I knew that word.
Though something told me it wasn’t supposed to be ingested.
We walked back out to the vehicle. The man installing the battery told me to get back into my car and wait for his signal, so I did. I sat there, my leg jiggling, hoping and praying that this battery wouldn’t cost me too much. I saw the attendant make his way back into the store. He came out with a couple bottles of something, but I shrugged it off. Probably something to do with the battery.
Maybe.
I should ask.
But before I got the nerve to ask, the hood of my car was closed and I watched Ghost shake hands with the attendant.
“Oh, here,” I said as I scrambled out of my car with my purse, “let me get you my card?—”
The attendant held his hand out to me. “It’s already been taken care of, ma’am. Got you a new battery, topped off your brake fluid and your washer fluid, and everything else looks good to go. Have a nice day.”
My mouth opened and closed a few times before I found my tongue again. “Wait, what do you mean?—”
“Just put your card away, it’s fine,” he said behind me.
I whipped around and stared up at him with wide eyes. “You didn’t.”
He just shrugged as he leaned against my vehicle. He crossed his arms over his chest. “And if I did?”
My heart sank. No. No, no, no. I hated owing people. I had enough debt to pay back. “I could have?—”
He just waved his hand in the air, dismissing me. “It’s really nothing. They were having sales. Didn’t cost much.”
“How much did it cost?” I asked as I shoved my card away and pulled out my checkbook. “I’ll cut you a check.”
He crooked an eyebrow. “You use checks?”
I clicked my pen open and looked up at him with a quizzical expression. “Yes?”
He tilted his head. “Who the hell uses checks anymore?”
I couldn’t help but let out a shocked giggle, but it struck up his chuckle, and before I knew it, the two of us were laughing together.
Like we’d known each other for years.
“Put the checkbook away, Jasmine,” he said as his chuckling settled down. “Just let someone do something nice for you. It’s not that hard.”
He had no idea. “Well, I appreciate it.”
“I know.”
I gave him a playful little narrow-eyed look before I shoved my checkbook and pen back into my purse. “I’ll find a way to pay you back somehow. I hate being indebted to people.”
He studied me with those green eyes of his before pushing off my car. “So I shouldn’t tell you that I got you a new battery instead of a used one.”
I gawked. “Ghost!”
He chuckled. “What?”
I flopped my hand toward my car. “Does this hunk of junk look like it needs a new battery to you? A used one would’ve saved you money.”
His eyes slid down my body before slowly raking back up to my face.
Like I was on display.
