Fries Before Guys

by Vale, Lani Lynn

  I’d been lying in my bed, feeling sorry for myself, and had seen the ad for it on my timeline on my social media page as I’d been scrolling through all of my friends’ happy lives.

  Since I baked cakes for a living and made my living practically by word of mouth through social media, I spent a lot of time on there looking for ideas as well as promoting the hell out of myself.

  And when I’d seen that in my timeline, I’d remembered when I’d gone to the race with Mal last year.

  We’d already been having troubles by that point, so when I’d expressed interest in wanting to go to that, he’d practically laughed in my face and told me that I couldn’t do it.

  Therefore, when I saw it again last night, I’d made a rash decision and signed up even though I knew that it would likely take everything I had to give to even finish the race, let alone rock at it.

  Which was also why, when I saw the boot camp right underneath it, which happened to have a couple of ex-military guys helping run it that would ‘get me ready for the race,’ I’d signed both me and my best friend up for it.

  Though, she didn’t know that fun fact just yet.

  I had a plan to meet her after lunch to discuss it with her.

  However, she’d been applying for a job and was running late.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “I did mention it to him.”

  I knew what his next words would be without even having to think outside the box. He was so predictable.

  Which he told me and confirmed my guess of what would come out of his mouth moments later.

  “You do know, right, that you won’t do well at it?” he asked bluntly.

  I wanted to punch him in the dick.

  “I know that I signed up for a boot camp that would help me accomplish my goal of finishing,” I said patiently, not wanting to create a scene.

  This was my favorite restaurant, and I wanted to be able to come back to this place after everything was all said and done with the man and the bitch standing in front of me.

  “Well, good luck with that,” Marjorie sneered. “Me and Mal are running it together this year. I can’t wait.”

  Wonderful.

  On one of the biggest days of my life, I’d have to see them.

  Yay.

  “That’s cool.” I picked up my chip and shoved it into my mouth.

  “You’re not going to get anywhere eating like that, though.” He shook his head. “I thought you told Dad that you didn’t have any money? If you don’t have any money, how exactly are you able to come out to eat and buy shit like that?”

  I sighed. “I was given a gift card.”

  By his father, sure, but it was a gift card nonetheless.

  He’d been given it by one of his clients and had then given it to me because a little hole in the wall wasn’t Malloy’s cup of tea. Malloy’s tastes were more refined… and they leaned toward two-hundred-dollar steaks and not ten-dollar hamburgers.

  “Show her the checks,” Marjorie whispered.

  I gritted my teeth at her obnoxious voice.

  “Yeah.” He grinned. “She’ll really like them.”

  There he went with the checks again.

  Little motherfucker.

  God, what did I ever see in him?

  Seriously, I couldn’t see an ounce of the man that I thought I’d fallen in love with.

  I sighed. “How about you just show me them now and give the anticipation a rest.”

  He took great pride in pulling out his pocketbook, flipping it open, and showing me the new checks he’d be sending me each month.

  They were a picture of Mal and Marjorie, kissing, with Marjorie holding her hand up to the camera with my ring on her finger.

  My. Ring.

  My.

  Motherfucking.

  Cocksucking.

  Ring.

  A family heirloom.

  I was literally going to kill him.

  Right then and there.

  Followed shortly by her.

  I eyed the steak knife that’d been rolled up in my napkin with my fork, then Marjorie’s finger.

  The sad thing was, I seriously considered it.

  Seriously.

  If I didn’t need my job, I’d seriously consider chopping her finger off just to get it.

  “You do realize, correct,” I said softly, “that that was my grandmother’s ring. That was worn by every single female in my family for the last four hundred and twenty years.”

  I’d lost the wedding ring in the shuffle.

  Though, I knew I didn’t lose it.

  I had suspected Mal had done something with it when he’d moved out, and apparently, he had.

  Apparently, he’d given it to his new woman.

  I wanted to seriously kill them both.

  My hand curled around the steak knife in my hand, and I had to have a constant ‘don’t kill him’ mantra in my head as he smiled as if he’d pulled one over on me.

  Someone slipped into the seat beside me, but I was so freakin’ mad that I didn’t even register who it was.

  I was too busy telling myself that the color orange wasn’t a good look on redheads.

  What else is next?

  Maybe Swearing Will Help

  3-10-2020

  Prologue

  Dear Math, please grow up and solve your own problems.

  -Sincerely, Ford

  Ford

  Ten years ago

  High School

  “Hey, GMC.”

  I stiffened and turned to find none other than Ashe Trammel standing behind me, her arms crossed over her chest, pushing her cleavage up, staring at me with a look of amusement on her face.

  “What?” I asked stiffly.

  “You do realize, right, that this is a school and not a brothel?” she asked, her eyes on my girlfriend, Linnett.

  Linnett sneered at Ashe.

  Ashe, however, was unfazed by either of our glares.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  I was a senior this year and should be living it up.

  Yet, every fucking time I turned the corner, there was Soot, making my life a living hell.

  “I need a ride to the clubhouse today,” she said. “My car broke down on the way to school. My dad said you wouldn’t mind giving me a ride home.”

  I gritted my teeth.

  “We can’t—” Linnett started to say, but I interrupted her.

  “What’s wrong with your car?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I called my dad to come help me, but he was on a call. Mom was at work.”

  I sighed. “Where did you leave it?”

  She narrowed her eyes.

  “What does it matter?” she asked.

  Linnett growled in frustration, already annoyed by Ashe.

  I’d been dealing with Ashe for a long time, so her suspicion didn’t annoy me as much as it did Linnett.

  “It matters because I might be able to go fix your car at lunch,” I answered. “If you tell me where it is.”

  She mumbled something I didn’t quite catch.

  “I’m sorry, what?” I asked.

  She rolled her head around on her neck, then said, “It’s on the highway. On-ramp. Right where I would’ve gotten on to get to school.”

  I stared at her blankly for a few moments, then narrowed my eyes.

  “You died on the highway and had to walk to school from there?” I asked incredulously.

  She shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal. I was going to track practice anyway, and I just used that time to run instead.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose, causing Linnett’s arm to dislodge from mine.

  “You ran on the highway, in the dark, and your father didn’t care?” I asked for clarification.

  She sighed. “Yes.”

  “What the fuck, Ashe?!” I growled, throwing my hands up. “Why the fuck would you go and do a thing like that?�
�

  She narrowed her eyes.

  “It’s not like I wanted to do that,” she countered. “It was that or go back home, and I knew I couldn’t go back home because we have that test today in calculus. The one that we stayed up for hours studying for.”

  “Wait a minute,” Linnett said slowly. “You studied with her instead of coming over to my house and studying?”

  Linnett was getting mad now, I could tell.

  I ignored her and held out my hands.

  “Give me the keys. If I can get it running, I’ll get Linnett to drive it back,” I said.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you,” Linnett denied. “Not after you lied to me and told me that you were too busy to come study with me.”

  Ashe turned her head and narrowed her eyes at Linnett.

  “Maybe he wanted to actually get some studying done,” she said smartly. “Maybe he knew that if he went over to your house, you would just make him suck your face instead of studying. And he needs to pass this test, or he’s going to fail.”

  Linnett narrowed her eyes at Ashe.

  “You’re just jealous that Ford actually likes me,” Linnett sneered. “Instead of doing shit for you just because he’s told or because he feels sorry for you.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” Ashe asked, her hands now fisting at her thighs.

  I knew exactly what Linnett was about to do before she even did it.

  “Linnett, don’t,” I ordered.

  But Linnett didn’t listen.

  Instead, she opened her fucking mouth.

  By this point, half the senior hallway was listening to us.

  “He told me that y’all made a bet,” Linnett said, sidestepping my arm. “That if you won, he had to teach you how to kiss. And if he won, you would cover for him anytime he wanted to sneak out of the house. So…how long have you been covering for him now? A few months? Have you learned to kiss yet? Or did you just Hoover vacuum someone’s face and hope that you did it right?”

  The entire senior hallway broke out in laughter.

  Ashe’s pained eyes turned to me.

  “How could you?” she asked.

  I opened my mouth to tell her I hadn’t meant for it to get out but closed it just as fast.

  Apologies wouldn’t help anymore.

  “I’ll teach you how to kiss, Soot Face.”

  Ashe turned to survey the captain of the football team. Colin Wilson.

  I narrowed my eyes at him and took a threatening step forward.

  Linnett caught my arm and hauled me back.

  I whispered to Linnett.

  “Ashe is right,” I said softly. “If I didn’t study, I would’ve failed. And I can’t fail. I have to pass to play, and you know that.”

  Linnett pouted.

  “And I don’t appreciate you telling her about that kissing thing. You promised if I told you that you wouldn’t say a word. You’re making it to where I can’t trust you.”

  Linnett looked contrite.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, pushing her body into me.

  I curved my arm around her shoulders and tugged her into me.

  “You have to be nice to Ashe,” I said. “She’s like a sister to me.”

  Linnett snorted. “Some sister. She treats you like trash.”

  “She doesn’t,” I said. “She doesn’t do anything to me that I don’t do to her.”

  She rolled her eyes at my words.

  “Whatever,” she said. “You really don’t think you’ll pass that test?”

  I shook my head.

  “Nope,” I sighed. “Calculus just jumbles up in my brain. I don’t know why, but it just does.”