The Slow Burn (Moonlight and Motor Oil #2)(61)

We fit. We matched. We had it going on.

Feel me?

We so totally had it tight.

All of us.

And I felt just that, when Toby guided us back into the thoroughfare.

We fit.

We matched.

We had it going on.

We did not watch Miracle on 34th Street.

We watched A Nightmare Before Christmas.

We pushed Brooklyn’s stroller together holding on to each other like we practiced that at home.

If Toby saw my dad, he’d punch him in the throat.

If I saw my dad, I’d kick him in the balls.

We were meant to be.

I was feeling this goodness when my ass chimed.

Still moving, I took it out, read the text from Deanna and told Toby, “Northeast corner, two stalls up. She and Charlie are gonna meet us there.”

“Gotcha,” Tobe said, and since we were heading southeast, he flipped us around.

And we nearly ran into Lora.

“Hey! I thought that was you!” she exclaimed.

“Hey back,” I replied on a smile.

She did a funny little jerk, looked to Toby, me, Toby, me, then Toby, Brooklyn and finished on me.

After that, she got a big smile on her face, nodded her head slowly, and said, “Sister, you two finally got it on.”

Toby chuckled.

“Well, uh . . . yeah,” I confirmed.

I semi-disengaged from Toby, this being I took my arm from him and he took his arm from me only to go up under my jacket to hook a finger in a back beltloop.

I flipped a hand toward Toby and did my next to be polite, and for Tobe since I already knew she at least knew him.

“Lora, do you know Toby?”

“Was two years behind you in class, but yeah. Hey. Lora Merriman,” she reminded him.

“Remember you, Lora, how you been?” Toby asked.

“Can’t complain, mostly.” She did an eye sweep of Brooks and me before she said to Toby, “Think you’ve been doin’ better.”

“You’d have that right.”

“Gah! Dodo!” Brooklyn yelled.

Lora bent over, tucking her hands palms together between her knees and saying, “Yo, little dude. Whassup?”

“Mama, kahkah, Dodo, Dada, leepy, sissis,” Brooklyn shared.

“No joke?” Lora asked. “Well, wow. That’s cool.”

“Leepy!” Brooklyn yelled.

“Right on,” Lora said and took one hand from between her knees to put it palm out to Brooklyn to give him a high five.

He went for it, but his little hand slid off the apple of her palm.

She caught it up and smacked them together a couple of times.

Brooks giggled.

“We’re heading for caramel nut clusters,” I told her. “You wanna come?”

She straightened and replied, “Grrrrrl, no. I already hit that tent. I told myself the two pounds I bought were to portion out and wrap up for stocking stuffers, but that whole thing will be in my belly by next Saturday. I’m hightailing it to Grover’s Ice Cream Parlour. Meeting a friend for a quick coffee before we do the Fair. But thanks.”

This kinda sucked. I liked her. It would be cool to hang with her for a while.

I did not share this.

I said, “Okay.”

“Though, we’re heading to Home after we decimate the Fair.” She glanced down at Brooks. “You probably can’t hit it later.”

I shook my head. “No, we have Christmas cookie plans later.”

She gave me a slow smile and lied, “Sucks to be you.”

“Yeah,” I lied back.

She laughed then bid, “You guys hit the chocolate tent. We’ll make plans some other time. Groovy?”

“Totally. Cool to see you,” I replied.

“You too.” To Toby, “Later, Toby.”

“Later, Lora.”

She gave us a wave, a wiggle of her fingers to Brooklyn, then she took off.

Toby again claimed me.

“How do you know her?” he asked after he set us on our way again.

“Customer at the store.”

“You friends?”

“She asked me to hang with her posse, but I haven’t had time to do that yet.”

“Far’s I know, good people,” he murmured.

Well, that was cool to know.

“Babe, caramel nut clusters?’ he said.

I looked up at him. “Did I forget to mention the caramel?”

He was grinning down at me. “Uh . . . yeah.”

“Did I share the nuts were cashews?”

“I would definitely remember that. So . . . no.”

“Are we gonna run the rest of the way?”

He pulled me close to his side. “I’ll control myself.”

He did but mostly because we didn’t have a choice.

This was because, apparently Toby knew everyone in town. He said, “Hey,” “Yo,” or jerked up his chin constantly as we made our way, and twice we had to stop when someone engaged us in conversation.

Toby introduced me and Brooks and didn’t chat forever with folks I’d seen at the store but hadn’t formally met, but he chatted.

Through this, I realized two things.

One, I’d made the right decision, not working half a shift that day, and not just doing that for Toby, but for me and Brooks.