“No.”
Sighing, he says, “All right, how about this? Out of the kindness of my heart, I’ll offer your buddy Luke a killer discount on new tires if he buys them at my dad’s dealership.”
“I’m listening.”
“That’s it, that’s the whole offer. You sit with me at lunch today, I’ll make sure Luke gets new tires. It’s not a big ask, so the reward can’t be too extravagant.”
I mull it over for a few seconds, adding in the peanut butter and jelly sandwich with borderline-stale chips waiting for me in my locker, then nod my head. “All right, I’ll make that deal.”
“Now, if you wanna sit in my lap, we can talk about those windows.”
I crack a smile. “The lunch lady would never allow that.” Looking over at him, I cock an eyebrow. “And I never told you his windows were busted out. Way to incriminate yourself.”
“I heard it through the grapevine, otherwise I would have no idea,” he assures me.
“Mm hmm.” I know he’s not even trying to convince me, but I shoot him a look anyway.
Deflecting my look entirely, he wraps an arm around my waist and draws me close. “Let’s go put those books away and get you some food.”
Since I don’t usually go to lunch, I don’t keep track of what they’re having which day, but I’m pleasantly surprised to find that today is Mexican burrito bar day. Carter buys us both chicken fajitas and a cup of diced peaches for dessert.
“I don’t know if I should let you spend this kind of money on me,” I tease as we move forward in line.
“I know, I might have certain expectations about what you owe me after a feast like this one,” he replies.
“I mean, a plastic cup of diced peaches for dessert? What am I, the queen?”
“What can I say? I like to spoil my woman.”
I bite back a grin, attempting to cast him a severe look over my shoulder. “I am not your woman, Mahoney.”
Ignoring my rebuff, he says, “This reminds me, when we go to New York in a couple months, there’s a Mexican place I’m gonna take you to not far from the apartment. Great enchiladas. When we’re tired after a long day of classes next fall, I can see us getting dinner there and bitching about the professors we don’t like.”
I nod my head. “Yep, that’s definitely going to happen. I always go on trips to New York with all of my ex-boyfriends. I definitely drive six hours after my classes so I can eat dinner with them in another state, too.”
“You won’t have to drive, you’re going to live there with me,” he informs me.
“Oh, am I?”
Carter nods confidently, giving me a nudge to let me know I need to move forward in line. “Yep. I know you’re not completely sold on me right now, but wait until you see the apartment. You’ll be sold on the apartment.”
“I don’t doubt that. It’s more the skipping college to live with my ex-boyfriend part I’m not so sure about. I don’t think I can live with you in New York and commute to my school six hours away, either. All of this seems pretty unlikely.”
Carter hands over his card to the cashier. “Hers, too.”
The cashier nods and adds up the total for both of our lunches, then swipes his card and hands it back. Once he has paid for our food, we each grab our trays and Carter leads the way to the jock table. Naturally, my gaze drifts to the table I would sit at if I played the role of Carter’s girlfriend the way he would probably want me to. Cheerleaders and girls’ volleyball players mostly fill the table, but I notice Erika isn’t there yet.
I can’t believe I’m going to sit at Carter’s table with Erika this close. She’s going to shoot me snide looks, and while normally her opinion of my decisions wouldn’t matter, since I agree with her on this one, I’m going to feel like an idiot.
The more time I spend with Carter like this, the more damned I am. When I start missing him and wanting him back in weak moments, if I’m around him all the time, I’m much more likely to fall back in. Since I am determined not to, I need to make sure when I’m having those moments, I am safely away from Carter and unable to act on them.
I take a seat right next to him as I have that thought. Clearly, I am failing all over the place today, but I have high hopes for myself once all my debts have been settled.
“Look who’s back,” Cartwright says, offering a nod of acknowledgement. “‘Sup, Ellis?”
“I’m pretty excited to eat this chicken fajita, Cartwright. What’s up with you?”
“Hell yeah, burrito bar day is my shit,” he agrees, grabbing his own fajita and taking a bite. “You like this, you should go to this place we went to in Dallas. I don’t remember what it’s called,” he says, glancing to Carter for help. “You know the place with that massive burrito that was just fuckin’ smothered in queso? Dear lord. The waitress was hot as hell, too.”