Page 117 of Late Fees

Coward.

“Dude, that was awesome,” Dutch said from the register as he handed a video to a customer.

“Yeah, well, let’s hope Hannah doesn’t fire my ass,” Sully said under his breath as he walked back to the register and handed me our videos.

“She won’t,” Naomi said. “That kid’s been pressing his luck for weeks. Even Marley can’t stand him…and she likes everyone.”

“That was…really cool of you. I mean it,” I said, handing him money for the movies.

He shook his head. “Kevin’s an idiot…and he was breaking company policy.”

“Well, I’ll talk to Hannah if you need me to.”

“We all will,” Naomi said. “Don’t worry. She’s been on the verge of firing him anyway. She’ll be relieved that he’s gone.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I should probably go call her, though. Just to be safe.”

“Good idea,” I said with a nod, walking toward the door. “Hey, Sully?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”

He nodded and smiled. “No sweat. Go watch your movies. We’ve got everything under control.”

“That wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be,” I said as the credits rolled for My Boyfriend’s Back.

“Yeah, when it comes to movies about guys who come back from the dead to get their girl, I’d say it was decent.”

“Have you seen a lot of those?” I asked with a surprised laugh.

Wyatt paused, pushing his tongue to one side of his mouth in deep thought. “Nope. It’s in a league of its own.”

“I guess it is.”

“That was pretty crazy what happened today…you know, at the video store.”

“Yeah, but he totally had it coming. He’s a pill. And he drives everybody crazy. Ever since you and I started going out again, he’s been over-the-top.”

“If he can’t have you, no one can,” Wyatt said, using an over-the-top, domineering voice as he pounced on me. He kissed my neck as he tickled my abdomen. Laughing, I tried to push him off me, but I had forgotten just how strong Wyatt was. He wasn’t a beefcake like Oden—he was long and lean—but he was surprisingly solid.

It was a major turn-on.

“God, I missed this,” he said, murmuring into my ear before kissing the top of it and rolling to his side.

“Me, too,” I whispered, gazing into his eyes. “I have more fun hanging out with you, basically doing nothing, than I would have with Oden at, like, the coolest place on earth.”

“Oh, really? Did you go to the coolest place on earth?”

“We did go to Disney World. Does that count?”

“You went to Disney World with a high school boyfriend?”

“Yeah, his parents let me tag along on a family vacation over spring break. He said he wouldn’t go without me, so they caved.”

“Sounds like expert parenting right there.”

“I know, right?”

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