Page 48 of Old Habits
He kicks off the floor to roll back under the car but I bend down to grab his boot and yank him back out.
“Yes, you did.”
“Okay, yeah.” He nods. “I did.”
“Will, I can take care of myself. I don’t need your pity money.”
He sits up. “It’s not pity money, Jove. I’m paying you back.”
“For what?”
His lips twitch. “Brown sugar Pop Tarts.”
I stare at him. “Huh?”
Will smiles and hops up. “Every day,” he wipes his greasy hands on a cloth from his pocket, “for four years at Clover High, you bought a pack of brown sugar Pop Tarts from the school cafeteria for breakfast.”
I think back and nod. “Okay…”
“You could never eat both of them at once but you didn’t want to let the pack sit open and go bad overnight, so you offered it to me because my locker was three down from yours. So, every day for almost four years, I ate one of your Pop Tarts.”
“Right. And?”
“Pop Tarts aren’t cheap,” he argues. “I mean, I figure a pack cost you a buck-fifty a day and I ate seventy-five cents of that. Kids are in school for about one-hundred and eighty days a year, so…”
I fight the smile on my face. “Will…”
“Seventy-five cents a day times one-eighty multiplied by four? That’s five-hundred and forty dollars I owe you. Factor in like five years of interest and that brings the grand total to about seven-hundred and nineteen dollars and thirty-four cents.”
My annoyance wavers. “That’s some real coincidental math you got going on there. You’re not even factoring in vacation or sick days. I mean, I was out with mono all the time so there were plenty of days where you didn’t eat my tarts.” I lower my voice. “And I’m pretty sure like half of them were shoplifted…”
“Jove…” He takes a step closer and shoves the dirty cloth back into his pocket. “If you insist on paying me back later, that’s fine, but if I never see a penny of it ever again, I won’t miss it. Okay?”
I exhale from my quivering lungs. “Okay.”
“Now…” he looks down, “I gotta get back to work. Mrs. Nelson’s oil ain’t gonna change itself.”
I push up onto my toes and kiss him, instantly drawing a few whistles across the garage but I ignore them.
Will wraps his arms around me and raises me up until my toes dangle an inch off the floor. A sudden rush of dangerous adrenaline fires through me but his embrace keeps me feeling safe and warm.
He breaks our kiss and I lay my forehead on his. “Do you have plans tonight?” he asks.
“No,” I answer. “Do you?”
“Yeah, I’m picking you up at seven.”
I grin. “Smooth.”
He laughs and kisses me once more before setting me back down. “Wait, wait…” He grabs the cloth from his pocket. “You got a little…”
I stand still as he wipes his dirty sweat off my forehead.
“Sorry.” He chuckles.
“It’s okay.” I pause and look into at his wide, hopeful eyes. “Thank you.”
He nods. “I told you… if you ever need anything, I’m here.”