Page 47 of Old Habits
“You sure?” I pause. “You’d be the only one here.”
He stares at his paper. “The only rush this place has had so far today is you stomping around the doll aisle talking to yourself.”
“I wasn’t talking to myself.”
His eyes peek over his glasses. “Boy trouble?”
I sigh. “A little, I just don’t know how to deal with—”
“That wasn’t an invitation to chat.”
“Okay, fine.”I yank the strings on my smock. “I’ll go get my car.”
“Super.” He folds the paper in half and leans back in his chair.
I grab my jacket from the office and throw it on as I step outside. I shiver, just like I did earlier this morning while I was pinned to the wall. Will Myers. His lips on mine. His hands on my ass. Mine on his toned chest and yes, I’m pretty sure I felt his erection on my hip, too. If Tucker didn’t knock in that moment, I might have even reached for it.
This is all my fault. My design, even. Part of me knew exactly what would happen if I came back to Clover and Will hadn’t have settled down with some other woman yet. I wanted this but I was never prepared for it, if that makes any sense at all.
I pause in front of Marv’s, quickly scanning the open garage door for signs of Will but I don’t see him anywhere. Hopefully, he’s not working the front desk. I don’t really want to see him right now and I sure as hell don’t want him staring at me while I pay a bill I can’t afford.
I walk inside and Tucker waves at me from the stool behind the counter. “Hey, Jovie!”
“Hey, Tuck.” I shuffle over and reach into my coat pocket for my wallet. “How much is it again?”
He sets my keys down in front of me. “Seven-hundred and nineteen dollars and thirty-four cents.”
I groan. “Okay…”
“But no worries,” he says, “it’s already been paid.”
“Paid?”I blink. “It’s been paid?”
“It’s been paid.”
“I didn’t pay it.”
“Well, it’s been paid.”
“But I didn’t pay it.”
“Somebody paid it.”
“Then, who paid—” I deflate. “Where’s Will?”
Tucker points into the garage behind him. “He’s under that Dodge over there.” I march around the counter. “But you can’t go back—”
I bolt past him into the garage and beeline for the jacked-up car in the corner. Two legs poke out the bottom, connected to a man in a blue jumpsuit laying on a rolling creeper.
“Yo, Will!” I kick his thick work boots.
Will rolls out from beneath it with a small layer of sweat and grease covering his forehead. His eyes shift from surprised annoyance to casual acceptance as soon as he sees my face.
“Oh. Hey, Jovie.” He lays a socket wrench on the floor and grabs a different size from the pile beside my feet.
“You paid my bill,” I seethe.
“No, I didn’t.”