“Youwantto? Are you a sadist?”
“No.” She twirled her locks. “I like you.”
Oh, my damn! Girls like her didn’t happen to guys like me. “Why?”
“I just do.”
“Huh, well, I like you too.”
“But, do you like me as a friend, or…”
“I like you as anything you’ll allow me to be.”
She smiled. “Just for that I’m going to add fabric softener.”
“Don’t fucking tease me, Grace.”
“And those little dryer sheets.”
“Stop.” I grasped my chest. “I can’t take anymore.”
Grabbing my arm, Grace playfully steered me to a side entrance of the parking garage, and we started down a row of cars. “I’m just not sure how to explain the, uh… odor to Hudson when I get in his car.”
“Just tell him while he was in the arena enjoying the concert like an asshat, some homeless dude shit on you. He’ll totally buy it.”
Her eyes widened before she burst into a fit of giggles. I joined in, the two of us bonding over… well… my dirty laundry.
“I hope he didn’t leave already,” she said, nibbling on her bottom lip.
“He wouldn’t do that, would he?”
“Well, let’s see.” Grace rolled her eyes as she kept walking. “He did double-book our date and then fail to realize I was missing for hours, so yes, I definitely think he’d leave me.”
She had a point. The dude was slimy, and as much as I hated the idea of him driving her home, the alternative was worse. Grace might have effortlessly survived a couple of hours on the streets, but downtown after midnight was another story altogether.
“Oh, whew. This is it,” she said, stopping at the black Mercedes and kicking its back bumper with more than a little force. “The douche.”
“Okay, girl with the dragon tattoo, let’s not damage Hudson’s ride before he gets you home safely.”
“Once he gets me home, can I smash a tire jack into his window? Pretty please with sugar on top?”
I smiled, her spunk and resilience a constant form of amusement to me. “Knock yourself out.”
During those times when I’d gone to school regularly, I’d avoided the rich girls whenever possible. My swap meet attire and unstyled hair sticking out every which way were ripe for their mockery. But if I’d known there were ones like her, I might not have been such a savage in my approach to socialization.
“Probably not a good idea for Hudson to see me,” I said, guiding Grace behind a concrete pillar within eyeshot of Hudson’s car. I wasn’t afraid of him. He might’ve been bulkier than me, but I was scrappier, and I knew how to both give and receive a punch. If I was going down, he was coming with me. But I didn’t want to risk Grace’s ticket home, so I kept us out of view.
Spotting a few empty plastic store bags in a garbage can, I shoved my clothes inside three bags and tied them all off before dropping them to the ground at her feet.
“For you.” I bowed.
“Wow, such a gentleman. So, where is our clothing exchange taking place tomorrow?”
I thought for a moment. It had to be somewhere out in the open, somewhere her safety wouldn’t be compromised. I couldn’t tell her the things that lurked in the shadows. It would break her trust in humanity, and she deserved to keep her innocence for as long as time allowed.
“There’s a shopping center down the street,” I answered.
“The one with that huge furniture store?”
