Page 92 of Absolutely Pucked
“You know him better than I do. Where do I start?”
He snorted. “What does he love most?”
“Crusty french bread, olive oil, blanket forts, and his cat.”
Tucker burst into laughter. “God, you really do know him. That’s so disgusting. Anyway, you have a car now. And money. Go shopping. He’s finally at work today, and he’ll be done at ten.” Lifting his hips, he dug into his pocket, then slammed a key down on the table. “This is sacred, and I want it back when you two fix your shit.”
“Hey, Tuck?—”
“No,” Tucker said. “Not ready to be friends. But, uh…” He bit his lip for a second, and he was back to being the scared, confused middle school kid that trusted me. For that beat of a second, he was my brother again. “If you want to call me next week—after you two are done with the fuck-fest you’re most definitely going to have—we can, I don’t know, maybe do lunch.”
I was a little too afraid to trust that the offer was real, but I knew right then I’d give up anything just for the hope that it was.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
FORD
“Go home.”
I heard the words. I just didn’t process them for way too long.
“Ford!”
Blinking up, I saw Andrew staring at me. “What?”
“Go home before you get fired. Just tell them you have…I don’t know, the Black Plague from some fleas that your cat brought in.”
“First of all, fuck you. My princess doesn’t have fleas. Fleas wouldn’t dare touch her. Second of all?—”
“Bro. Please. I am begging you. If they fire you, I’m going to be stuck working the late shifts with Candace. I cannot be stuck with Candace.”
She was the cashier who’d been there longest. The one up for promotion next. The one who would act like she was the literal franchise owner if given even a whisper of power. I couldn’t do that to him.
I also couldn’t go home. “I’m not going to be able to pay my rent if I don’t start getting hours.”
“I will literally gift you a million dollars if you go home and get your shit together. I’m sorry that your new friend up and quit without notice, but?—”
I winced. I couldn’t help it. I was sleeping a little better, but I still wasn’t eating much, and I spent most of my waking hours stalking Killian’s socials. Not that he’d updated any of them. Boden, Hugo, Tucker, and Deo were all taking turns watching me like I was about to build a giant slingshot and fling myself into the sun.
If I had the engineering skills, I might have considered it. But only for a second. I wasn’t about to orphan Nugget.
Patting my apron pocket, I felt for my keys. They jingled softly with the promise of being able to put on my ratty pj’s and hop back into my bed.
“If he comes in for his last check,” I said, taking a step toward the exit. Killian’s final paycheck was sitting on the office desk, gathering dust.
Andrew raised a brow at me.
“Tell him I said to go fuck himself.” It was that or tell him that I was still madly and desperately in love with him and would do anything to have him back. But I wasn’t going to make myself look that pathetic in front of my coworkers.
Or, at the very least, I’d wait until the day I quit, and then I could be whoever and whatever I wanted, and I wouldn’t have to care what anyone thought. I shot Andrew a salute, then hurried out the door, ready to zone out on the drive home.
It was just past nine when I pulled into my parking space, and I kind of regretted not finishing my entire shift because at this rate, I was going tohave to borrow money from the Bank of Boden to get all my bills paid. Not that he would have minded, but I did.
Grabbing my things, I trudged up to the front door, then paused when I realized something felt off. Through the blinds, I could see a light on somewhere, and Nugget wasn’t poking her little face between the slats to look at me.
And she was always waiting for me.
