Page 74 of The Fast Lane
“Sharing is what fwiends do.” Hallie grinned. “Does that mean we’re fwiends?”
“Well, of course, we are.” I ruffled her hair. “How about we get some breakfast ice cream?”
More enthusiastic nodding. She held her hand out. It was sticky and a little sweaty but so tiny. I took it and let her lead me to the kitchen.
Over my shoulder, I called out to Theo, “You coming?”
“Is my girlfriend asking?”
Hallie and I grinned at each other and answered at the same time, “Yes.”
“Can a person eat too many oranges, I wonder?” I asked.
“No. Oranges are perfect.” Theo held one up reverently. “They’re like edible sunshine.”
I bit back a laugh. “I thought black licorice was perfect.”
“Pay attention. Black licorice is the perfect snack.” He dropped the orange in the plastic sack with the others and tied it off before setting it in the cart. “Oranges are the perfect fruit.”
“Ah, of course. What an idiot I am.”
He shoulder-bumped me. “Stick with me. I’ll smarten you up.”
While Abe was in a whirlwind of washing clothes and packing, Theo announced he needed to gas up the car and check the tire pressure. Abe had given him a list of stuff to pick up at the grocery store on the way and I’d been told by Mack to go “help the poor man.” And even though I was more than confident Theo could handle it on his own, I jumped at the chance.
Because it was alone time with Theo and I was pathetically eighty-five percent in love with the guy.
Theo pulled to a stop in front of the applesauce. From his pocket, he took the list Abe had written out for us. “Applesauce pouches.”
We stared at the rows in front of us. There were a shocking number of choices, a smorgasbord of flavors—carrot applesauce, cherry applesauce, carrot-cherry applesauce.
“Who knew applesauce wasn’t just applesauce anymore?” I asked.
“Another reason oranges are superior. You won’t find them mixed with carrots in a pouch.”
“You are such a weirdo sometimes.” I found the plain old boring applesauce and tossed it into the cart.
Theo stuffed the list back in his pocket but when he pulled his hand out, a small slip of paper fluttered to the ground. I picked it up and discovered it was a phone number with the name Tammy written in curlicue letters above it.
I gasped in outrage. “She gave you her number?”
“I meant to throw it away. She slipped it to me when I checked out yesterday.” He attempted to take it from me, but I stuffed it in my pocket.
“I cannot believe she gave you her number. What a…a…Oh!” With a growl, I pushed the shopping cart faster. “She knows we’re a couple. We practically made out right in front of her.”
Theo trotted next to me. “I don’t know that we technically made out.”
Abruptly I stopped and glared at him. “Excuse me? We definitely made out. I was there. What a…a…shrew for slipping you her phone number anyway.”
“Technically, we aren’t dating either.”
“She doesn’t know that.” I began pushing the cart again, although I had no idea where we were headed. Also, I was absolutely not thinking about why Theo having this phone number in his possession annoyed me so much.
We weren’t a thing. Despite what Mae, Mack, Hallie, and a strange café owner in Texas said. Get a grip, Ramos.
“I’ll rip it up right now,” Theo said from behind me. “You just have to give it back.”
Stopping yet again in the middle of what was now the cookie aisle, I pulled out the slip of paper. “This? You want this?”