She parted her lips automatically. The kiss was nice and soft. She lost herself for a few seconds. She was kissing Derek. At work. In the bathroom. She was kissing Derek. 

She hurriedly pushed him away. He didn’t move far. 

“You kissed me!” She accused, shoving a finger in his face. She brought her other hand up to her face, shielding her mouth from any further kissing. 

He smiled wolfishly. “What’s wrong, baby? Didn’t like it?” 

“Baby?” She sputtered out before pushing at him again. “No! What are you doing? No kissing. We don’t kiss. Why are you doing the kissing? I am your boss.” Her voice was high and panicked. She was out of her usual range of social interaction. Sure, he was cute. More than cute. And the kiss was nice, but that was it. He was not the person she wanted sharing kisses with her in the girls’ room. 

His mask of fake confidence slipped slightly. The cocky tilt to his lips looked strained.  His brows were drawn together in confusion. “You were nice to me,” he said, his voice tilting up slightly like he was asking a question. 

“Yes! It was nice. Like friends nice, not make out nice.”

He only looked more confused. He stared at her like she just turned green and told him she was from space. “Friends? We’re friends?”

“Uh. I thought we were. Haven't you ever been friends with a girl? None of the kissing and all of the friending?”

He shook his head. “People are only nice when they want something. With girls, it’s usually sex.” He said it with such finality. This was a fact to him. He honestly believed the only reason she was being kind to him was to hook up in the bathroom. He fidgeted a little and scanned the room before his eyes came to rest on her again. 

“What do you want?” He questioned with his arms out wide, offering up what he had. 

He looked sad and lost, and Kassie thought that maybe this was the first time she was actually seeing Derek. That perhaps the Derek she’s been working with was just a cover. The peacocking, the flirting, the never-ending charm, and unwavering self-confidence were just a cover for a guy who believed everyone was out for themselves. Who expected to trade sex for good deeds. Her heart ached for him.

She walked cautiously toward him, as if approaching a frightened animal. She slipped her arms around his middle and squeezed him tight. His arms stayed down at his side for a minute, but Kassie waited. Her cheek was against his chest, and she counted his heartbeats until hesitant arms wrapped around her back. 

“I don’t want you to kiss me. Like, ever again. Don’t kiss anyone here unless you absolutely like them. People can be nice without expecting anything in return. I want you to be happy. And not have breakdowns in the bathroom. Or look like a zombie because you’re dead tired.“ She squeezed him once more before she let go and stepped back. “And clean the bathrooms before you get both of us in trouble with Mel.”

He laughed, and it was nice. It was a real laugh and a genuine smile. Not the charming chuckle he used when flirting with girls at the bakery, and not his devilishly handsome grin. It was a deep and raspy laugh. It sounded rusty and unused, but she instantly wanted to hear it again. 

 The rest of the day was hectic. Mel wasn’t any less grumpy when Derek showed up for work. She was even snapping at Abraham, which didn’t happen often. After closing up, she left without saying goodbye to Kassie. The last time Mel was this angry was during her parents' divorce. 

It was still dark when she woke up. It was the sound of her door that awoke her. It wasn’t unusual for Clarke to wake her up in the middle of the night. Sometimes he gets called into work and comes in to say goodbye. One time, he woke her up because he didn’t want to watch a scary movie by himself. 

Clarke never got in bed with her, though. She jolted up in fear to see Mel, in her pajamas, frozen and looking at her. 

“What the hell?”

Mel shrugged and finished pulling back the covers, slipping into bed. “I’m spending the night. Go back to sleep.”

There was no use arguing with her. So Kassie went back to sleep.