She leaned over the desk. “Really, Theo. Ray’s been worried.”
No shit.
“Is he the reason you’re a-movin’ and a-groovin’?” she asked.
Saying it out loud made it too real. Theo couldn’t even admit it tohimself. He’d kept pushing last night further and further out of his head, but it came back anyway. Vivid. More detailed. The thought made his face hot.
“Let’s carpool,” he said, slapping the desk again. “Your car.”
Alyssa tapped her long, black nails against the stack of books he hadn’t gotten around to putting away. “Why my car?”
“I’ll give you a hundred bucks.”
“Forwhat?”
“Goods. Gas. Split it however you want, I don’t fu—” Theo caught himself mid-sentence. He pressed his lips together before he continued. “I don’t care.”
Alyssa laughed. “Your mouth is going to get you in trouble one day.”
“It already has, trust me.”
“Counteroffer. I want to drink—” Alyssa lowered her voice. “—and you sound like you want to getveryfucked up, so.” She straightened, shrugging back the pigtails. “Twenty bucks and you’re treating for a rideshare.”
“Sold.”
Standing with his body shielding Alyssa’s backside as she dug through her front seat should have been considered a tip. An unavoidable service charge for being her friend.
Theo sighed, staring into the mess, but his eyes kept going down to the glitter.
“Your thong is like, fucking sparkly,” he said. “How the hell can you wear that without having heart palpitations?”
Alyssa glanced over her shoulder. “It’s a bikini bottom, you absoluteboy. Not a thong. It’s cute, right? I went to the mall with Max and Noah yesterday, and she picked it out for me. I think I’m in love.”
Nope.
No.
There werenotbutterflies when someone mentioned Noah’s fucking name. Definitely not.
Theo forced a laugh. “Don’t swing your butt at me. It’s cute, fine. Clean your car.”
“I’ll clean my car when you get your life in order,” she shot back and—
Damn if that didn’t sting.
Alyssa sat, tucking the tiny skirt under her thighs. “There we go. Hand.”
“How much am I paying for one, ma’am?” Theo asked. “Are you price gouging me?”
She popped the little white pill into his palm and he swallowed it dry.
“Shrinkflation,” he added with a snort.
“I’m not—” She smacked his knee. “Jerk.Sir Asshole.I’ll hand you the rest later. You have like, zero freaking chill. The last bag I gave you—did you take both?”
“Yeah.”
“Uh-huh. And the time before?”