Page 20 of The Heartbreakers
“Huh? Oh yeah. It’s gone,” I said, directing my attention to the fries as my heart rate picked up. “So what exactly is the white stuff?” I could already hear the “that’s what she said” joke, as if JJ were sitting next to us.
Grabbing another crispy fry, Oliver dunked it in the goo. “Maymays favor ith galic owder,” he said with a full mouth.
I looked at him and laughed. “Never heard of that before.”
Oliver swallowed. “It’s mayonnaise flavored with garlic powder.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I like ketchup.”
“Figured that,” he said and pulled a handful of packets out of the bag. As I reached for the sugary tomato sauce, he pulled away, keeping the ketchup just out of reach. “If you want it, you have to try this first.”
“Come on, Oliver,” I said, staring down at the sloppy mess. “That looks gross.”
“Nope. You gotta try one.”
“What if I said I’m allergic?” Oliver lifted both hands to his face and covered a sneeze. “Bless you,” I said on reflex.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’m allergic to bullshit.”
“Hey,” I complained and whacked him on the shoulder. “That’s not funny.”
Picking up another fry, Oliver cupped his other hand underneath to catch the droppings. “Just close your eyes,” he told me. I clasped my hands together and blinked.Hewantsmetodowhat?When I didn’t react, Oliver frowned as if it were perfectly normal to hand-feed the girls he hung out with. “Stella, just do it.”
Unsure how else to respond, I did as he said, but not before grabbing my water bottle from my backpack in case I needed to wash down the fry. Oliver brought the food up to my mouth, and his finger grazed my lip as I slowly opened up.
“Well, what do you think?” he asked, as I chewed tentatively. It was a masterpiece of cheesy, salty heaven. I was too stubborn to admit that out loud, so instead I picked up another fry and shoved it in my mouth.
“That’s what I thought,” he said with a bemused smile. We finished the rest of the fries quickly and fought over the last one before continuing with the next course.
“Ready for round two?” he asked me. Wiping my greasy fingers on a napkin, I nodded my head. “Okay, this is something my grandma used to make me when I was a kid.” Oliver pulled out another container. He opened the lid and revealed a weird, pink-and-green food.
“Is that…ham and pickles?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He nodded his head. “And cream cheese. It holds it all together.”
“You eat the weirdest food ever,” I said. Oliver had spread cream cheese over slices of ham, placed a pickle in the middle, rolled it all up, and cut them into to bite-sized pieces. Truthfully, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had pulled out a rainbow eggplant dipped in chocolate and told me it was his favorite food.
He cradled the box against his chest. “Don’t insult the pickle rollups. They’re delicious.”
I held back a snort. “Sorry, I didn’t know pickles had feelings.”
“They do.”
“If I try one, will they forgive me?” I asked, as I covered a grin with my hand. The pickle rollups didn’t sound appetizing, but they looked much safer than the garlic cheese chips. The first dish had surprised me, so why couldn’t this one?
Oliver glanced down at the food in consideration before looking back up at me. “I suppose so.”
I picked up a pickle rollup and took a bite. “Pretty good,” I told him. The cream cheese actually brought the combination of foods together nicely.
“You mean pretty damn good,” Oliver corrected me.
“Of course,” I said and picked up another. “My bad.”
Giving me a nod of approval, Oliver grabbed a pickle thing and popped it into his mouth. As he chewed, a smile spread across his face. He looked like a kid who had just been told he could eat dessert for the rest of his life. I chuckled as I grabbed another roll-up, one that had a little more cream cheese than the rest.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a bit crazy?” I asked, licking some excess cheese off my finger.
Oliver shrugged. “I’m a rock star.” The way the words rolled off his tongue made me stop, pickle halfway to my mouth. He swiped it out of my hand before I could protest, shoved it in his mouth, and lounged back on the steps. “People like me are allowed a little bit of craziness.”
