The Arrangement Anthology 1(195)

My fingers press to my temples and stare at her. “Oh my God, Mel. Not now. And I don’t think the sales girl deserved to be verbally castrated because she likes pink.”

Mel glances up at Tiffany. “Nah, I did it because she interrupted me. What was I saying?”

“What if he says yes…”

Mel nods, which makes her thick gold hoops sway back and forth. She seems to have an endless supply of huge-ass earrings. “Yeah, about that—you don’t want him to have an ugly-ass ring for the rest of your life, do you?”

“No, but none of these are quite right.” I glance over at her. Every scenario I can picture fades to black before I can even get the words out of my mouth. It’s like the black hole of horror. My mind stops there and can’t see beyond it. “Why do you think he’ll say yes?”

“Because he thinks with his dick and we’re gonna make it commandeer his brain.”

I smirk at her. “Seriously, Mel. I need to know why.”

She gives me a long hard look and exhales. “Because of the way he acted before he left. Something about it screamed overprotective, which could mean he’s an asshole that planned on ruling your life, or he actually loves you. Since, he let you keep working for Black and skipped town, I’m guessing it’s the latter. The boy may be scary as hell, but deep down he’s a coward. He wouldn’t have run off if he didn’t care about you. Besides, that whole theory lines up with what his brother told you. Sean Ferro has the hots for you.”

Her words are what I want to hear. No, they’re better than that. They give me hope and I can’t hide the stupid look that crosses my face. “So, what do I say?”

“You tackle him to the ground like a linebacker and shove the ring over his cock. Then you say, marry me. Easy peasy.” Mel sees something in the case and snaps her fingers over and over again until Tiffany bounces over. Mel and Tiff exchange deadly smiles. Mel points to a ring. “I’d like to see that one.”

Tiffany has one of those I’m-better-than-you-smiles on her face. “I’m sorry, but we only take jewelry out of the case for customers who intend to make a purchase.”

Oh shit. I glance at Mel, almost afraid to see how she took it. Mel’s face is perfectly smooth with the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen. She’s at DEFCON 1 and ready to nuke the place. Just as Mel opens her mouth, I grab her arm and cut her off, “I’m hungry. Let’s go to Friendly’s and then keep shopping. And you—“ I glare at the idiot sales girl. “I just saved your life. Remember to kiss my ass the next time you see me.”

I pull Mel out of the store before she goes into a full rant. By the time she’s onto heavy nostril breathing and death ray vision, we’re seated at a little table. The truth is Friendly’s is one of my favorite places to eat because my parents took me here when I was a kid. It was the special place that I could choose to go to whenever something awesome happened. Basically, it’s a small diner that sells sundaes and milkshakes.

Mel’s nostrils flare and she slams her hands on the table. “I’m going back there. She can’t talk to me like that!”

“So, show her that she’s a dumbass on the way out.”

Mel smashes her lips together and grunts, “I will.”

“Good.” I open the menu even though I already know what I want. My eyes skim over the plastic pages, avoiding Mel’s freaky pissed off gaze.

“I mean it.” Her jaw is locked tight.

Laughing, I say, “I know.”

I order for both of us and eat in silence as Mel stews across from me. She dabs a fry in ketchup over and over again with a vacant look in her eye. It’s not a good look for her. It means she’s thinking, no, plotting, and nothing good ever comes from that.

After a little bit, Mel stuffs her face as fast as she can and then taps her fingers on the tabletop while she waits for me to finish my sundae. It has peanut butter sauce and fudge, which means that I’m not hurrying.

“Oh. My. God. Hurry up, Avery. You’re killing me.”

I lick the fudge off the back of my spoon without thinking. The nerves that have been twisting my stomach into knots are finally fading. I think I might be able to find Sean and ask him without puking on him. Screw wine, chocolate does wonders for the nerves. “Done.” I put my spoon down and Mel bounces out of her seat.

“I’ll pay my half to you after you find me. See you in a second, okay?”

“Mel, where are you going?”

She flashes a wicked smile my way. “Back to the jewelry store, where else?” Before I can tell her that an assault charge will interfere with her life, she’s gone.