Upstairs, Andre leaned so far back his chair squeaked. “Nicole, you got that?”
“Yep.”
“That was two rings,” he chided.
“Sorry, I had my hands full.” Of Zack’s abs.
I wanted to rub my face all over my fake boyfriend. Was that bad? It’d probably ruin my makeup, or whatever was left of it. I ran my nail across the outline of my lips, then hurried to check on him.
Cardboard clapped as Zack shoved shoes into place. Hopefully, he didn't bend the boxes. Andre would have a fit.
Zack strode over. “I didn’t know where to put this one, but the rest are good.”
“Okay, thanks.” I took the last box from him and hesitated. Should I kiss him again? Was that a thing we did now or was it only practice?
He rubbed his ear and backed up. “Catch you on break?”
“Sure.” I didn’t need another kiss. I was busy with work, same as him.
He trotted to the main warehouse, and the stockroom got weirdly dimmer without his presence.
One of the guys there called out to him. “Where’ve you been?”
“Getting some air. It’s hot back here," he said.
“I bet it is.” Cackles echoed through the warehouse.
I shook my head and strode away to resume my role as shopgirl. Labels made sense on shoes, not relationships. I really had to get a grip and not just on Zack’s ass.
31
Saving Up
At lunch, I wore my jacket to the break room. It’d been freezing by the windows, but I still preferred to sit on the perimeter versus the huge circular tables in the middle. Fewer people. Less drama.
I hurried toward an empty booth, but hesitated when I spotted Zack resting in a different booth by himself.
He didn’t see me, of course. He’d nestled his head into his folded arms on the table. Maybe lifting all those boxes wore him out. Or maybe he needed to recover from our make-out session. It wasn’t exactly strenuous, but it had been…intense.
I held my lunch bag against the warmth coiling deep in my gut.
I should sit on my own again. It wasn’t like he’d care about my company if he was napping.
We were friends now, though. It made sense to sit with him, even if his break ended before mine did. We had some good times together. Good times could keep happening, if we set the stage for them.
I strode over to his booth and tickled the back of his neck. “Hey, sleepyhead.”
He tensed and rubbed his neck. “Oh, thank god it’s you.” He dragged himself toward the window to make room for me on his side of the booth. That was kinda intimate when there was plenty of space on the other side. Maybe he wanted to keep up the loving couple ruse.
I slid in beside him and smiled. “Are the guys from the warehouse bothering you? I can kick their asses. You know, we just got in a bunch of high-heeled boots.”
“I wasn’t paying attention to the inventory.” His lip ticked up, and my insides did some kind of samba.
So, he was paying attention to me.
Finally, my inner teen preened.
I fiddled with my stylish lunch bag. “What time do you have to go back?”
