Guess I won’t be going to hang out with them no more.
Bitter, I slammed my locker door shut. Lennie stood at the entrance to the room and moved aside without a word when I walked toward him. I couldn’t help myself.
“Do you want me to quit?”
“If that’s what you want.” The colorful tattoos on his arms stood out as Lennie leaned against the wall opposite the door. “Up to you.”
“I can’t fuckin’ believe this shit.” Without giving him an answer, I strode out of the building to my car and after unlocking it, slammed the door shut behind me. I sat shaking and breathless behind the wheel.
Get a grip. It ain’t your problem; it’s theirs.
What I wanted right now was to talk to Frankie. I pulled out my phone and called him.
“What’s up? You coming home?”
“Are you dancing tonight?”
“What’s wrong?” His voice sharpened. “Are you okay?”
“No. No, I’m not. I mean I am, but I’m not.”
“You ain’t making sense. What happened?”
“I know, but I can’t tell you on the phone. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Okay.”
Already feeling better, I gunned the engine and took off out of the parking lot. When I checked my rearview mirror, I saw Lennie watching me. He grew smaller and smaller as I drove away.
“I can’t believethat asshole.” Frankie fumed as I held him close. We’d finished dinner and decided to take a nap together, and now lay in bed, Frankie on top of me.
“I thought maybe it was gonna be okay between us,” I whispered into his neck, holding on to him. “He came by the house and saw me ’n you kissing through the window. Everything changed.”
“You should quit. You don’t need him.”
My wild, impetuous boyfriend. “Uh, I kinda do, ’cause I don’t have another job to go to.”
“Hmph. Well, if this all takes off, you can tell him to shove the job, and we’ll work together. I told them at school I’m not coming back next year.”
Uncertainty touched me. “Are you sure about all this?”
“Yeah. Definitely. I mean, the market went down a little today, but I know it’ll go back up. It’s called a correction. It always happens.”
“But you lost money? How much?”
“Don’t worry about it. I haven’t lost anything ’cause I haven’t sold.” He kissed me. “I got everything under control.”
I wanted to believe him. I had to. Frankie was the smart one.
“Everything?” I quirked a brow and wrapped my arms around him. “Not me. I got no control when I’m around you.” Burying my face in his hair, breathing in his warm scent, all my defenses fell away. If it was to be a day of fresh starts and new beginnings, then I had some confessing of my own as well.
“Frankie?”
“Hmm?” His lips vibrated against my neck.
“I need to talk to you.”
He stilled and rolled off me to lie on his side. “Okay. I’m listening.”
