Hometown Girls: Beginnings (Hometown Girls Series Book 1) Read online

  Using the walls on both sides of the pipe he climbed up the pipe like she did, except he did it with ease.

  “What are you, part monkey?” she asked giggling once he was safely on the roof.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said smiling and grabbing her hand. “Come on. Stay down so we don't get caught,” he said, bending over and walking along the top of the old roof until he found a spot just right. “I'm sure we'd get into some serious trouble if someone caught us up here.” He laid down on his back on the warm metal roof and stared up at her. “Come on, lay down with me.”

  She did as he said and stared up at the expansive sky above her. The late August sky was so blue with hardly a cloud in sight. The slight wind blew through nearby trees and prickled her skin, but she didn't seem to notice, or care. She turned to him smiling. “This just might be the coolest thing I have ever done.”

  He rolled over on his side and brushed a long strand of blonde hair back from her face then brought her chin toward his and softly kissed her lips. He inched closer to her, grabbed both sides of her face and kissed her hungrily with a need coursing through him; a need that always seemed to find him whenever he was with her. She closed her eyes and moaned as jolts of electricity fired through her. He wasn’t the first boy to ever kiss her like that, but no one had ever been able to make her heart quake and her nerves stand on end the way that he could.

  He pulled back and delicately brushed the side of her cheek with the back of his hand and kissed her tenderly on the lips one last time.

  “I love you, you know that?” he said and she knew he meant it.

  Unable to speak from the building emotions being lodged into her throat, she nodded her head ‘yes.’ Of course she knew.

  With his words she was struck for the second time in one day that as long as she was wrapped in his arms, the boy she loved more than anything in the world, all would be right in her little world, no matter what.

  She stared up at him with so many emotions coursing through her. She knew with definite certainty that she would never love anyone as much as she loved him, not now or ever.

  Chapter 4

  The next day at school Katie hurried into Spanish class and sat in the desk beside Daniel before anyone else could.

  “Hey Daniel,” she whispered.

  “Hey right back at ya,” he said without even looking at her, too focused on whatever it was he was writing.

  “I was wondering, you still work at the Dairy Freeze don’t you?”

  This got his attention. He looked at her curiously. “Yeah, why?”

  “Would y’all happen to be hiring?”

  Mrs. Ruiz, the Spanish teacher, walked through their row of desks causing them both to jerk up straight.

  “Good morning, class. I expect you to be in your seats with your mouths closed and listening to me only, because from here on out every word spoken in my class will be spoken in Spanish. Comprende?” She was a known stickler for order once her class began, but it didn’t deter Katie.

  When she was gone, Daniel leaned over and whispered, “I’m not sure if we are or not. I can talk to my manager today when I go in.”

  She smiled and nodded her head.

  He sat up straight and thought about it for a minute. “Hey, if you want, you can give me your phone number and I’ll call you or have him call you.”

  “Thank you. That’ll be great,” she said and wrote her number down on a piece of paper then handed it to him. She sat up in her desk, smiling, and feeling hopeful.

  * * *

  Daniel was true to his word and talked to his manager, Chris, as soon as he got to work and called Katie with the news right away.

  “Hi, can I speak to Katie?” he asked into the phone.

  After a little pause Katie’s throaty voice floated over the line. “Hello?”

  “Hey Katie, it’s Daniel.”

  “Hey Daniel, what’s up?”

  “I just talked to my manager and he asked if you could come in for an interview?”

  “Seriously?”

  “As a heart attack.”

  “Of course I can. When?”

  “Umm, is now too soon?” he asked with a nervous chuckle because if dating Marissa Lou taught him anything, it was that girls took a long time to get ready for anything.

  “Now!”Katie asked panicked. “Let me freshen up a bit. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Awesome, I’ll let him know.”

  “K’,bye.”

  “Bye.”

  * * *

  Katie, having changed into a comfy pair of cotton shorts and a tank top when she got home from school, quickly changed into a pair of black pants like she’d seen other employees at the Dairy Freeze wear, and a solid white t-shirt, and hurried out the door.

  The Dairy Freeze was a few miles away from her house in the middle of town. It was a popular hangout for teenagers. Any day, especially on the weekend, you could find the parking lot full of cars and teenagers mingling in groups. Leave it to a little town like Bayboro to have such an old time hangout spot be popular. She was sure if she asked her parents they would say they went there as kids as well. The thought made her groan. Country life was the perfect way to grow up, but she wanted bigger and better things; tall buildings, bustling sidewalks. She was a country girl at heart, but her soul craved the city life. So much so, all the colleges she had on her list to apply for this year were in big cities. This job would help with that dream.

  When she reached the parking lot, she parked in the lot beside it. It was designated for the bank, but it was closed at that time of day so no one ever said anything when people did it. She waved to a few people she knew while hurrying inside.

  She spotted Daniel at the counter immediately and rushed up to him. “Heya, Daniel. I hope I’m not too late. I tried to hurry and…”

  He held up a hand. “Woo, hold up. It’s okay.”

  “Oh good. I really need this job and would hate to screw it up before I even get a chance to call it mine,” she rambled on with hyper, nervous energy.

  “Again, relax, you’re fine.”

  She smiled at him nervously and took a deep breath to calm her racing nerves.

  “You good now?” he asked, watching her amused.

  She shook her head ‘yes’ and gave him a thumbs up and a wide cheesy smile.

  “Okay, good. I’ll let Chris know you’re here.”

  “Thanks,” she said and turned around to see who all was there. It seemed like everyone from school was outside in the parking lot, surprisingly, including Becca. As if reading her mind, which was completely possible with Becca because let’s face it, anything was possible with her, she turned in Katie’s direction, smiled big and waved. She waved back before turning around toward the register just in time to watch Daniel and his manager, whom she assumed was Chris, reemerge.

  “Hey, Katie?”

  “Yes,” she said nervously.

  “I’m Chris. It’s nice to meet you,” he said holding his hand out for her to shake, which she did. “Come on, let’s go over there to talk where it is quieter.”

  “Okay,” she said and when Chris turned to walk away she quickly turned to Daniel with a panicked look on her face.

  “You’ll do fine,” he mouthed encouragingly.

  She nodded and turned around to follow Chris to a corner booth, far enough away from the chatty kids, even though most people normally opted to hang outside in the parking lot rather than inside.

  “So, Katie, Daniel tells me you are looking for a job,” he said as soon as he sat down.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Chris laughed and instantly she felt offended. “Please, just call me Chris. I’m too young to be a sir.”

  She quietly nodded her head. He did look young, maybe in his early twenties.

  “Have you ever worked before?”

  “No, I’m in high school and that has kept me pretty busy, but I have more free time this year.”

  He tapped his ink p
en on the note pad in front of him and stared at her curiously.“So what makes you think you could do the job here?”

  Katie thought about the question for a minute. “Well, I learn fast and I’m a hard worker.” With confidence she placed her arms on the table and leaned forward. “Besides that, I have gone to school with most of your customers since I was little. I’m one of them. I know what to expect and what they want.”

  He stared at her, pondering what she said. “Tell me, Katie, why do you want this job? It’s your senior year of high school. Why not just hang out and have fun with your friends?”

  His words stung and broke her confidence. She leaned back in the booth and she looked down at her lap. “Chris, I know I don’t have any experience working and I know I should be having fun and enjoying my last year with my friends, but I really need this job. College is just around the corner and I want to get out. The only way I’ll be able to do that is if I save extra money.” She looked up at him sadly. “Please, I really need this job.”

  Chris quietly stared at her for what seemed to her like a lifetime. “I guess it’s your lucky day then because I just so happen to need someone.”

  “Oh my God, really?”

  He held up a hand like Daniel did when she first got there. “Not so fast. The hours are going to suck and it won’t leave much time for you to see your friends.”

  She waved her hand at him. “They all come here anyway. I promise, you won’t be sorry,” she said jumping up out of the booth. She began to walk away but stopped and turned around. “I forgot to ask, when do I start?”

  “Enjoy your night tonight. Kiss your childhood good-bye and be here by five tomorrow to start training.”

  “I will. Thank you again,” she said and squealed as she rushed up to Daniel, grabbed him by the shirt across the counter, pulled him toward her and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I got the job. Thank you so much for helping me,” she said into his ear before releasing him and rushing out of the restaurant to tell Becca the good news.

  “Anytime, Katie,” he said to her disappearing back, a wide smile plastered on his face.

  Chapter 5

  “I hear you got Katie a job at the Dairy Freeze with you,” Marissa Lou said leaning into Daniel, her bare, tan legs stretched out to the dashboard of his car.

  “Yeah, she asked if I would look into it. Really, the only thing I did was ask my manager if we were hiring and gave him her name and number. She got the job on her own.”

  Marissa Lou stared out at the water without responding. After her and Daniel’s individual practices were over, they drove to the Bluffs together for some alone time before he had to go to work. It seemed like private time was far and few between those days so they stuck to this routine as much as they could.

  “Do you think she’s pretty?”

  Daniel looked down at the top of her head curiously. “What do you mean?”

  She pushed up from his embrace to look at him. “You heard me. Do you think she is pretty?”

  Daniel shrugged.

  Marissa Lou knew guys were smart enough to not answer a question like that, or at least they should be smart enough. Of course Katie was pretty. Katie was nearly perfect, even to her. She was gorgeous and a tom boy. Marissa Lou was just as hot, if not hotter. She was also athletic, but she didn’t like to do typical guy stuff like Katie did.

  “I guess she’s okay. Why do you ask?” Daniel finally answered.

  She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked away. “I was just curious.”

  “That’s bull. Are you feeling jealous?”

  “No!” she answered quickly, looking at him shocked. Her first instinct was to be mad, but the silly grin on his face told her he wasn’t being serious.

  Out of everyone in her life, she trusted Becca, Jess, Katie and Daniel the most. She was just feeling insecure about Katie’s transformation. She was aware how silly it was, but it was there nonetheless.

  “Yes you are. You’re jealous. Admit it!” he demanded and began to tickle her sides. “Admit it!”

  “No! Never!” she squealed and laughed with delight.

  * * *

  “The system is straight forward,” Daniel said looking at the register. “All of the items we sell have their own button, as well as the extras.”

  Katie stared at the screen and nodded her head. All of the little words and colors on the buttons were dizzying, but she was smart and knew she’d be able to figure it out.

  “Do you want to take the next customer?”

  She took a deep breath. “Sure. I can do this.”

  “You’ll be fine. Just take your time and hit the buttons for whatever they want, take the money and hand them the food when it’s done.”

  “Got it.” She had been glued to Daniel’s side for the past two hours, watching him closely and memorizing all the things he did for the job. She felt confident that she’d get it. It wasn’t like it was that hard. Even if she did falter, she was comforted to know Daniel was right there to help her.

  “Ahh, it’s show time,” he said when he saw a few guys come in. He took a step back to give her space, but still stayed close enough to help if she needed it.

  Katie mentally groaned when she saw one of the guys was Randy Farris, a guy she went to school with and one who was a huge jerk. By the look of his blood shot, squinty eyes, he was at his typical state of being stoned. She plastered on a smile as he approached the counter. “Hey, what can I get ya?”

  He looked up at the menu and said, “I’ll take a number four with a strawberry milkshake.”

  Munchie time, she thought to herself with an inner smile. She looked at the screen, scanning the buttons for the appropriate ones. When she found them, she looked back up feeling proud of herself and asked, “Will that be all?”

  He leaned in over the counter close to her. The fresh smell of potent marijuana slamming into her senses. “Nah, I’d also like a little piece of you.” He craned his neck to look at the computer screen. “You got a button for that?”

  With a straight face she looked at the screen for a moment before responding. “I’m sorry, I don’t seem to be on the menu.”

  “That’s okay, you can add it.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

  “I thought the customer was always right.”

  “This isn’t Burger King.” She leaned in closer and whispered, “I always have the right to refuse service.”

  “Come on,” he said reaching out to touch her hand, but she jerked it back right before their skin touched. Anger flashed across his face. “What, you think you can walk around school like a tease because you finally discovered you had boobs and a vagina, flashing your goods with your short skirts, without giving it up? Nah, that’s not the way it works,” he said grabbing her wrist and squeezing it tight.

  “Hey! How about you let her go and get out of here,” Daniel said leaning over the counter toward Randy, his face red from anger.

  “Oh, you hitting that now? What a joke. I guess that leaves Marissa Lou available. Now that’s a hot piece. Don’t worry, I’ll treat her right because I know she likes to have fun,” he said dropping Katie’s wrist and turned around laughing along with the two other guys with him.

  Daniel made a move to jump over the counter to go after Randy, but Katie stopped him just in time. “Don’t!”

  Randy stopped laughing and the three guys turned back around to face them. Randy stared at Daniel for a minute, sizing him up. “Whatever, you and your little slut aren’t worth it, but don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Marissa Lou.” Then he walked away, laughter following him and his friends as they left.

  The words stung Katie. No one had ever spoken to her like that before and normally she could be just as rough and tumbling with the boys, but for some reason his comments hit her hard. She hurried away from the front counter, feeling the burn from oncoming tears in her eyes, but she refused to let anyone see her cry. Especially on her first day of work at her very first job.
Once in the storage room, away from prying eyes, she sat down on the floor and cried into her hands.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  Katie jerked her head up, startled to find Daniel standing in front of her, concern etched on his face. She quickly looked away and wiped her face with her hands. “Yeah, I’m fine. He’s such a jerk.”

  Daniel nodded his head in agreement. “That he is.” He walked up to her and sat on the floor beside her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Katie shrugged her shoulders.

  “I’ve known you for a long time and I’ve never seen anyone get to you like that.”

  “Yeah, well, I guess he hit close to home. I’ve never had that happen before. Maybe he was right. I feel really silly.”

  “Don’t feel silly. Like you said, he’s a jerk and he doesn’t have enough brain cells left to be right about anything.”

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t really feel silly because of him.”

  “Then why?”

  “Look at me, my whole life I never cared about clothes, hair and make-up like all the other girls I know. All of a sudden senior year comes and I finally decide to give it a try. This isn’t me. I don’t get made up and cry in a corner like a baby.”

  “Oh,” Daniel said with a strange look on his face.

  She was sure he was used to all that girlie stuff with Marissa Lou, but he was obviously at a loss as to what to say to Katie.

  He scratched his head and said, “Then why are you? You don’t need all that make-up. You’ve always been pretty, even without it. Not all girls can get away with going without it, but you can. Your confident and natural, that’s why people like you. What’s wrong with being that way?”

  Katie stared at him dismayed. She liked who she was, always had, but for some reason lately she had been feeling insecure. Like she had to be like the other girls at school. This was her senior year and she felt like she had to play the part. Even though she was uncomfortable lately, everyone else seemed to prefer her transformation. Daniel was the first to tell her that it wasn’t necessary.