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My eyes grow wide. “I think I’ve been tortured enough this year,” I complain, thinking back to the suit I had to wear for the christening of Wade’s baby.
“Not nearly enough, my friend.” He puts his arm around my neck in a chokehold as I struggle to get out of his grasp.
“Get off me you psycho.” I push him away, laughing.
We get back to the record store and stop by Jack’s car.
“When are you going to ask her?”
Jack touches his pocket. “When I deserve her,” he says solemnly.
“So that would be never.”
“Fuck off, Morgan.”
Jack looks at the store curiously. “How’s the new hire working out?”
“Sasha,” I remind him. “Fine. It’s going fine.” I scratch the back of my neck.
Jack crosses his arms over his chest, stretching the t-shirt over his biceps.
“Fine, huh?” He raises his eyebrows, clearly not believing me.
“It’s not like that.” I retort, rolling my eyes at him.
I follow his gaze to the store. I can see her moving around inside because the windows are actually clean, and she took down the ripped posters. The store actually looks like it has life in it now. I know I’ve been neglecting it for a long time, but I was just trying to get through the day.
“She’s only helping for the summer,” I say.
11
L.A. RIVER
SASHA
I Want You to Want Me by Letters To Cleo
Iput on some music while I organize the display case. There was a delivery while Cash was gone, and I took the liberty of opening the boxes and rearranging the case to make room. The store looks brighter since I took down those old posters and cleaned the windows.
Used to always moving when I worked at the bar, I felt the need to keep busy when there weren’t any customers. He hasn’t protested about any of the other stuff I’ve done, like dusting all of the shelves, moving the t-shirts to the opposite wall with the racks, or bringing in suckers for some of the kids that come in.
The thought of the suckers brings me back to that moment when he was trying to snatch one from me. His arms caged me in, veins bulging as he gripped the counter on either side of me, but it was the look in his eyes that made heat bloom from my stomach, all the way up to my neck. When his eyes drifted to my lips, I thought he would kiss me.
Iwantedhim to kiss me.
But he didn’t.
If he hadn’t gotten that phone call, would he have?
The question swirls around on my tongue until I swallow it. I’ve never met someone as complicated as Cash. It’s like peeling away the layers brick by brick, only to be met with another wall.
Anineties remake of an oldCheap Tricksong plays in the background, and I push the thoughts out of my mind as I bob my head to the music and sing along. I move through the aisles, busying myself by double checking the order because people always put things back in the wrong place. Shaking my hips to the rhythm of the music, I move along the aisles, spotting a few albums here and there, and replacing them.
Through the window I can see Cash and Jack standing in the parking lot, staring inside. They look conspiratorial as they chat and point until Jack finally rounds the car and gets in while Cash makes his way to the store.
I pull out my phone from my back pocket and turn the music down before he comes in. The bell rings and I look up from the poster I’m tucking back into the correct bin. He looks at me and then at the window where I took all the posters down. “I put all the posters on your desk in case you wanted to keep any of them,” I point out, because I don’t know if any of them have special meaning to him. They were all ripped and faded anyway, blocking out the light.
“Don’t look so worried.” He smiles and looks at the window. “Someone needed to breathe some life into this place.” He makes his way to the back of the store.
