Page 7 of The Apple Tree

“I pooped,” Josh said.

Kyle looked at me, biting his lower lip and shaking his head.

“And the water went up up up.” Josh pressed his hands to his cheeks and made an O with his lips.

Kyle’s gaze flitted between us.

I found my fake smile like it was no big deal, like my dad wouldn’t come home to a mess on the bathroom floor. It wasn’t the first time I’d abandoned a clogged toilet. But it was just the first time it wasn’t my fault.

“He clogged the toilet?” Kyle asked.

Pressing my lips together, I nodded.

Kyle pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m so sorry. Did you get it unclogged?”

“Of course,” I chirped.

“No. We ran,” Josh called me out before sprinting into the house and leaving me alone with Kyle.

With a nervous laugh, I shook my head. “We didn’t run. It’s fine.”

“I feel really bad,” Kyle said, sliding his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “You did me a favor and got way more than you bargained for. I’m?—”

“It’s fine.” I waved it off because he was so hot, handsome, sexy, and every other word that described the man of my dreams. We didn’t need to discuss runaway turds when I wanted to know if he liked younger women who had a penchant for trouble, enjoyed a few drinks, and thought nonstop about sex.

“Well, if you ever need help with math …” He didn’t finish.

I forced my gaze to his face, and he smirked. Was he making fun of me?

“Or any other favors. I owe you one.” He winked.

Heat crawled up my neck, so I looked away and tightened my ponytail. I was not the butt of anyone’s joke, no matter how hot they were. “What if you tell my mom you need a babysitter tomorrow night.” I pulled my shoulders back and slipped my fingers into my back pockets.

“But I don’t.”

“Even better.” I returned my version of a smirk, but I didn’t go so far as to wink.

“You’re grounded,” he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck like he just remembered what my mom had said.

I nodded.

Kyle twisted his lips. “You want me to lie for you?”

“Lie is such an ugly word. I like your word better.”

He chuckled, gazing at the ground between us. “What’s my word?”

“Favor. Let’s not think of it as a lie. Let’s think of it as the favor you just promised me.”

“Aiding and abetting?”

I laughed. “Abetting implies you’re encouraging me. So just aiding.”

Kyle’s eyebrows peaked.

“Just because I didn’t understand the inversion function of the cosine doesn’t mean I don’t know what abetting means.” I learned the meaning of that word a few weeks earlier in a movie.

“Arccosine is the inversion function of the cosine,” Kyle said.

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