AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah,” I said, pretending to admire the shirt.
I couldn’t imagine Ronnie enjoying a Phish concert, but then again, I couldn’t imagine Ronnie enjoying Dutch.
Life is full of surprises.
“She’s a Phish fan now, huh?’’
“I mean, who knows, she might just be humoring me, but I’ll take it. There was this guy in the parking lot selling the most amazing grilled cheese sandwiches you’ve ever tasted, Norway. Seriously.”
“Sounds…tasty?” I said as someone dropped several videos into the returns box. I grabbed them and started to scan them in, checking to make sure all of the tapes were rewound. I’d forgotten to do that the first few weeks on the job, and it didn’t go over well with Sully after several customers complained, and he traced it back to me. No one likes to bring a tape home only to find the credits rolling. Since then, I’d been more mindful of it.
Be kind, rewind, and all that.
“Wait, you ate a grilled cheese sandwich that a guy cooked in a parking lot?” Tilly asked, joining us at the counter.
“Yeah,” Dutch said, looking offended. “What’s your point?”
“My best friend could have been doubled over with food poisoning. You don’t know where that guy’s food has been.”
Dutch waved her away. “She had the tiniest bit of the runs. No big deal. It’s not like she was shitting through a screen door.”
“Dutch!” Hannah yelled. “Keep it professional.”
“I think professional went out the window when we started putting on porn movies during inventory,” Emmett said, patting Hannah on the back.
“Touché,” Hannah said. “If it’s chosen. Naomi, did you make sure there was only one porn in there?”
“Yeah, but it’s a nasty one…let’s hope no one picks it.”
“All right, is everyone here?”
Dutch’s pager went off, and a shit-eating grin crossed his face. “I gotta make a call.”
“Dutch, we haven’t even started yet,” Marley said, leaning against the counter.
“But it’s Ronnie. I gotta keep my woman happy.” He hopped up on the counter and tapped the surface with his hands.
“When she says jump, you say how high,” Tilly teased.
“Nah, I say let me jump your bones!” Dutch threw his head back in laughter. He put his hand up for a high five, and when I didn’t immediately give him one, he grabbed my arm and forced the validation of his joke.
“Hurry up!” Naomi yelled after him as he jogged to the back room. “There’s a lot of work to do.”
“All right, so everyone has their movie choice?” Emmett asked.
“Not me,” Tilly said, running to the shelves. “Sorry, but someone took the movie I wanted.”
“Pretty sure you know who that was,” I said with a wink.
The second that Hannah told me to choose a movie for their traditional VHS Roulette inventory game, I knew My Boyfriend’s Back had to go in the tie-dyed pillowcase that they picked movies from throughout the night. It was a no-brainer.
Playfully, she pointed to her eyes and then to mine with her two longest fingers. “Oh, yeah, I’m on to you. I guess I’ll just find something else. Probably a rom-com…you know, for Sully. Oooh, Steel Magnolias.”
“Oh, God, no. I have to draw the line there, Weezer. That’s not even a rom-com, that’s an old lady love fest.”
“They’re not old ladies!” Naomi said, swatting Sully on the arm.
Sully placed a hand over his heart. “I’m begging you, please. Have mercy on me.”
