“Those idiots, Joe and Dave.” Sam waved her hand. “I should just look at the source and let it go.”
“I work with Dave. Next time I see him, I’ll tell him to cut the shit or I’ll kick his scrawny ass.”
“I don’t need you sticking up for me,” she told me. “Those two idiots are like Beavis and Butthead. They don’t matter.”
“Matters if you’re mad.”
“I’m just in a mood, I guess, but what matters is you’d stick up for me.” She rolled her eyes. “God knows my brother wouldn’t.”
“Hey, that’s what friends are for, right?”
“Right.” Sam looked around the stand of trees in Carson’s Park I had volunteered to clean as part of Jen’s Earth Day weekend. “And I guess they’re for helping to pick up bottles and skeezy trash, too.”
“Yeah.” Removing my sunglasses, I pulled my shirt up and wiped my face. “I appreciate it, Sam. Tell you what, I’ll treat next movie.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Large popcorn?”
“Large popcorn, and I’ll even splurge for two drinks instead of two straws.”
“Ohhh, treat me like that and this girl will get spoiled!” Batting her long lashes at me, she widened her big brown eyes. “Thank you for my own personal soda, Justin! Can I have snowcaps, too?”
“Now you’re pushing it.”
“Please?” She pushed her lips out in a pout.
“That’s not fair,” I told her.
“Please, oh, please?” She then made her lower lip tremble, and I sighed dramatically.
“Yes, you can have snowcaps, but we share those.”
“Deal!” She clapped her gloved hands and jumped up and down like a little kid.
I laughed. “You’re too cute.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you remind me of my little cousin when you do that.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “I guess there’s worse things.”
“Well”—I put my hand up, knowing I’d made a mistake—”you’re cute in other ways, too. You’re pretty.”
“Think so?” She looked at me dubiously.
“Oh, yeah. You’re real cute. You know, like girl-next-door cute.”
“I’ll take that.” She smiled.
“Yeah, and a lot of guys like that—not hot, but cute.”
“You need to learn when to shut up, Justin.”
“Sorry, I meant—”
“Want to take a break?” interrupting me. “We’re about halfway through. The playground will be a lot quicker, so how about lunch and we finish up in one shot from here?”
I slapped my forehead. “Lunch? Shit, I didn’t think of that! You want to take a run down to the—”
“I figured you would.” Walking past me, Sam sat underneath a large tree and unzipped the backpack, pulling out a yellow can and tossing it to me. “Yoo-hoo?”
“My favorite!” I caught the can and popped the top as I sat facing Sam under the tree.
“I know,” she said, producing a plastic container with two sandwiches in it. “Just like I know Pastrami and cheese is your favorite.”
“Spicy mustard?” My mouth watered as I took the container.
“But of course!”
As Sam pulled out a bottle of Mountain Dew and a banana, I removed my work gloves and chugged half the Yoo-hoo.
“Wow, these go down too easy,” I said.
“Kind of like Jen,” Sam replied, kicking her sneakers off and stretching her long legs out in front of me. “And go ahead and finish it. I brought you two.”
“Jen’s not a slut, Sam. I told you we’ve been dating six months and we haven’t done anything but make out.”