“What?”
“Yes,” he hissed. “I know you. I like you, and I think you’re special. You don’t need some jerk to tell you that. I can tell you that.”
“Because you’re the jerk,” she said, sounding way too smug.
“Huh?”
“It’s you, Simon.”
He thought about all she’d said about the guy she had a crush on. “But you said he likes art and PC games.”
“So? I lied.”
“Jenna.”
“Simon.”
Relieved, he didn’t have it in him to stay mad at her. Instead, he put an arm around her shoulders. “Iknewit.”
“You did not. You never looked at me as anything but your buddy. Then suddenly I grew boobs and you wouldn’t talk to me.”
“Now hold on,” he whispered. “I accidentally walked in on you this summer, and you went nuts. I don’t remember seeing anything.” A lie, but a guy had his pride. He couldn’t tell her he thought of little else lately. “Thenyouwouldn’t talk tome, and when you finally did, it was about some idiot.”
“Exactly. An idiot. You.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me it was me?”
“Because you needed to see what it would be like if I was with someone else. It bothered you. I could tell.”
“Maybe it did.”
“Right. And if it hadn’t, I’d have known you weren’t interested in me that way. I wouldn’t have liked it, but I would have moved on. Not from us being friends, but from having a crush on you.”
“A big crush.” Girls weretoosmart. He gave her a side glance, a little unnerved at her insight and cleverness. “You think that might help my mom see how much she likes Mitch?”
“Maybe. But let’s see if they can work it out between them. We’ll only pull out the big guns if your mom or Mitch get stupid.” She paused. “Though considering Mitch is a guy, it’s only a matter of time before we’ll have to fix things.”
“Hey.”
Someone near them yelled, “Keep it down!”
He felt soft lips against his cheek. Heat blossomed inside him. His first kiss from Jenna. He had to work to speak. “We’ll talk about this later.”
Jenna laughed softly. “Just call me Wonder Woman.”
******
Becca spent the rest of her day working hard and trying not to think about how to make ends meet. Granted, business leases normally kept pace with inflation. But a hundred and fifty dollars?A month?
The paperwork she’d initially signed stated a three percent annual increase upon renewal, a fair amount to which she’d agreed. But this new hike was more than double what she’d been paying each month.
She and Simon lived within their means. The car had a few more payments on it. The house, fortunately, had been paid off using Neal’s life insurance. But the business took an investment on her part. She put money into it with the hopes of getting money back out.
When the economy tanked, they saw less business. She’d found that out years ago and had been working to recuperate her losses. The climb to success came gradually, and after six years in the same place, they’d seen real progress. Word of mouth and the move to the Main Street location had certainly helped. Now people knew where to find them, and the foot traffic drew in customers daily.
If she had to move, the business would take a hit. So too might Simon’s college fund.
She sighed. With no way around it, she’d have to move money around. Stop funding her retirement, maybe borrow a little from her personal savings to keep them afloat should they need it. That was all providing business stayed steady. In the winter months, people liked something warm to heat them up. Her holiday cakes and cookies were usually a hit.
