Free Beautiful Liar by J. Jakee Page B

”
                  Less than a minute later, my phone buzzed again. However, this time it was a text from Silas, the guy from church.
                  He sent: “ Hello, Beautiful.” ...That one was ignore.

CHAPTER 10
     
                  “She’s my girlfriend.” Dominic blushed and smiled. “We kissed in the stock closet. We always kiss in the stock closet.”
                  “Dominic…”
                  “It’s alright, Nola. She likes it.”
                  I couldn’t help but to laugh. He was happy, and I loved it. It was the first time I’d seen Dominic infatuated by a girl. Wasn’t too long ago that I wondered if he’d ever experience romantic love like Derrick and I got to. And now, just an hour after the Carmen chaos, and over hoagies and BBQ potato chips, he was dishing details of how he made-out with his co-worker, Angel—a girl who also went to his school.
                  “You were supposed be working not sneaking around smooching.”
                  Dominic lowered his head, smiled, and fumbled with his name badge which had train strikers all over it. Since I moved back home with my parents, I made it my obligation to stop by Dominic’s job to have lunch with him at the same time every day. He worked at a book store as a stocker in downtown Wilmington, DE.  It was the perfect place for him. It was quiet, and his duties were consistent. What’s even better, is that he got to work with Angel. We learned the hard way that Dominic couldn’t handle working at bigger stores. His first job was at a Target, and that ended in a disaster. 
                  He gushed, “She likes learning about my trains, Nola. Her favorite is the diesel locomotives, because diesel locomotives are less likely to start fires. We always talk about trains, and she likes it.”
                  I smiled. “Dominic, you smile like I do when I think about my crush.”
                  “Good, that your crush makes you smile.” Then, Dominic snarled, “I hope your crush not Travis. I hate Travis.”
                  From the moment I told my younger brother absolutely everything that went down between Trav and me, the thought of him infuriated Dominic. He was super protective of his big sis, and I loved that about him. I popped a chip in my mouth. “Don’t say hate. And don’t be pissed about it. I’m over it. On to the next...”
                  “Who’s next?”
                  “Marley’s father.”
                  Dominic stared at me blankly, probably waiting for me to say that it was a joke. When he realized there wasn’t a punchline, he shook his head.
                  I giggled, devilishly.
                  Dominic said, “No.”
                  “But, he makes me smile,” I defended.
                  Dominic looked as if he paused to think, and then he sighed, “Marley will be mad with you, Nola. Marley wouldn’t visit no more.”
                  I doubted Marley would even notice. She would be too preoccupied planning her 1-2-3 step, thrown together wedding to be worried about me pursing her father.
                  Our lunch was cut short when a customer started rapidly pressing the bell at the register. Dominic and I poked our heads from the office and saw that the sales rep wasn’t out there. She was a 70-year-old retiree who only worked to stay busy. She must have taken a lunch break herself and forgot to lock the door. The customer flagged his newspaper when he spotted us.
                  “Helllllooo. Can I get some assistance? Please!” He was a tall muscular guy with olive-colored skin. His pant suit was so tight that it looked like all he needed was to sneeze and he’d bust right through it. “Doesn’t either one of you work