned the bike in the lot. I hung on with my legs and he took off.
I could only see to the left or right as we passed by the homes as I couldn’t see around him. The strands of hair near my ears fly out behind me.
When he neared the bend in the road, my grip on his stomach slipped as he angled his body. I wasn’t prepared for it.
He moved one hand away from the handle of the bike, grabbing my hand. He pulled it in front of him until he had my palm pressed to his chest. He kept his hand covering mine for a second and then let go to make the turn into Kota’s driveway.
My heart was pounding as he shut off the bike and it leaned as he stepped to hold it up.
“Swing your leg around to get off.”
I did, probably revealing way too much leg from my skirt to do so. I used his arm to hang on to until I was standing and then let go.
He got off the bike, putting the stand into place. He turned to me. “You okay?”
“My legs are tingly.”
He smirked. The sight of his lips like that made my heart stop. “Mine, too.”<
br />
I sat on Kota’s bed with my ankles crossed, the only place I thought I could really sit in the skirt I was wearing. North sat next to me, so close I could feel the warmth of his side on my arm. He leaned back a little. I couldn’t see as I was too nervous to look but it felt like his arm had crossed behind me and part of his arm was very close to nearly supporting my back.
Kota and Luke sat on the floor. Luke was sitting near my feet, almost on top of my right foot. Luke just finished filling Kota in on what they were planning.
Kota seemed particularly interested in this, asking a lot of questions about capital and marketing plans. “It sounds like your uncle has it figured out,” he said, sliding his glasses up his nose. “I suppose you’ll ask the rest of us to fill in shifts.”
Luke beamed. “So you think it will work?”
The question surprised me. Were they seeking his approval?
“You know it means working during the school year. Are you going to keep up with classes?”
Luke nodded fervently. “No problem.”
Kota looked at North. “What about you?”
North shrugged. I felt his arm push gently at my back as he did. “It's the usual.”
Kota’s mouth dipped in the corner. “I mean it. I don’t care if you think you know more than the teacher. This isn’t like...” Kota glanced at me and then back to North. “Don’t go falling asleep during class, even if you know all the answers.”
“I’ll keep up,” North said.
Kota seemed pleased with this. It was as if the whole thing was settled. I admired the way they looked up to Kota and everything, but this was beyond what I had expected. He was giving them instructions. He had a natural leadership, even if he wasn’t the biggest or the most aggressive. However, it had me wondering about this group of guys. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Well,” Kota said. “I’ll call Victor and the others to let them in on it.”
“Where are they?” I asked.
“Victor and Gabriel are over at the school. It’s open today for touring. They’re checking it out before registration and the general open house tomorrow. They’ll be bringing us a couple of maps.”
“It seems like you guys have this down,” I said. “It’s like you’ve done this a lot.”
“We’ve been in the same grade since forever,” Luke said.
“Since kindergarten,” North corrected. “You guys have. I got in late.”
“And Silas,” Luke said. “I think when he moved here, he got held back a grade. Not his fault. It was just the age difference.”
I moved my ankles, switching them around. The action caused me to lean back a little. My back pressed into North’s arm. I blushed, sitting up more and mouthed the words, “Oh, sorry.”
“Relax,” he said. “You can lean against me.”
I wasn’t sure if I should, but the look on his face left my insides quivering. If I didn’t, would it seem like I wasn’t comfortable with him? If I did... well it felt strange to me. I relaxed a little, lightly sitting back, feeling his arm steady behind me. When the conversation turned again to schedules, classes and the school, my mind was whirling, totally focused on North’s arm. Did that mean he liked me? I wondered what Luke thought. Were we friends already?
At one point, Luke grabbed at his stomach. “Is it breakfast time yet? I’m hungry.”
“We can make breakfast,” Kota said. “My mom’s gone to work. What do we want? Pancakes?”
“Do you have chocolate chips?” Luke asked, looking at me with a grin.
North caught the look. “My god, not you, too.”
“Huh?” I asked.
“Luke’s favorite breakfast is chocolate chip pancakes.”
My eyes went wide and I turned again to Luke. “Really?”
He grinned, nodding enthusiastically.
North leaned away from me, falling onto his back on the bed. His hands went up to his face, rubbing, his elbows arching in the air. “You two are terrible. You can’t have chocolate for breakfast.” The edge of his black shirt drifted up slightly on his body, revealing his belly button. There was a line of coarse hair starting from his jeans, making a thin line up to almost where his belly button was. I know I stared for way too long but I couldn’t help it. The sight made my breath catch.
Luke jumped up from the floor. “You can have anything for breakfast,” he said. He held out a hand to me. “Let’s go cook.”
I smiled, reaching out to him. He held my hand as I stood up and then part of the way across the room until we were near the stairs. He let go then so we weren’t tripping over each other on the stairs. Kota came with us on my heels. I spotted North getting up from the bed, looking right at me before I moved down the stairs too low for him to see me anymore.
I could have sworn I saw a smile.
Downstairs, I stood with Luke in the kitchen. I wasn’t sure what to do. It wasn’t my kitchen.
Kota came up behind us and opened up the pantry. He pulled out a container marked as pancake mix. “Sang, there’s butter, milk and eggs in the fridge.”
I opened the fridge, peering in. It felt so strange to be looking inside, like I was peeking inside their drawers. I found the milk and other things, collecting them in my arms and bringing them to the counter. Luke found the frying pan and a spatula.
North came downstairs and leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest, observing. “You need protein,” he said. “Make some bacon.”
“He’s right,” Kota said. “Sang? Can you grab it?”
I went back to the fridge, checked the drawers and found the bacon. Luke pulled out another frying pan and flicked on the heat on the stove to warm it up.
I pulled bacon apart, waiting for the pan to heat up. Kota found a fork for me and then moved away to start mixing pancake batter. I got left in charge of bacon.
“We’ll have to make chocolate chip pancakes part of the diner menu,” Luke said. “Like a special.” He stood next to me, watching as I released bacon into the heated pan and it started to sizzle.
“We’re not serving chocolate chip pancakes,” North said.
“Other diners do it,” Luke said. “And Sang likes it.”
North chuffed.
“You could serve it with fruit,” I suggested. “Bananas? Strawberries? That would make it healthy.”
“I think we have to build the place first,” North said, “before we start planning a menu. Besides, Uncle will make whatever he wants. It’ll be his place.”
“You’re going to work with us, right Sang?” Luke asked, smiling as he lit his burner and slapped butter into the pan so it could melt.
“Um,” I started. How could I promise to work when I wasn’t sure when I could get out of the house? I looked behind me at Kota, who caught my glance.
“We’ll have to see how things work out,” Kota said for me. “I’m sure we can all pitch in when it gets busy.”
“I’d like to help,” I said, poking at the bacon and then using the fork to flip it over. It was easy to picture working near Luke. He seemed nice. North wasn't so bad, either. I thought. If he cared about Luke, and he clearly did, he wasn't all bad and gruff.
I was about to flip over the last piece when some of the hot grease popped and it caught the underside of my forearm. I sucked through my teeth, mostly out of surprise and pulled the fork away, shaking my arm a little to bring cool air to my skin.
“Easy, Sang,” Luke said. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
I felt a hand on my arm and turned to see North holding me, reaching for the fork. He took it from my grasp. He moved forward, nudging me out of the way and taking over the bacon.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I can do it.”
“Don’t worry about it,” North said. “Go help Kota.”
I blushed, feeling like I got reprimanded. Or maybe not? It wasn’t like that. He took over because he didn’t want me to get popped again. He was concerned about me. North’s face was unreadable but
I was touched.
Kota stirred the pancake mix. When I stepped up beside him, he smiled. “We just need the chips. They’re in that food pantry,” he said to me. He nodded to where there was a door at the other end of the kitchen.
I moved to it, finding the chips bag and pulling it off the shelf. Kota was already pouring the batter in the hot pan.
I opened the bag of chips, collecting a handful. When Kota moved out of the way, I sprinkled chocolate chips on top of the batter.
“Yeah,” Luke said. “Get a lot in there.”
“Don’t go crazy,” North warned.
Luke shared a conspiratorial grin with me. He leaned in and whispered. “Put extra chocolate chips in his.”
“I’ll make his a smile face,” I said.
Luke’s eyes popped open. “Oh! Yeah. Do that.”
“I can hear you two,” North said. He started plating bacon and putting more into the pan to cook.
Kota and I stood by while bacon was made and pancakes were flipped. Kota stood so close to me that I felt his warmth from his arm.
He nudged at me. “How’s the phone working?”
“Fine.” I pulled the pink phone from my front pocket. “I’ve never...” my voice cracked and I swallowed, patting my throat. “It took getting used to,” I whispered.
“You should rest your throat,” he said. “You really shouldn’t be talking. Do you need some water?”
“What’s wrong with her throat?” North asked, his dark eyes fixing on me. “Are you sick?”
I glanced at Kota. His eyes darkened. “Might as well tell them,” he said. “They would have found out.”
I sighed. Kota put a hand on my back, rubbing softly as I said it as loud as I was able. “My mother made me drink a glass of lemon juice and vinegar.” It was easier to say than I thought. It was like Kota’s hand on me made me feel brave.
Luke dropped the spatula into the pancakes. He cursed under his breath and then fished it back out.
North appeared stunned. “She forced you?”
I nodded, blushing.
“And it made your throat...” he started to ask but never finished. He fixed his eyes on the bacon. “Shit.”
Kota moved away from me and found a glass and grabbed a pitcher of water from the fridge. “Her parents are pretty strict. So that’s why we need to text only. No calling her house directly or showing up unexpectedly.”