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“Hey. It’s Scottie. If this is a bad time?—”
“Uh, no. Just a sec.”
There are muffled voices in the distance and scratching noises like his phone’s speaker is rubbing against something. Then there’s a click, and it’s quiet.
“Sorry. What’s up?”
Shit.
Nothing is up.
“Really, if this is a bad time. I can call you later.” I pick at a loose thread on the frayed cuff of my denim button-down.
“Nope. The time is fine.”
My nose wrinkles while I silently berate myself. I should have texted.
“Scottie?”
“Yeah, uh …”
“Hi,” he says in his confident tone. “Did you call just to say hi?”
My body relaxes as I slowly spin in circles on the swivel stool behind the counter.
“Or are you calling to cancel our date? That would suck, but I would understand. I was pretty creepy the other night.”
I chuckle. “No. I’m not calling to cancel. I’m bored. It’s a slow day in the store, and I thought maybe you were taking a lunch break. But you sounded busy when you answered. So yeah, I called to say hi.” I can’t stop smiling; I can’t tame those butterflies. “Hi,” I whisper, stopping the stool as a customer enters the store. “Hi,” I say to the customer. “Let me know if I can help you.”
“Sounds like someone came into your store.”
“Yes. I’ll let you get back to work. I’ll try to control my bored impulses in the future.”
“Hey, man! Are you coming?” A deep voice drifts from his side of the call, along with several thumps.
“Well, good chat,” I say with a tiny laugh.
“Just some assholes banging on my truck window. They’re lost without me.”
“Are you their boss?”
“Nope. Just the only one who knows what to do.”
“Ah, gotcha. Well, I’ll see you in eight days.”
“Eight of the longest days of my life.”
I press a hand to my mouth to hold my squeal.
A dog barks.
With a deep breath, I regain my composure. Barely. “Do you take Scrot to work with you?”
“Of course. At least when I can.”
I don’t know why this makes me happy, but it does. “I love that. Well, see ya.”
He hums. It’s deep and sexy. Is he slowly killing me on purpose? “Bye, Scottie.”
