Page 23 of Every Broken Thing

Ben and I stood facing each other in silence for nearly a full minute before I cleared my throat and threw my backpack over my shoulder. “Well, I’m starving, and I just spent the last hour watching a forty-year-old teacher explore her suppressed sexuality. I need a fucking milkshake.” Ben’s eyes bugged out of his head with a strangled choke, and I launched into a detailed account of the red-faced detention teacher as he scrambled to follow me down the hallway. “Seriously, at one point, I thought she was in danger of self-combustion. I’m shocked she didn’t bring her vibrator to help her finish.”

“Wow, thanks so much for that visual,” he said.

Surrendering to the naughty urge, I lowered my voice to a mischievous whisper. “Her face was purple at one point. Probably the part in the story where the guy takes out his impressive… what kind of words do they use in that shit? They never saypenisbecausepenisis not a sexy word.”

He burst into rich laughter, and my responding grin hurt my cheeks. His damn dimple returned, waving hello as it mocked my traitorous heart lurching dangerously in my chest.

As we exited the school into the cool evening air, our eyes met. It was naught but a moment, and yet my pulse spiked as heat sizzled through my veins.

Shit, that wasn’t a good sign, was it?

8

Friendship Probation

“So where are wegoing?” Ben asked as I unlocked Mabel.

We scrambled into the cab to escape the cool autumn air. The leather interior chilled me through my jeans as I settled into the driver’s seat. When I handed him my bag, he laid it on the floor between his legs next to his own.

“The drive-in. They have the best blue moon shakes.”

“What’s that?”

Just to be a dick, I said, “Well, it’s when they mix ice cream with milk so you can drink it out of a straw.”

“Har, har. I meant, what’s blue moon?”

I paused with my key half-inserted in the ignition as Ben buckled his seat belt. “Do you seriously not know?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I did.”

His innocent question was precious and yet completely depressing. “Oh no, this won’t do.” I shook my head sadly as I fired up the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. “Blue moon is only the best ice cream flavor on the face of the planet!And the fact that I have to explain this to you is extremely disappointing.”

“I didn’t realize you were so passionate about ice cream.”

“And I didn’t realize you’d lived your life under a rock.” He scoffed at my sour tone “Good thing you’re still on probation.”

He typed on his phone, diverting his attention between me and his screen. “Probation? For what?”

“Um, friendship probation. What else?”

He dropped his phone into his lap and crossed his arms over his chest. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” I explained as I maneuvered Mabel through the light traffic, “that this is a trial period, and you gotta watch yourself. Three strikes, and you’re out. And you’re already at one strike.”

He was not amused, and I bit my lip to stop my smile. “That’s not how friendship works.”

“Well, I’m not so good at the whole friend thing, so…” I shrugged.

“I think you underestimate yourself.”

If he’d been teasing, I’d have flipped him off. But his tone was sweetly sincere. It sent heat bubbling under my skin.

“You don’t know me,” I blurted.

His next words rang confidently through the cab as his lips quirked in a lopsided grin. “Not yet.”

The rest of our drive passed in silence, but it wasn’t awkward. Normally, silence made me uncomfortable, but the stillness between us was easy, soothing. I could get used to this.

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