True or not, how pathetic wouldthatbe?
"Oh, come on," she said. "I'm not stupid. I told him because he asked."
"When?" I asked.
"My first week."
"What? And you justnowthought to mention it?"
"I didn't want to make you nervous." She gave a little shrug. "Or get your hopes up. I know you're crazy about him."
I didn't bother denying it. "Did he ask anything else?"
"Actually…" She hesitated. "…a few days ago, he asked about your mom."
"Oh." Thiswasn'twhat I wanted to hear. "What did he want to know?"
"Mostly, if you'd been seeing her much."
"And what did you tell him?"
"Just the truth," she said, "that she's been making herself scarce and that she won't let you pick up your stuff."
At this, I groaned out loud. "Seriously? You told him that?"
"Yeah." She gave me a confused look. "What's the problem?"
There were so many problems, I didn't know where to begin. "Well, youdoremember where I met him, right?"
"Sure. At that car crash."
"Right. A crash thatIcaused."
Allie waved away my concerns. "You weren't even driving. And besides, the car's already fixed."
"I'm not talking about the car," I said. "I just mean that every time I see him, I'm in some sort of trouble. It's actually pretty embarrassing."
"Oh, please," she said. "When's the last time you saw him?"
"Just today. At the coffee shop."
Allie gave me a smug smile. "Were you in troublethen?"
"Yes, actually." I felt color rise to my cheeks. "I forgot my money."
She laughed. "No way. So what happened?"
The whole thing had been beyond humiliating. There I'd been, in the coffee shop, about to pay when I discovered that I'd forgotten to tuck some cash into the pocket of my shorts.
This wouldn't've been so terribly bad – after all, I could've just dashed home for the money – except for the fact that Jax had shown up just as I was explaining my error.
And of course, he'd felt obligated to pay for my latte –anda scone – even though I'd assured him that I didn't mind walking back for the money I'd forgotten.
Did he believe me? I wasn't sure.Probably, he thought Ihadno money, which was only half true. I had money, just not a lot, that's all.
And then, to make matters worse, my least-favorite barista had spent the whole time ogling him like he was the tastiest treat she'd seen all morning.
As I explained all of this to Allie, I got zero sympathy. Still laughing, she said, "He probably thinks you're adorable."
