“I think you should get it.”
And I definitely mean that in every way it could possibly mean.
“Thirty dollars,” Vale says, ignoring Leana and her smirk and rotating the tablet he’s using to check me out so I can pay.
“I thought they were ten bucks each,” I tell him, my head spinning from her to him. “And that Frank Ocean shirt was definitely more. Shouldn’t it be at least forty?”
“Buy three get one free today. So, six shirts, two free.”
“That’s not a thing,” Leana teases, her smile at Vale getting even more devious as she puts a gold necklace on. At the same time Pérez lets out a “Do I get buy three, get one free too?”
Vale looks like he’s going to jump over this counter at Leana the second we leave. Eyes big, like,I don’t remember asking you to speak.
“It’s cool. The shirts are going to look really good on you, so when everyone asks where you got them, send them this way. Consider it, like, when brands send stuff to influencers. And until I find someactualinfluencers in this city, why not futbolistas?”
I fake a hurt look, eyes squinted, head tilted, and my hand at my heart like those words destroyed me, while also being unable to keep the smile down. “Alright. I see how it is. I—are you sure? You won’t get in trouble?”
He lets out apshhand his face goes back, like he’s almost insulted at the idea. “I’m not scared of my cousins. Just tag us if you ever wear this stuff in an IG post.”
“Uh, yeah. Of course. For sure. Thanks.”
Leana’s already changing again by the time we’re done paying. And still changing after we’ve said our byes and see you arounds to Vale—with Kat making a chismose-ass look at him and me when we hug. And she’s still not out when we’re walking out the door as slowly as possible.
Whatever. It’s fine.
I’m opening the door to my truck, a leg already propped up to hop in when I hear a voice call out, “Pineapple!”
Leana jogs the few steps over to me, her eyes giving me a quick up and down. “Run tomorrow morning?”
“Yeah,” I say with a big smile. “Definitely. Bright and early.”
She gives me a smile back before kissing my cheek. “See you then.”
Shit, I’ve got to look like all kinds of Goofy-ass,ah shucksnow.
“Oh, also,” I start when I’ve managed to clear my head, “You think this week you’d have some time to hang out?”
Her eyes go into a thinking squint, arms crossing over her chest. “Isn’t that what we do already?”
I can feel my friends watching us, their eyes locked on from the other side of the windshield, wishing they had popcorn. Maybe I should’ve waited before asking her again, but it felt right, and I’ve been sitting on it all weekend. I want to see if the third time could be the charm. Because as fun as the kind of hanging out we’ve been doing has been, “I want to take you out. I mean, I’d really like to take you out. Would you let me take you out?”
She takes slow steps toward me, her face still in thinking mode. “What’d you have in mind?”
“Haven’t finalized any details, but we could get dinner, go to the beach—even one out of the city if you want—do mini golf. There’s this new glow-in-the-dark one that looks like fun. That or their social media person knows how to make a guy really excited about glow-in-the-dark mini golf.”
“I’m actually extremely good at mini golf,” she tells me with a smirk. “I would kick your ass. Thoroughly.”
A breath of a laugh comes through my closed lips: hearing how her talking about her golf game sounds so similar to Vale talking about his beer pong game (which turned out to be very true). Yeah, they’ve got to be besties.
“I mean, I’m a gentleman. I was going to let you win anyway.”
“How chivalrous, Pineapple.” She hands me back my phone before turning around and starting to walk back to the store. “Text me.”
“I—yeah,” I say with the dopiest smile. “For sure.”
I hear her yell, “Vale, let’s get some lunch delivered,” when she opens the door, and the question sits on my tongue asI wonder what their history is. And the only reason I don’t go asking immediately is because that might give her a reason to ask what mine and his is and … yeah, not doing that. Dangerous territory that question could lead to. Having to explain how that buy three get one free isn’t so much him being a star retail worker as a benefit of making out with him at a party.
I’ll let them have their lunch and mind my business.
