The Slope Rules by Melanie Hooyenga

Author:Melanie Hooyenga
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Melanie Hooyenga
Published: 2017-02-06T22:30:03+00:00

I’ve never been this nervous to meet a girl before.

Relax. You said she’s cool.

I hate that she might think I went behind her back.

But you didn’t.

You and your logic.

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m meeting Mike for coffee in half an hour. Her reply last night gave no indication as to what she’s thinking. She suggested coffee and I said yes.

For the millionth time I text Wish you were here.

Me too. xoxo

Dad drops me off in front of the coffee shop that’s a block away from the brewery. We didn’t talk about the stolen recipe—in fact, we really haven’t talked since yesterday morning. When I got home from skiing he was on his laptop and I was so tired I passed out right away. I want to ask what this could mean for the business but I’m terrified to find out.

The warm aroma of coffee and fresh pastries greets me when I step inside, but I don’t see Mike. The tables along the windows are all taken so I wind toward one in the back corner, which is probably better for talking anyway, and drape my jacket over one of the chairs before heading to the counter to place my order. While the foam machine spurts to life, my gaze drifts out the window to a car double parked in front of the shop. Mike’s blond ponytail catches the sunlight as she leans over to kiss her mom on the cheek, and everything inside me goes still. My skin burns, tears sting my eyes, and my breath is lodged somewhere in the lower part of my lungs where it’s completely useless to me. It sometimes surprises me how physically acute my longing is to have Mom back. To have the all-encompassing grief replaced with my friends’ casual confidence that their moms will be here tonight, tomorrow, next week.

“Miss?”

I startle at the voice from behind the counter.

The barista is holding out a cup. “Your order?” She says it in a way that tells me I was so zoned out I didn’t hear her the first few times.

I take the coffee. “Sorry. Thanks.”

She smiles and turns her attention to Mike, who’s walking through the front door.

“Hey, I’m over there.” I point at the corner table.

She glances at the table, but doesn’t smile or do anything to indicate that she’s happy to be here. “‘Kay.”

Okay then. I return to the table and stir the whipped cream into my coffee until the liquid is an acceptable shade of light brown. I straighten when Mike sits. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

We stare at each other for what feels like eons, a thousand starts to the conversation storming through my mind, all of them stupid. I take a deep breath. “I don’t really know what to say so I’m just gonna word vomit on you.”

The corner of her mouth quirks.

“I don’t know why we haven’t talked—like, really talked—since my first week here, but I think you’re really cool and I thought we could be friends. I meant it when I told you nothing would happen with Evan.

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