Instead, he’s scrubbing at a stubborn stain on a pot when I come by. “You don’t have to do this,” I whisper to him. “She just likes bossin’ around now and then. I can take over in a sec.” Vann just shrugs at me, says, “It’s not that bad. I’m bored anyway.” I snort, then warn him to be careful or else he might find himself on the payroll. He just smirks, then eyes me and says, “Wouldn’t be the worst thing.” And I’m left to wonder what he means by that as my heart races excitedly—and I struggle not to imagine the pair of us sneaking off into the storage closet or pantry for some private kissy-kissy time.
Actually, it might be the worst thing; I’d get fired in a blink.
Right around 1:05 AM when the place is finally dying down and just our last two tables are lingering, the kitchen door swings open and in walks Billy Tucker-Strong himself. He’s a handsome guy, full of youth, boyishly messy hair, but with a sharp look in his eyes, like he’s always puzzling something out that’s very complex and bothersome. When he spots me, however, his eyes lighten up and he grins. “Toby,” he greets me cheerily, and I give a tired wave back. He then spots Vann at the sink, which confuses him for a second before his mother stops him by the office. “Why, Junior, what’re you doin’ here?” He leans in, murmurs something in her ear, and she sighs. “Come in, let’s … Lord help us … let’s talk.” The two disappear into the office, the door left open a crack.
Vann drops his last dish into the drainer, peels off his gloves and apron, then eyes me. “Alright. Where’s my paycheck?”
With a peek out through the kitchen window looking into the restaurant, I note all the customers have finally gone, and Mick is out there cleaning up the last tables. I come up pleasantly close to Vann’s face. “You want a form of payment for all that hard work?”
“I mean, it’s the least you owe me, right?”
I pretend to gawk in offense. “Oh, I owe you?? Is that so? I’m the one who turned you into a dishwasher tonight?”
“Well, if I wasn’t here to pick you up, I wouldn’t have been put to work, right?”
I tilt my head coyly. “Maybe.”
“Maybe. Maybe. Yeah, ‘maybe’. And also maybe … you owe me a kiss. Or something.”
My heart skips a beat. “Or something …?”
“Or something,” he repeats.
We have been basically making out for weeks. Tonight is the night of a big school dance neither of us went to. Couples all over Spruce are … doing things. I’m certain of it. Is it time that Vann and I finally … do something, too? In an instant, I can’t think straight. I can’t even focus on his face as my mind races off without me, afire with fantasies, thoughts, fears, worries, excitements, pleasures …
“I’ll go get the bike,” he says. “You can tell Mrs. Tucker ‘you’re welcome’ from me.” With a knowing smirk, he tosses the apron at me and heads out the door, and my eyes drop to his ass in those dark skinny jeans of his and his military-style boots, which he has on tonight. How does Vann make legs look so sexy? “Later, Mick,” I hear him call out, and Mick—who pops out his earbud a second too late—squints in his direction and hoarsely yells back, “Huh?” But Vann’s already out the door. The guy’s probably just surprised Vann remembered his name.
I put the extra apron aside. After double-checking everything in the kitchen, I go to ask Mrs. Tucker if I’m all good to go. At the office door, however, I stop at the sound of Billy’s distressed voice. “—stupid regulations and forms and bureaucracy. I swear, you’d think they didn’t want any children to get adopted.” Mrs. Tucker replies in a struggling-to-keep-positive tone, “Well, that’s Fairview for you. Only so many agencies within reach of here, sweetheart. Have you tried—?” “Yes,” Billy cuts her off. “Whatever it is you’re about to ask, yes, we have tried that, and this, and also that, and everything-else-or-other.”
My knuckles were raised, ready to knock. Now they drop back to my side as I worry whether I want to risk interrupting this chat of theirs. After Coach Strong’s call from Billy, and now seeing Billy here to talk to his mom, I’m putting two and two together. Jimmy mentioned in a random late-night text