19
David
I stepped into Death by Chocolate at a quarter past noon. The place was packed with students who were already trickling back in before the start of the semester. I already missed the summer quiet that I’d found to be my favorite time in Lubbock. College towns had their ebbs and flows.
Sutton was scurrying back and forth behind the counter, filling orders and handing them to the thin Latina girl, Tessa, running the register. Sutton glanced up at me when I approached, and a toothy grin split her face.
“You’re late,” she said.
“You’re busy.”
“Exceptionally so.”
“Should we cancel?” I asked. Though it was the last thing I wanted to do.
“No way. Let me finish these orders, and I’ll be out for the day.”
I nodded at her and took a table near a pair of hipsters who looked out of p
