Page 128 of Fifty First Times (Sharing You 0.40)
It’s just like her to move on to something worse—money.
“No. No, Ash, I swear. I’m getting my finances together.”
“How much are you figuring to drive to Iowa City?” I can almost hear the alien math wheels turn in her brain. “No way you’ll have more than twenty-five bucks left by the time you get there and back. Where are you going to stay?”
It’s actually ten dollars, by my calculations, but it’s only two days. I can eat McDonald’s for two bucks a pop and three years of my life.
“I’m going to ask Sammie,” I admit as I open the car door, anxious to be on the road.
“Oh, that’s going to go over like a lead balloon.”
“She likes me.”
Ashlee raises an eyebrow. “No, she liked you. Before you climbed up on—”
“The roof. The pretzels. Trust me, I remember.” Sammie and Noel have been friends since they were kids, but even that night I saw compassion in her face. I’m hoping that she will remember that, and that she liked me before The Incident and let me crash on the couch in her hotel room. It’s terrible manners, but with ten bucks, my options are limited.
“If Sammie says no, I’ll sleep in the car and shower at the Y.”
I shoulder my bag before Ashlee can point out that I’ve never even set foot in a YMCA and give her a wobbly smile, my stomach tied in so many knots it would take a Boy Scout a week to undo them.
“Wish me luck?”
Ashlee pauses, trying her hardest to contain the smartass. I wait because I know she’ll fail.
“Good luck not getting arrested.”
“Thanks.”
I give her a smile as I climb into the car. The leather seat burns the backs of my legs, even though it’s September in Chicago. It reminds me of summer, and as with everything these days, it recalls the summer that led me here—and the moment I knew I loved Noel Saunders. I’d choked back that first, unbidden confession, and it had been gagging me ever since.
“PHONE, TRESSA.”
I look up from my book, focusing on Wade’s pretty blue eyes. “What?”
“Noel’s on the phone.”
Unexpected warmth spills into my chest, and as hard as I try, the smile won’t leave my face. Wade gives me a look, one that says he didn’t miss my stupid expression.
I grab the phone from Noel’s best friend and turn my back to him. “Hello?”
“Hey!”
“How are you?” I bite my lip, determined to stop grinning like a fool. He’s only been on vacation with his family for a few days.
“Good. How are things there?”
“Okay.” I glance through the door to the screened-in porch, where a bunch of our friends were laughing and dealing cards, cold beers sweating rings on the cheap plastic table. “We’re getting ready to play snaps.”
“Figured out how to win yet?”
“No, and I’ll thank you to stay out of my personal affairs.” I can hear the smile in my own voice. Damn.
He laughs, and the heat in my stomach gets warmer. We’ve been dating a little over a month, since we’d both taken summer jobs at the same shitty Mexican restaurant.
I hadn’t been looking for a relationship. It just kind of happened.
“Well, I just wanted to say hi and that I miss you,” he says. I imagine a blush coming to his cheeks. “Oh! And I bought you something today.”
