“I don’t want to hurt their feelings.”
“Oh, so this is how it is! But my feelings you don’t give a shit about?”
“See! You get it.”
“Despite the fact I’m the one giving you a home?” He raises an eyebrow.
He’s not wrong. I shouldn’t be so direct with him. Itisrude of me, and heisdoing me a huge favor. But jeez, he’s always trying to get a rise out of me, and not snapping back is hard. I didn’t even know I had this fiery side to me.
“I’m sorry.” I do my best to smile.
He looks me up and down before nodding, satisfied. “You know that if Idotell them, they’ll just do the exact opposite, right?”
I groan, scooping my hair up into a bun.
“Come on, let’s hit the road,” he offers.
“I really don’t want to come.”
“It’s my birthday, and I need help with the groceries. We have a deal, remember?”
I narrow my eyes. “Are you blackmailing me?”
“Car. Now.”
I bite my tongue, running through my options. It takes me all of one second—the truth is, I don’t have any.
“Okay, but on one condition.” I trot behind him. “No mentioning our temporary roomie situation under any circumstance.”
“You’re on bartender duty, then.”
“Asshole.”
“Say what?”
“Nothing.”
I throw myself into his car, brooding.If he thinks I’m paying for this ride, he can think again!I stuff my earbuds in, crank the volume up as far as it goes, and stay that way until we arrive at the grocery store near his apartment. As we browse the aisles, I think back to his talk earlier.
“How did you come up with the idea for Campus Drivers, anyway?” I ask, taking the basket from him. “Were you guys friends before?”
“Lewis and Adam already knew each other before college. Donovan is captain of the basketball team; Lewis plays for the team, too. They both have awesome cars, which helped them bond.”
“And how about you? How did you get in with them?” I ask. “Was it a car thing, too?”
“Yeah. They saw my Camaro on campus, and they asked me to marry them.”
“Let me guess: it was love at first sight.”
“Not exactly. I’m not easy, you know.”
I snort. “Wow, I’d never have guessed.”
He adds three bottles of soda to my basket, and there’s no hiding my struggle. I need two hands to carry this thing.
“Here, give me that,” he says, taking it from me.
“Thanks. So what about the app?”
