Page 13 of Sweeter

Will attempts a stern glare, but the smile ruins it. Neither of us can stop smiling. We must look like we’re on drugs.

“I can take a look at the engine if you want?”

I laugh, but Will doesn’t laugh with me.

“Wait, is that a serious offer or are you trolling me?”

He frowns. “Why would I be trolling you?”

“Because you’re a tech bro and my car is a hatchback, not a drone that needs to be assembled.”

He prods me in the shoulder. “Speaking of judging people... I know cars. My dad’s a mechanic, and I almost didn’t go to college so I could join the family business.”

“How very Springsteen of you!”

“Nah, Bruce would have stayed.” His face changes as he says it, the brightness in his eyes dulling to that melancholic gray. I can’t stand it. I raise myself on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. “You’re sexier than Springsteen. And that’s saying something.”

His skin creases beneath my lips and I know the smile has returned. “You’re a goddess, Marley.”

It’s such an elaborate compliment, I flush. “I don’t think—”

“So don’t think,” Will says and he bends his head to mine.

His lips are ice, but as we kiss, I heat all over. In the bar his mouth was hungry, but there’s a tenderness to this kiss that has me shaking. The deeper we press into each other, the more I vibrate, as though the particles that hold me together are falling apart at Will’s touch. It’s overwhelming, almost scary to feel this way, but I don’t stop kissing Will and he doesn’t stop kissing me…At least until a wolf whistle splits the air.

We turn and see my neighbour, Strange Hank. It’s just Hank, really. I added the ‘Strange’ after I saw him walking his pet ferret on a leash whilst wearing an Astroboy dressing gown and smoking a cigar. “Hey, Hank.”

He eyes the two of us. “Bit early, isn’t it?”

I laugh. “Roadside assistance is better than I remember.”

Strange Hank looks confused. “Is this guy harassing you?”

Jesus, this is what I get for trying to be funny. “No, I was just kidding. This is my friend, William Faulkner.”

My neighbour glares at me, turns and heads back into his house.

“What?” I call after him. “What is it?”

Will’s shoulders are shaking with quiet laughter and I realise where I went wrong.

I roll my eyes. “Have you considered changing your name to something less…literary?”

“Nope,” he says, then kisses me again, harder, as though to make up for lost time. I sink into him for a few seconds, then remember we need a location change. I step away. “Okay, you attempt to fix my car—good luck by the way, it’s a piece of shit—and I’ll go inside and clean so you think I’m a functioning adult who doesn’t dry her underwear on a string above her kitchen table.”

Will flashes me a smile I’m starting to think of as ‘vintage Abercrombie panty-destroyer.’ VAPD for short.

“Then I’ll come inside?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“And then?”

I lick my lips, tasting cold and sweet. Might as well cut to the point. “I don’t think I should give you clay throwing lessons. I think we should be lovers, instead.”

The blue in Will’s eyes seem to brighten. “I agree.”

“Then we have an accord.” I take another step backward, my heart in my mouth. “I’ll get going before the—”

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