“She’s just stressed. She loves me." He jerked his thumb at my boss.
“I figured," I said. Who wouldn’t love him? I smiled and pulled my cap lower, my insides tangling at the implication and Ash's affectionate eyeroll. “H-how are you?” I asked him.
“Good. But I can see you’re busy, so I’ll get out of your hair.” He saluted us, then twisted around.
My heart raced and my breathing trembled. Had he come for me? My distraction?
I quickly set up the next application load-screen for the customer computer. “Hey, Ash? This will take about ten minutes to install. Do you mind if I take my break?”
“Now?” She glanced at the busy sales floor. But those people weren’t here for me.
I played with the pockets in my burned fleece and glanced after Sal. He was leaving. Almost gone.
Ash sighed and waved me off. “Go, stretch your legs.”
“Thanks.” I tipped my cap and hurried after Sal, slipping past our customers. “Wait up,” I called to his semi-slumped backside.
He turned and widened his eyes. “Oh, hey.”
“Hi.” I stopped in front of his store, grinning stupidly.
“Did you want to talk to me?” He glanced at True Tech and stuck his hands in his pockets.
“No. I mean, yes, but not about anything in particular.” Did I need to prepare something?
He flicked his goatee. “Oh, I thought maybe you reconsidered the whole friends with benefits thing.”
“Why would I?” I frowned. He hadn’t done anything mean. “Are you reconsidering?”
“No.” He reached for my arm, then glanced at the store and drew back. “No, I haven’t. I just thought I could step back if you wanted to focus on your…whatever’s happening back there.”
“At True Tech?”
He nodded, awkwardly raising his shoulders. “Like, the situation with Ash.”
Why would I want to focus on that? It was over. “I’d rather have my distraction.” I stepped close enough to gather a whiff of Italian spices. Rosemary, maybe? Oregano? I wanted to brush my nose against his neck and imagine a wonderful spread, a warm home, and asweet embrace.
He chuckled and ducked his head. “Am I ‘your’ distraction?”
“My favorite kind.” Was that too cheesy? Well, he liked cheese. So maybe he’d like my bad moves. I tugged the hem of his plain shirt. “Will you come over tonight?”
“Yes,” he said, his cheeks dimpling with that sweet, nervous smile.
A stretch would be good for us.
22
Drummer Boy
As we strolled into the workshop, I reassured Sal that Victor was staying at Kat’s for the night. After all, they’d been apart for one whole evening. “They love their sleepovers,” I said.
“Do you want me to sleep over?” Sal asked, rearranging the plushies.
After one date, that would be sudden. But we were friends. Friends of the opposite sex. And we might have sex, so where did that leave us?
“You should bring a toothbrush, a change of clothes, and condoms, just in case,” I said.
Sal laughed and glanced around the mall. “So, yes?”
