Page 39 of Everything's Better With You
“So I’ll be okay in snow and ice in these tires? I won’t have to do anything else?”
“No, these tires are more than capable of handling anything Iowa throws at you, and since this one came in with a hard top, one of the few, you don’t have to worry about the cold. The marine-grade vinyl is easy to clean and if you do decide to take it out into the wilds, there are rubberized floors and drain holes for easy cleaning.”
Joe was looking at the sticker and Leslie thought for sure he’d seen a twinkle in his eye.
“Joe? You want to look at the trucks or an Explorer?”
“I’ve got some certified used selections—”
“This is perfect. I’ll takeit.”
Leslie couldn’t blame him for being enamored with the Bronco. His dad had one back in the 80s and he’d loved it. Randy had a 1968 model he’d restored as well. If Les didn’t love his truck so much, he’d buy one of these babies…maybe he would anyway.
“This was a canceled order or else we wouldn’t have any in stock,” Tim said, once again the conspirator. “They’re selling as fast as we get them off the truck.”
“Will you be financing?” Tamara asked.
“I’ll be paying cash, thanks,” he said, winking at her.
It probably wasn’t often that she made a deal that good. She stumbled over her words a bit as she explained the price was slightly over MSRP and he smiled and nodded, but Leslie could see his excitement, which was probably just as much about him handling the sale himself as the car.
“Great, Coach Judd. We’ll get started on the paperwork then,” she said, gesturing for him to follow her inside, but he held up a finger and walked over to Les.
“Hey, you can take off,” he said, glancing between Tim and Les. “I know you have practice.”
Well, look at you, Leslie thought.
“Would you excuse me?” Tim asked, giving them privacy like a good wingman.
“Are you sure about this?” Les asked him. “I mean, I couldn’t have picked out a better car for you, but this part can be aggravating.”
Joe shrugged. “I’m okay. I can’t thank you enough. You told me what I needed to know and this whole process was smooth because you were here. If I couldn’t afford it, that would be another matter. All the money stuff can be overwhelming, I hear.”
“Right, and don’t let them sell you a bunch of extra shit. Extended warranties and all that.”
Joe bumped him with his shoulder, but kept his hands behind his back. “Now I can sneak off campus,” he said in a low voice. “And we can…hold hands.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
Leslie laughed with his whole self, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Definitelyhold hands.”
“Soon?” Joe asked.
“Very soon,” Leslie answered.
He could so get used to this, this rapport, this connection they had.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he said, hoping it didn’t break the spell of the day.
“Me too,” Joe said. “Really glad. Now go on. Go run those poor kids into the ground. Make them do burpees until they puke or whatever you football types do.”
“You’ve got practice starting soon too. Somehow, I think you’d run a helluva tough practice.”
Joe raised his eyebrows. “You’ll have to see for yourself. Doubt you could handle it.”
“That’s not saying much,” he said with a laugh. “Some days I can barely get off the toilet.”
“Whatever,” Joe said, but he squeezed Leslie’s arm. “Seriously. I can’t thank you enough for making this such a good experience. Everything’s better with you, isn’t it?”
