The salt hit my tongue, and some of that invisible itch riding me felt scratched. I chewed loudly. You have to chew nuts like that. It makes them taste better. And as I was chowing down, I remembered. “Oh yeah, I need to go back to where you picked me up.”
He glanced in the rearview mirror.
“I tip good.”
His eyes rolled. “The last guy who said that gave me three dollars and some chewed gum.”
“What flavor was the gum?”
He looked appalled.
Good.
I finished off the cashews. “Fifty on top of what the meter says when we’re done.”
The tires squealed when he popped a uey right there in the middle of traffic. Horns blasted, and someone shouted a very rude word. I stored it away for later.
He was a terrible driver. I’d let it slide, though, because Pip wasn’t in the car.
He glanced in the rearview again as if he thought his amateur hour would make me hurl myself out onto the sidewalk.
I popped open another bag and tossed in some nuts, then pointed to the tat on my chest.Born to die.“I’ve seen shoppingcarts with better steering.”Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.
After that, he didn’t say anything at all. I filled the silence with more chewing. These nuts weren’t too bad. I’d have to buy more later.
The moment we turned onto Rett’s street, I shoved the half-eaten bag into my pocket and swiped my salty fingers on my sweats. The rhythm of my heart changed from chill to supermax, and it was hard to ignore.
“Up ahead here,” I directed.
When he stopped, I sat there staring at the building, making mental notes of everything around it.
“Total is thirty-five,” the grunter up front called.
“Same as before,” I said, not pulling my eyes from the building. “I’ll be less than five. Then you can drive me to the first address I gave you, and we can complete this little adventure.”
He glanced over his shoulder, a pinched look riding his features. Really should have taken me up on the Imodium. When his stare dropped to what was in my lap, I found myself hooking an arm around it defensively.
“Fine.” He relented.
I left my water and snacks in the back seat and took the rest into the building, knowing exactly which stairs to avoid on my way up. At the top, my stomach fluttered, which stopped me in my tracks.
Racing heart. Fluttering stomach. Was I a teenage girl?
What the fuck was I doing right now?
Seriously? Was I okay?
I glanced down at the stuff in my hands. Clearly, I wasnot.
This was the complete and utter opposite of what I should be doing. Practically diabolical behavior.
Turn your half-naked ass around and leave. Don’t come back.
The mental image of tears rolling over his cheeks assaulted me while the eternal echo of his accidental confession clung to my bones.You already took my heart.
I stood there teetering in a battle between my head and heart. The first war my heart ever waged. For cotton candy, it had some balls.
Everyone else was so easy to walk away from. Hell, I murdered people with fewer fucks.
