Something Like This (Secrets) Read Online Free Page A

won’t get fired, I promise.”
    Grabbing my purse, I stood. “Where shall we go?”
    My stomach started aching. Had I known Reece was going to surprise me, I would have called in sick.
    “There’s a place down the street just past the train tracks,” he said.
    My heart melted and slid to my toes. We’d have to pass my father. “I’d rather not go to that one.”
    “Why not?”
    I cleared my throat. “I would rather we not go to that one. Is that okay?”
    “There’s one across the street. You okay with going there?”
    I nodded.
    “We’re off to a good start,” he said.
    “What makes you say that?”
    “We haven’t even been on a date and I already know something about you.”
    “And what is that?”
    “You’re very particular about where you get your coffee from.”
    I licked my lips. “Yeah, well, there is a hell of a lot you don’t know about me. Trust me.”
    “Intriguing. I like you,” he said.
    I darted toward the door. “You may change your mind, but hey, you insisted, so let’s go.”
    ***
    T hankfully, there wasn’t a long line at the coffee shop when we got there so we were able to get our drinks quickly. The ache in my belly was getting worse and I really wanted this to be over so I could return to work and forget it happened.
    We sat down at a small corner table with a view of the street. The breakfast food trucks were starting to close up and drive off. They’d return as lunch food trucks hours later. I was tempted to pull out my phone and log on to Twitter so I could see if my favorite Indian food truck would be there today. I decided against it because I didn’t want to be rude and, hell, if he took out his phone and started messing with it, I’d take offense.
    “So, here we are,” I said.
    He took a sip of his coffee. “You haven’t worked for my uncle long, have you? He’s never mentioned you.”
    I ripped open a sugar packet. “A few weeks.”
    He sniffled. “How do you like it?”
    “It’s okay. He’s a good boss,” I dumped sugar into my coffee, “I’d rather not talk about my job.”
    “Okay, no worries. What do you want to talk about? Ask me anything you want.” He sniffled again.
    “One of my roommates is writing a novel. I have no idea what it’s about. I just found out about it. What’s your novel about?” I stirred my coffee and then took a small sip.
    He leaned back in his chair and sighed. “It’s a post-apocalyptic story. It takes place in a small town.” He sneezed.
    “Are you sick?”
    “It’s allergies. Someone in here must be wearing some strong perfume or lotion.”
    “I don’t smell anything, other than coffee,” I said.
    “I’m really sensitive.” He sneezed again.
    “Do you want to go?”
    “No way. You’re not getting off that easy.”
    A screaming little boy came through the door, his mother two feet behind him. The boy raced to the front of the line and yelled, “I want some chocolate milk!”
    “I’m so sorry,” his mother said, picking him up.
    The people waiting for their coffee laughed.
    “He’s in this new phase where he takes off running without notice,” the boy’s mom said to the cashier.
    “I have one of my own so don’t worry about it. We have chocolate milk,” the cashier, a woman, said.
    “He’s had enough chocolate milk for today,” the boy’s mom said.
    Off she went out the door carrying her wiggly, whiny toddler.
    “He reminds me of my little brother,” Reece said.
    “How old is your brother?”
    “Three. There is a twenty-one year age difference between us. My mom was twenty-two when she had me. He drives her crazy. I don’t help things. I spoil him too much.”
    “What’s his name?”
    “Connor.”
    I giggled before I could stop myself. “Wait, your name is Reece and your little brother’s name is Connor?”
    He leaned back into his chair and smiled. “You’re asking because of the Terminator movies. My mom loves the Terminator . She’s watched it a million times. She named my