Page 34 of Better Than the Movies
“What?”I turned a little in my seat and knew my cheeks were insta-red. “What are you talking about?”
How in God’s name did he know about that?
“Relax, Miss Love—your secret is safe with me.”
“I have no idea what you—”
“I saw the paper.” Wes looked like he was trying not to laugh as his entire face smiled. “I saw the paper, so it’s pointless to deny it. It was sitting on your planner this morning and it said ‘The Soundtrack of M&L.’ Oh my God, Buxbaum, that is freaking adorable.”
I laughed even though I was mortified. “Shut up, Wes.”
“What songs are on it?”
“Seriously.”
“Seriously, I want to know. Is it all boot-knocking songs, like Ginuwine and Nine Inch Nails, or is it cheesy romance? Was Taylor Swift on the list?”
“Since when is Nine Inch Nails boot-knocking music?”
“I’m the one asking questions here.”
I just sighed and looked out the window.
“Well, canwemake a soundtrack?”
“I hate you.”
He said, “Oh, come on.”
“Don’t you have better things to do thanthis?” I gestured between the two of us, teasing but also kind of interested in his answer. Was it all about the Spot, or was it maybe a little about me? “Seriously?”
“Of course, but I’d sell my own grandmother for The Spot.This,” he said, mimicking my gesture, “is all about moving Wessy’s car closer to Wessy.”
And there was my answer.
“Sucha disgusting nickname.” I kept my gaze fixed on the windshield but I could hear the grin in his voice when he said, “So back to the soundtrack of W&L. What should we put on it?”
“You’re an ass.”
“I’m not familiar with that little ditty, but you’re the audiophile here, not me. I was actually thinking of something more like the love theme fromTitanic.”
“Ifwe were making a soundtrack,” I said, pointing at his face, “and we’re not, it would be all about the parking war.”
“Ah, yes, the parking war.” He put on his blinker and came to a stop at the red light. “What song would accompany that glorious battle?”
“NotTitanic.”
“Okay, so then…?”
“Hmm.” I closed my eyes and thought, not caring that he was being sarcastic. This was my favorite thing in the entire world to do. “First we need to decide if we want the song to be an accompaniment to the scene, or if we want it to be a juxtaposition.”
He didn’t answer, and when I opened my eyes, he was watching me. He swallowed and said, “Juxtaposition for sure.”
“Okay.” I ignored that and kept going. “So if we’re thinking about the day that you taped my windshield like a total miscreant, I would select something that celebrated you. You know, because you were remarkably unworthy of celebration.”
“?‘Isn’t She Lovely’ by Stevie Wonder?” he suggested.
“Ooh—I like that.” I hummed the first bar before saying, “Or. The Rose Pigeons have a song called ‘He’s So Pretty, It Hurts My Eyes’ and it catalogues how sweet and amazing some dude is. So that’s totally the juxtaposition of you in the parking war, right?”
