Page 58 of Sergeant O'
I was glad that it hadn’t taken long for Brian to snap out of his grouchy mood.
The pain reliever probably helped.
As did the snacks he’d loaded up onagainwhen we stopped for gas.
When I came out of the bathroom and saw him in the checkout line with his arms full of junk food, I simply shook my head, grabbed a pack of almonds and a water, and got in line behind him.
He glanced back and snarked, “I know you’re just getting that to make me look bad.”
“Don’t project your guilty conscience on me, JFJ.”
“JFJ?”
“Junk food junkie.”
“Pffft. I guarantee in two hours you’ll be wishing you had some junk food. Maybe, if you ask nicely, Imightbe willing to share mine with you. But you’ll definitely have to apologize for the JFJ remark first.”
I glanced at his haul as he laid it on the counter to get rung up after telling the man behind the counter, “A hundred and twenty on pump six.”
“I do like Pringles. And jerky. And I might be willing to apologize to get one of those Reese’s cups,since you have four.”
“They’ve gotten smaller,” he replied defensively. “All this shrinkflation is bullshit. Four of these in today’s market was the equivalent of two when I was a kid.”
“As much as I want to argue with you, I can’t.”
The clerk gave him his total, and he said, “Wait, these too,” then reached for my almonds and water bottle.
I shook my head. “I got these.”
He forcibly removed the items from my hands and set them on the counter.
“I got money burning a hole in my pocket, remember?”
I wasn’t going to make a scene and argue with him. Besides, I figured I’d find a way to make it even at the Cape, so I simply said, “Thanks.”
Those stupid dimples of his appeared. “My pleasure, Sunshine.”
I held the door for him, and we walked toward his Chevy parked at the gas pump.
“I’m buying the gas the next time we stop.”
He handed me the bag of snacks, then opened the fuel door and inserted the gas nozzle.
“We’ll see.”
“No, we won’t ‘see’. It’s not up for negotiation.”
“’Kay.”
I felt my nostrils flare as I took a deep breath and yanked open the driver’s door. “You really are infuriating, you know that?”
“Infuriatingly handsome, you mean.”
“No. Just infuriating.”
He wasn’t fazed in the least. “Nope. You said infuriatingly handsome. No takebacks.”
“And you said dick, not feet.”
