Living Out Loud (Austen, #3)(16)

But even beyond that, no one had caught my eye. There were three boys in my grade called Bubba, and although their names had nothing in common with their intelligence—one was our valedictorian—I couldn’t see myself with a Bubba. Although, trust me when I say that if you’d heard their real names, you’d understand the appeal of the nickname. No one read. Instead, they threw keggers in their parents’ pastures, tubed in the springs, camped at Canyon Lake. They hung out at Whataburger or Sonic, spiking their Route 44 Cherry Limeades with cheap vodka.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t wanted to go too. But the truth was that I couldn’t have walked the distance into the pastures, and I couldn’t have run for it if the cops came (they always did). I couldn’t have tubed in the springs because, if I had fallen in, I might not have been able to fight the current. I couldn’t have camped; I wouldn’t have been able to set up my tent or swim in the lake or go on any hikes. And I didn’t drink—mostly because it was bad for me, but also because the idea intimidated me.

Oh, I’d been asked to go on those outings a few times—not many, but a few—but once you refused so many times, people would quit asking. And a few boys had tried to pursue me, but I always declined. As nice as it might have been to have a date to homecoming and get a big, jingly, ridiculous mum to wear, I didn’t want to say yes until I felt that yes all the way through me, down to my toes.

None of the boys in Boerne made me feel anything down to my toes.

So I’d read books, and I spent my recesses, lunches, and homecomings with my best friend, Jill, until she moved away the summer before senior year. And then…well, she moved on.

Luckily, Elle was my other best friend.

Greg stayed to chat with me until Harrison started flicking coasters at him from the bar like tiny frisbees.

I quit eating when I was stuffed, which was just as Harrison approached.

“You’re not gonna leave me here to eat all alone, are you?” he asked with puppy-dog eyes.

I chuckled, sliding out of the booth as he slid in. “I wouldn’t, but I’ll never get through training if I take an hour for lunch.”

“It’d be time well spent. Just saying.”

“I don’t doubt that for a second. See ya later, Harrison,” I said over my shoulder as I made my way back to Ruby at the register.

She was handing a bag of books across the counter. “Here you go. Read Fables first, and if you don’t love it, come back here so I can tell you why you’re wrong.”

I laughed, a single, surprised burst of sound. The guy with the bag in his hand blushed, his ruddy cheeks splotchy and smile shy, lips closed over his braces.

“Thanks, Ruby,” he muttered before hightailing it out of the bookstore like his pants were on fire.

“Man, that’s the best part of this job,” she said with a shake of her head. “How was lunch?”

“Greg was right; that sandwich blew my mind.” I made an explosion sound with my mouth.

She laughed. “Man, Harrison is practically tripping all over himself to get you to notice him.”

I frowned. “What?”

Ruby nodded behind me, and I turned to catch him watching us, smiling with a wad of sandwich in his cheek. He jerked his chin in acknowledgment.

I laughed. “Oh, he’s just being…I don’t know. Funny.”

With one eyebrow up, she said, “Funny?”

“Well, yeah. He was trying to make me laugh.”

“Guys like Harrison try to make you laugh so they can get your phone number.”

My face quirked. “No.”

“Yes,” she said on a laugh. “Anyway, Cam wanted you to head to the back. She’s got some more paperwork for you to fill out.”

“All right. Thanks for your help today, Ruby.”

“No problem. You’re a real natural. It takes a lot of skill to manage these babies,” she joked, stroking the plastic buttons.

I chuckled and headed to the office I’d become acquainted with earlier that day. Cam was sitting at her desk, laptop open in front of her.

“Hey, Annie. Come on in. You can sit at Rose’s desk.” She motioned to the empty desk butted up against the back of hers. “Let me grab some forms for you—taxes, that sort of thing.”

She rummaged around in a file cabinet at her side, retrieving one paper at a time until there was a stack on the table. A minute later, she handed them over with a pen. “Here you go.”

I scanned the one on top and got to work.

“So, how are you liking it so far?”

I looked up, smiling. “It’s the best first job I’ve ever had.”

She laughed. “Make any new friends?”

I thought there might be a question under her question, but there was no way of knowing what it was. “Ruby is so much fun. She even made stocking books interesting by riding the cart like a chariot.”

“She’s crashed three since we opened.”

I giggled, imagining it. “Harrison’s so funny. Oh, I met Marshall too, but I don’t think he likes me. He keeps calling me New Girl. Like, he said, ‘Hey, bring me some bags, New Girl,’ all sour-like.”

“Don’t take it personal; that’s just his face.”

I laughed. “Well, that makes me feel a little better.”