“Jeff hangs out with your sister, Lydia. Is that right?”
Jane shrugged. “I think so. But she has a lot of friends. They come and go.”
“What about boyfriends? Jeff is a lot older than her.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not a new thing. Her first boyfriend was college-age. My parents took her phone when they found out, and that was like a death sentence. Lydia broke up with the guy just to get her phone back.”
Interesting. Maybe she’d tire of Jeff all on her own. If he pushed this, it could make her stick to him harder. Maybe it was better to leave it alone. One more secret to keep.
Chapter 14♥Just Friends
Elsie’s shift at the Pizza Palace was almost over, but she couldn’t help watching the clock anyway. So far she’d been chewed out over the phone by a customer who thought there was not enough pepperoni on her pizzas. Then she had to clean up after a food fight between two unruly kids while listening to their mother scream at them. More helpful than screaming would have been asking the kids to help, but after the mom finished the lecture, they all got up and left.
The bell over the door jangled at five minutes to close, and Elsie tensed up and then relaxed at the sight of Jeff smiling at her.
“Long night?”
“The longest.”
He leaned against the counter. “Would you rather go home and veg, or do you want some company? I thought we could try out those swings at the park down the street.” He put his finger to his lips. “I borrowed Denny’s car to get here. You’re not going to turn me in to the cops, are you?”
“Jeff, your license is revoked. That’s serious stuff. The cops around here don’t have a lot to do, so watch out. But yeah, I’d love to hang out with you. Give me about twenty-five minutes to mop and close up the register. Meet you there?”
“Of course.”
The rest of her shift moved much quicker, knowing she had something to look forward to. She waved goodbye to Gerald in the parking lot and drove over to the playground, parking behind Denny’s car.
Jeff was sitting on a swing waiting for her, and she claimed the one next to him. It had been years since she’d sat on a swing. Jeff pushed back and pumped his legs, and she took off to try to match his pace. Despite the chains digging into her hips, it was as fun as she remembered. The breeze in her face, the rush of arching straight down and then going up again, even the creaking brought back happy memories. The starry sky only added to the magic.
Jeff laughed. “You have the goofiest grin on your face.”
“Hush, you. I’m having a moment here.”
She was starting to get out of breath though, so when Jeff slowed down and came to a stop, she did too.
He leaned in and put his hand on her cheek. “Maybe we could have a moment too,” he whispered.
What? It wasn’t until his lips were a hair’s breadth away that she recovered from shock and pulled out of his reach. “Jeff, you know we’re just friends, right?”
He shrugged, looking disappointed, but not hurt. “We never set that in stone, did we?”
“I guess not.” She pushed off and swung lightly back and forth, needing something to do with the nervousness inside her. Plus, the movement meant they could break the awkward staring contest that had started.
She had not expected him to put a move on her, but maybe that was only because she figured he felt the same way about her that she did about him.
“Is it because of Will?” he asked softly.
Yes. The answer immediately popped into her head, and she just as soon dismissed it. So she hadn’t recoiled when Will Darcy had almost tried to kiss her. It didn’t mean anything.
“No, of course not.”
“You paused.”
“No, I didn’t.” She got up and walked over to the stairs leading up to the playground next to the swings. She climbed up and after sliding down, turned to see Jeff watching her with his arms crossed.
“I saw you with him at the corn maze the other night.”
“You were there? Why didn’t you come up and say hi?” But of course, if she was with Will he couldn’t have. “Sorry. I know you two try to avoid each other.”
