“I’ll just go grab one for you, so you can try.”
I resisted the urge to sigh and gave him a quick nod, telling myself it would be faster to just accept than to argue to leave. He parked at the very back of the parking lot—where we technically were supposed to park. But in my haste getting to work, I’d parked closer to the front. Aunt Isabel would’ve made me move my car if she was here, even though it had been a slower day. Just another reason Roger was the number one employee of the month for the last few years.
It could’ve been nerves and my anxiety over my sister’s pending arrival, but it bugged me to no end that he didn’t make haste on his return to me from his car. He walked casually back to me, as one might walk down a sidewalk while window shopping. Like the parking lot wasn’t pitch black, save for a couple overhead lights. Like I enjoyed the view as he moseyed back to me.
He was attractive—don’t get me wrong. And maybe I’d be interested in him if I’d known him as Roger a friend and not Roger a co-worker, but since I only knew him in the latter capacity, I saw him as a pain in my ass most of the time. Not that I’d ever say that to him.
“Here,” he said, holding up the shiny, individually packaged snack with a grin like I’d begged for him to give it to me. “Try it. You’ll probably love it.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him why he thought I’d love it, when he did not himself, but the last thing I needed was for him to launch into more conversation over meaningless stuff. “Great,” I said, “thanks. Ready?”
He opened his mouth, and I heard the intake of breath. I had to cut off whatever he was going to say before he barreled right over me.
“I probably should get this deposit bag to the bank. Not safe to hang out in a dark parking lot with a bag of money, you know?”
“It’s Amber Lake,” he said. Amber Lake rarely had robberies, and very little crime in general. It was a sleepy little town on the edge of a larger one—sandwiched between mountains and an old, often unused highway—seemingly forgotten by the rest of the world. So Roger’s simple statement said more than just those three words.
“Still,” I said, forcing a smile as I slid into my car and started the engine when he opened his mouth again. “You’re going to follow me, right?”
“Of course.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked off in the distance like he was put out.
God, he needed so much handling.
Climb into your car, I repeated over and over under my breath.
“Hey, are you hungry?” he asked, his gaze reflecting the bright yellow fast food emblem in the distance. “Burger on me?”
“Thanks, Roger,” I said, “but I’ve gotta get going.” I gave what I hoped was a regretful smile and closed the door. Finally, a reprieve.
A loud tap on my window caused me to jump.
“Buckle up,” he said through the thick glass.
I gave him a nod, yanking the seatbelt across my torso and clicking it. He took his time walking back to his car and I drove to the exit as soon as he was inside his car, forcing him to hurry it up so he could follow me onto the main road.
Now, that I was on my way to the bank and reflecting back on it all, it seemed so petty to be annoyed with him. He was a nice guy, if a little pushy and excessively chatty. He wasn’t dangerous or creepy or mean. He just didn’t always pick up on social cues—at least not when he was around me. I wondered if he was up my aunt’s ass all the time, too. With customers, he was perfectly pleasant.
I glanced at the clock. I was a full forty-five minutes behind and getting out to my aunt’s house in the dark meant I’d be even later. Not for the first time that night, I had to remind myself why I hadn’t just decided to cancel.
Because things are weird between us.
Oh, that was right. Things were weird. Ever since Saturday morning, Keane and I hadn’t chatted like usual. Normally, from sunup to sundown we talked—either via phone calls or text. And somehow, since yesterday, we’d barely done either. In fact, I couldn’t remember texting him at all today. Were it not for our accidental hookup, I might’ve chalked this up to us both being busy. But what had happened between us muddied the waters and my confidence that we could weather this awkward moment. Something like this had never happened in the space of our friendship.
As I pulled into the bank, my phone rang, and I hit the button on my center console to answer it.
“What’s up, tootsie?”
“Tootsie?” I asked Keane, cringing. “Sorry, I’m running late. I know we just had pizza, but would you totally hate me if I ordered it again? The twins can’t make much besides burned toast and I’m sure they’re ravenous.”
“I can pick up dinner, Navy. Whatcha want?”
“No, you don’t have to do that.”
“No shit. I’m doing it anyway. What do you want? If you don’t give me an idea, I’ll pick up takeout from that place you hate. With the barbecue sauce spaghetti.”
“Oh, God.” I rolled my window down and put the deposit in the night drop. “Um…” I waved a hand to Roger, who flashed his headlights in acknowledgement, and left the bank parking lot. “Honestly, anything. My brain is fried. I feel like I barely slept this weekend.”
Silence filled my car. Had I really just said that? Oh, God. We said we wouldn’t make things awkward, and yet I already was.
“No, I get it. I’m tired too. Okay, I’ll surprise you. What do The Adorables like?”
“No, you don’t need to buy anything for them.”
“Navy, just let me buy them something, okay? If I walk through the door with delicious food and I don’t have anything for them, I’ll never hear the end of it. Hell, they’ll probably take the food I do have and pelt me with it.”
He was right, but it was hard for me to accept help when it came to my family. We had my aunt—and she was amazing—but my sisters were ultimately my responsibility when my aunt was gone. Plus, they often gave her hell, so they were my responsibility even when she was here. “They’re not picky,” I said.
“Got it. You close to being home?”
“About thirty minutes away,” I said.
“See you then.”
When I pulled into the driveway of my aunt’s house, Keane’s car was already there. Every single light in the house was on and if my aunt was home, I knew she’d be going around turning them off one by one, lamenting that she’d need to win the lottery just to cover her electric bill.
I exited the car and really, really wished I’d canceled our standing friend date. Every single part of me ached and various parts of my body were covered in dust from cleaning the back stock in the store. I’d have to find a second to sneak away to shower. There wouldn’t be time to after Keane left, because I’d need to get on the road to head to the bus station.
As I opened the door, the sounds of laughter reached me, and the smells of Chinese food seemed to cause an immediate reaction in my stomach.
A head peeked around the corner to the kitchen. “Hey, Navy!”
“Hey, Rose.” I set my bag down by the door and shrugged out of my work vest as I made my way down the hallway.