Chapter Two

Macy spent the rest of the day looking for the handsome stranger to come back. Every time the bell rang, it was like Pavlov's dogs, salivating as her heartrate sped up with excitement. Only to lead to disappointment when it wasn't him.

Matteo.

He said he'd see her the next day, and she could only hope so. There was a sophistication about him that wowed her. Sure, plenty of businessmen came in for their daily caffeine fix, but none of them could hold a candle to Matteo's magnetism.

When closing time came around, she locked the doors and flipped the "closed" sign. The coffee shop was only available from 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM. She put together the bank deposit and placed it in the safe before cleaning up. She mopped the floor, wiped the machinery, and restocked. Right before she was ready to leave, her boss Amanda arrived, huffing and puffing.

"I'm sorry! Thanks for covering the day. I hope it wasn't too much for you."

Macy shook her head. "No, it was okay. Lunch was the only busy part of the day, but I got through it. How is your cat?"

"Whiskers will be fine. Missing half his tail, but he'll make a full recovery."

Her boss had called her first thing in the morning to tell her that her cat had been in an accident and it needed to go to the vet. Macy had assured her that she could handle the shop.

"Poor thing," she said. "What happened?"

"Somehow, and I have no idea how this was possible, he got his tail stuck in the garbage disposal when he clicked it on."

Macy's eyes widened. "Oh no! That's horrible."

"The blood was everywhere." She shivered with remembered either horror or grossness. "Anyway, thanks, Macy."

"No problem." She smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Yes!"

Amanda beamed at her, and escorted her out, locking the door after she left. Macy glanced at her phone and saw it was almost 4:00. She had enough time to make it home, eat an early dinner, and then head to her second job.

Hurrying home, she ran up the two stories to her small apartment. Living in the city was expensive, and she desperately wanted to leave—move to a small town so her asthma wasn't triggered so much. Find a man to love and settle down with. Start a family. It might not be a grandiose plan, but it was her dream, and like all dreams, it required money, A cash flow she currently didn't have, hence the two jobs.

Macy showered, changed into her uniform, and took her medication before grabbing a quick bite to eat before she headed back out. Macy hopped on the bus that would take her into the downtown area of the city, getting off at her stop. When she walked into the arcade, Tommy Reynard waved at her. Tommy had already been working at the arcade when she'd been hired. From the first moment they met, they knew they were destined to be besties.

"I'll be right out," she told him and he nodded.

She went to clock in and put her keys in her cubby before slipping on her name badge and heading out to the arcade floor. Kids of all ages ran around, tapping their keycards against the machines to play the game. It was loud, bright, and over the top, but a part of her liked all that. She was all alone in the world, so being in the presence of so much chaos pushed that loneliness aside.

"Hey," Tommy greeted.

She lifted her chin up in a what's up gesture. "Did I miss anything cool?"

"A clean-up in the men's bathroom."

Macy laughed. "Glad I missed it."

She moved off to start her shift behind the rewards counter. With each win, the tickets won got uploaded to their key card, making her job a little easier than if they were using paper tickets. Because it was only a Tuesday, it wasn't quite that busy like it would be on the weekend. Tonight, since it was a school night, was mostly young adults.

The night dragged by. Tommy was at the front, loading cards with cash and greeting customers as they entered. During his break, he hung out with her, munching on licorice.

"So, there was this guy today," she said, and took a deep puff of her inhaler, holding the medicine in for a moment before releasing her breath.

"Good looking guy?"

"So incredibly good looking," she admitted, slipping her inhaler back into her pocket. "Tall. Handsome. Gorgeous brown eyes. I'm going to dream about him tonight."

"Sounds yummy. At least you have something for your spank bank."

Her jaw dropped and she giggled. "Tommy!"

"What?" he asked, grinning. "We all do it, darling."

She rolled her eyes.

"Uh oh, heads up," Tommy muttered.

Macy followed his line of sight, giving a little groan as she spotted three gang members entering the arcade. Actually, she had no idea if they were in a real gang or not, but they certainly acted like they were tough little shits. Unfortunately, she'd somehow gotten on their radar, so they came in several times a week to harass her.

"Chica!" said one of the thugs, a Hispanic boy who thought he was a man. A bandana wrapped around his forehead and his pants hung on his waist with a lick and a prayer.

"Mm, mm, mm," said the second boy, looking her up and down in a disgusting leer. She refused to think of them as men. This one was a white kid with hair so dirty and matted it grossed her out. "How about we go outside and I can show you how much your body rocks."

The third punk raised his fingers in a V shape to his lips, flickering his tongue between them, the meaning obvious. Luckily, the security guard wandered over and hung around her counter, watching the three of them.

"Move along," the guard told them.

"Fuck you," the third boy said, and he did one of those abrupt darts forward meant to throw the person off kilter. The guard jumped and the three thugs laughed.

"Get out of here," the guard ordered. "I've called the police."

"Yeah, yeah," the first boy said. "See you around, slut."

The three punks slithered out the same way they had slithered in, laughing and doing rude hand gestures. Tommy walked up to her counter.

"You okay?" he asked her.

She nodded, and then looked at the guard. "Thank you."

"When we close, I'll keep a look out for you until you get on your bus," he said.

She let out a relieved breath. "I appreciate it."

The rest of the evening ran pretty smoothly. By the time the arcade closed at 11:00, the yawns were hitting her hard.

"Maybe if I get to bed by midnight, I can get a good four and a half hours of sleep," she said.

Tommy shook his head. "You're running yourself into the ground."

She shrugged. "I catch up with sleep on the weekends."

"Not the same, and you know it."

"Yeah, but I need to work. Medicine isn't cheap when you have a high deductible."

"That fucking sucks."

The guard stepped out and kept watch until she hopped on the bus. She waved at him, and he gave her an acknowledging nod before closing the arcade's door and bolting it shut.