“I mean...”
Mr. Edwards winked at me. “Well, you’ve become a valuable part of our operation. So I was thinking. How would you like to turn your internship into something more official?”
“Like what?”
Mr. Edwards laughed. “Like a job.”
“I thought I had to be eighteen, though.”
“You do for some things, like operating the machinery. But you’re already basically working. Way more than an intern is supposed to. You deserve to get paid.”
I played with the hem of my shirt and studied the white stripes on my Sambas.
“Really?”
“Really.”
I couldn’t help it.
I smiled.
“Okay.”
I was filling the dishwasher after closing when Landon came and hugged me from behind.
“Hey,” he said. “Did my dad talk to you?”
“Yeah.”
“You said yes, right? I told him you would.”
“You did?”
“He talked to me about it last night.”
I closed the dishwasher and turned around.
“I still can’t believe it.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Landon wrapped his hands around my neck. “You’ll be awesome.”
“Thank you.”
He kissed me, and I kissed him. He giggled when I nuzzled into his neck, and sighed when I stroked under his chin with the back of my hand.
“My boyfriend,” he whispered, and I smiled against his mouth.
Landon stepped toward me, which pushed me up against the dishwasher. It beeped shut, but we ignored it and kept kissing. I angled my hips so I wasn’t pressing against Landon, because I didn’t want him to feel how excited I was. Not after I just told him I wanted us to take things slowly.
The lights in the store turned off, and Mr. Edwards hollered at us that it was time to go.
I kissed Landon one more time, and he gave my butt a quick squeeze before we straightened out our clothes and followed Mr. Edwards out the back door.
It was an uncomfortable ride home, with my messenger bag slung in front of my lap as I rode the bus.
