“And if this one doesn’t work,thenwhat?”
“Then I’ll be forced to call in a few morefavors.”
I shook my head. “You must have a killer friendgroup.”
“Ido.”
The way Emma said those two words with such certainty told me she had a rich pool of resources to pull from. Not like my pathetic support system of flakes andleeches.
“Name and ID, please,” a perky redhead called out to us. In front of her on a table was a printout with names on it. My chances of being on it were slimtonone.
“Finn Perry,” I said, as I dug out my ID and handed it to the woman. She smirked, then glanced up at me with a raised eyebrow. It was the response I always got when people read the name on my driver’slicense.
“It’s Finn for short,” I explained, reddening. DamnShelby.
“I should hope so,” she said, shaking her head inamusement.
This perked Emma right up. She’d been watching our exchange with interest. This was clearly a detail-oriented woman who didn’t rest until she had all the facts. Too bad for her this was not one she’d be finding outanytimesoon.
“Wait, what?” sheasked.
“Nothing.”
“Well, Ind…,” the woman started, before I stopped her in mid-breath.
“It’s Finn. Just Finn.” I flushed inembarrassment.
“What’s your real name?” Emma asked, her nose wrinkling as she peered at me with amusement. Those eyes… christ, she wasgorgeous.
“No, sorry,” I said. “That’s a second date type ofquestion.”
The ticket lady’s eyes darted back and forth between Emma and me as if she were watching a romantic comedy. I fixed my stare back toward her and she cleared her throat and regainedcontrol.
“Anyway,Finn.” Of course she had to overstate my name. After all, we now had a pressing secret between us. “I don’t have any ticket under that name, or for the one on your driver’s license.Sorry,hon.”
The minute the words left her mouth, I deflated. It was like every Christmas I ever had growing up. All that excitement and build up, and the best I would ever get was a broken toy from the junkyard out back.Screw you,Santa.
Emma wedged herself up against the table, her fingers firmly splayed out on the flat surface with a steely determination ready to intimidate any who stood in her way… and damned if I didn’t appreciate her commitment to my cause. “Actually, the ticket was just called in by SeanWilson.”
“Called in, you say? Okay, hold on,” the redhead said, getting on her phone. She eyed Emma with interest as she spoke with someone on theotherline.
I took to biting my nails as I waited. If this didn’t work, I was back to square one, which was a ditch and a good cry. Maybe Bucky would drive all the way here to get me if I promised him a thirty rack of Natty Light. Luckily, he was easier than me to ply and manipulate; yet the chances of him having a vehicle that could make it this far were slimtonone.
“That’s a bad habit.” Emma interjected her opinion into my moment of extremestress.
“I know. I’mnervous.”
“Don’tbe.”
“How can you be so calm? You heard her, there’s no record ofmyname.”
“Because it was called in ten minutes ago. Relax… and stop biting your nails. Do you have any idea how many germs are underthere?”
She took a step back, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Did she fear microbes would start flying off me? “No, but I take ityoudo.”
“Not the exact number, but I promise you, it’s more than either one of uscouldbear.”
“Honestly, germs don’t bother meatall.”
