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“Stop calling me that.”
“And not get to see that little crease in your forehead? Nah, never,” he quipped, his leg now bouncing slightly, looking amused.
She grumbled a few expletives to herself as the light turned green. Pressing on the gas, she wondered if she made a mistake offering him a ride. Being with him wasn’t doing anything for her headache.
“It’s actually so funny,” Kevin said, shaking his head.
“What?” she huffed.
“You see, my favorite band is this indie pop punk group from Chicago,” he said. “And I’ve been dying to listen to them all day.”
Before she could stop him, Kevin swiftly flicked on the stereo, sending the music blasting over the speakers. Instead of turning it off, she waited, gripping the steering wheel tightly as the lead singer’s voice rolled into the chorus.
She couldn’t help it, the words she loved so much pulsing through her veins. She nodded her head, and she sang the words.
Jess looked over at Kevin. Surprisingly, he wasn’t paying attention to her, giving her the space to be free with the lyrics and the beating drums. He was simply looking out the window and bopping his head, a smile still fixed on that perfectly tanned face of his. Like the sunshine from last summer never really left.
They remained like that for the rest of the ride, moving from one song into the next, until she pulled up outside Port Wheels. She parked, reaching to turn the car off.
Kevin brushed his hand against hers, motioning for her to stop. “Don’t. Let the song finish.”
The tips of his fingers were rough. She hesitated, mesmerized at the way her skin tingled from the contact.
As if they both understood what was going on, they wrenched their hands away at the same time. Jess white-knuckled the steering wheel again as Kevin shoved his hand in his pocket.
The song ended. She turned off the ignition.
Kevin coughed. “Heading back home?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Working the night shift over at Scoops.”
Kevin frowned, something she rarely saw. “Are you planning on working both jobs this summer?”
Jess leaned back in her chair, thinking through her conversation with Cory. The bakery was the only thing drawing her to Post Road. At Scoops she didn’t have much creativity—it was just simple ice cream cakes and colored frosting, nothing truly special. At the market she had room to experiment, offering different types of cakes and even some pastries like chocolate croissants and cranberry orange scones and kanelbullar sweet cinnamon buns. But if Cory was planning to pull her from the bakery…
“I-I don’t know,” she confessed. “I need the money.”
“Has Charlie been helping out at all?”
She swiveled her head and glared at him. “That’s none of your business.”
Kevin held up his hands. “You’re right, it’s not. But he’s living with you full time and can’t use the excuse of college or the pandemic to not pay rent anymore. That was lunacy.”
“Again, this was never any of your business,” she said. “And now, I would like you to get out of my car.”
Kevin sighed, reaching for the door handle. “Jess, you know if you ever need anything—”
“I don’t. Get out, Kevin.”
He nodded, sliding out of the car and grabbing his groceries. Jess watched as he turned the corner, making his way to his apartment above the bike shop.
She let her shoulders drop on a sigh, wondering if it was worth the detour home to eat something quick. She swore softly, realizing she forgot to stock up on groceries when she stormed out after finding out Cory’s “brilliant” business strategy.
Ice cream for dinner it was.
Her phone dinged as she turned the car back on. She checked it, finding a picture from Kevin. He sent an image of a small bakery box open on his table, filled to the brim.
The kanelbullar are my favorite.
