by Nicole Thorn
“Did he?” Jay asked, also unbuckling. “He’s not bringing that megaphone again, is he?”
“I took it away from him,” I said. “It’s locked in that top cabinet until further notice.” I gestured to the cabinet in question.
“Good,” Jay said. “Between the heat and those assholes across the street and you, I didn’t think I could handle another day of him shouting into that thing, trying to get attention.”
I put my arm around Jay from behind, pulling him in against my chest. “You know you love it when I’m around.”
His cheeks went red again, so I released him. We gathered everything up and brought it outside. As we started setting up, I noticed a sign across the street for the first time. Checking to make sure I wouldn’t get hit by a car, I jogged across the street to check it out.
It had the logo for A Little Taste of Heavaii¸ and proclaimed what hours they would be back. They promised new and exciting things every week and that their quality couldn’t be matched by anyone else. I picked the sign up and brought it back across the street with me.
“What’s that?” Jay asked as he set his jars of honey out on the table.
I showed it to him. “They put this in their spot.”
If people could get mad enough that steam came out of their ears like in cartoons, Jay would’ve been there. “Are you kidding me?” he yelled. “You’re not even supposed to post signs!”
He meant legally. Unless a politician posted the sign, the person who did it could get fined. “I think that only counts if the sign lasts for more than twenty-four hours,” I said. “Otherwise, all those people would be in trouble.” I gestured to the copious number of pink and green signs that directed people to various garage and yard sales.
Jay didn’t seem to care. “Not only did they take my spot, but now they’re not even following the law!”
I couldn’t help smiling.
Jay’s face flashed with fury and betrayal. “Oh, you think this is funny?”
I shook my head.
“Then why are you laughing?”
“Just because.”
“Why?” Jay demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. I didn’t think he was actually mad at me, so much as mad at our circumstances. His stress had become an almost palpable presence around him, and I wished that I could remove that.
But I couldn’t, so just told him the truth. “Because I want to kiss you, and since I can’t do that, I’m going to laugh.”
Right then, Sam arrived. He parked behind the RV, jumped out of the car, and came rushing over to help us set up. I appreciated his vigor, but not his timing. For a second, right before he arrived, it almost looked like Jay would jump on me. I would’ve welcomed it.
We finished setting everything up, but we didn’t have many customers this early in the morning. The food truck wouldn’t show up until half past eleven, according to their sign, so at least I didn’t have to worry about keeping Jay from punching them until then. That still left us with almost three hours to get as much sold as we could before they showed up.
Sometime around 9:30, the mister stopped worker. I went around the back of the truck to refill it. My father had rigged it to the top of the RV, and it worked really well, except for when it ran out of water. I’d just started to refill it, when I felt the door of the RV banged closed.
Jay came around the back, looking perplexed. “Hammy?”
“Yeah?” I said, stepping away from the RV.
He held up a box filled with jars of honey. “I went to grab Sam’s megaphone, thinking that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if we actually got some customers, and found this behind it.”
Shit. “Ah.”
Jay raised an eyebrow. “Care to explain?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Well… you know how I kept telling you that my father wanted to give the jars to his friends?”
“Yeah. Was that a lie?”
“Not entirely,” I said. “He did give two jars away to people we know, mostly because they were taking up space in the pantry and he didn’t understand why we had three. Those are the ones that I forgot to bring inside the house.”
Jay looked down at the honey, then back up at me. “But… why did you buy it if you didn’t need it?”
I shrugged.
He stared at me, making it clear that he wanted an answer, preferably now. “I, uh, just wanted to buy them.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed an excuse to talk to you.” I felt my face go red and hoped that Jay would think that the Arizona heat had caused it, not my own embarrassment about the situation.
Jay stared at me, his mouth slightly open. “Huh.”
I glanced away. Nope, not getting any better. Really, I should have found somewhere to put those jars where he wouldn’t find them. “If you want to take them back and resell them, that’s fine,” I said. “It’d probably make more sense than keeping them in the RV.”
Jay put the box down next to the wheel. “Nah, that’s okay.”
“Are you s—”
We slammed against the RV, probably with more force than Jay intended. His mouth had locked onto mine, and everything disappeared. The burning sun, the dusty road, the sound of traffic. Everything vanished, replaced with this new, wonderful moment. Jay tasted of cinnamon from his breakfast, and he smelled of heat from sitting out in the sun for so long.
It overwhelmed my senses until only he existed.
I grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking him hard against me. Our bodies slammed together, and then I twisted him so that he would be pushed up against the RV. He groaned as I pressed as tightly against him as I possibly could, still moving our mouth together.
“Hey, guys, what the hell is going on back he—oh!”
I pulled away from Jay just as Sam stopped dead in his tracks. Jay looked dazed but happy, which I couldn’t help feeling proud over. I looked back at Sam, who looked stunned for half a second before the biggest, dumbest grin spread across his face. “Finally!” he shouted. “Do you realize how annoying it was, watching the two of you dance around each other?”
“Go away,” I said in as calm of a voice as I possibly could.
“Hey, now, don’t I get any credit for this? I could see the signs from the beginning.”
I stepped toward him. “Go. Away.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll go sell some stuff, but please try to keep the make-out session under ten minutes. The customers will think something sexy is going on back here otherwise.” He disappeared around the nose of the RV and I let out a long breath.
Jay still looked dazed and happy, so at least there was that. I cleared my throat. “I hope that doesn’t bother you.”
“Huh?”
I smiled. “Never mind. Does this mean you’re over the sworn enemies thing?”
He blinked, and realization crept into his eyes. I quietly groaned to myself, knowing what would come next. Jay pointed directly at my face. “No! This is the last time we’re going to kiss!”
“No, it’s not,” I said. “I think if anything, this proves that we don’t have any self-control. Well, you certainly don’t. I’ve only kissed you the one time. Just saying.”
His eyes narrowed. “It’s not my fault that you use your masculine wiles on me!”
I snorted. “What masculine wiles? I’m just standing here.”
“Just standing there,” he scoffed. “Look at you, with your smoldering eyes and your too perfect chest.”
I glanced down. Then up. “What are you talking about?”
Jay flailed. “You know what I’m talking about!”
I really didn’t, but I also didn’t want to argue with his crazy anymore. I stepped forward and kissed him. Jay immediately pulled me closer, his hands digging into my sides with urgency. I pushed him against the RV again, and he groaned when our bodies collided in just the right way.
He caught himself this time, pushing me back. “No!”
“Sworn enemies?” I asked.
/> “Yes. We are the swornest of enemies!”
“All right. Do you need a few minutes before you join me and Sam up front?”
“Maybe.”
“Great. See you up there.” I turned around and walked away. Sam sat behind the table, a smug smile on his face as he talked to someone holding a jar of honey. The woman bought the largest one we had plus three of the cookies. I’d made four different kinds.
I sat down next to Sam, who smiled knowingly. I kind of wanted to punch him. “You know,” he said, stretching. “I’ve made you almost thirty bucks while you were back there, making out with Jay. The question is, should I be allowed to keep all that money for myself, or—”
“Do you want to be left at home tomorrow?”
He scowled.
“Good. A couple of ground rules. You just sell the products, you don’t make any of them, so you should keep your mouth shut about how much you are owed. Second, don’t talk to Jay about what just happened. He’s walking a tight rope, and he’s not afraid to hurt you. Third of all, don’t look smug.”
Sam grinned. “What’s there not to look smug about? I was right.”
I sighed.
Jay came back a few minutes later, completely composed. He put my box of honey back inside the RV and came out to join us. Sam looked superior for a few minutes before finally calming down and trying to attract customers. We didn’t sell any sandwiches, since we had a while before the lunch rush, but we actually started to do really well on our other products. Everyone seemed interested in the cookies and cakes. A few people even mentioned coming back after their shopping to get sandwiches as well.
During the first lull of the day, Jay smiled brilliantly, making me want to kiss him again. “They seem to really like all the new things.”
“Told you it would sell,” I said, but not smugly. More matter-of-factly.
“We might have to make more cookies when we get home,” he said, staring down at the box. “Those are selling insanely well.”
“They better. Those are all my mother’s recipes,” I said, glancing into the box as well. “She would haunt me if I couldn’t make money off them.”
Jay smiled at me. I said, “But we’ve only got an hour before Helen and Stanley show up. That’s going to slow us way down.”
Sam groaned from behind me. “I almost forgot about those idiots. I’ve been following them on twitter, and they post constantly about how they’ll be here and at what time.”
“Really?” I asked.
He nodded and pulled his phone out to show me their profile. Jay made a disgusted sound. “Are those pictures from when they went to Hawaii?”
“Yeah,” Sam said. “When they’re not talking about their hours, they’re telling everyone about their trip. Look.” He showed us a picture of the state fish, which seemed in poor taste considering their menu.
“Look how many people follow them,” Sam said, indicating the number. “Over a thousand. Which, granted, isn’t a lot, but for this town?”
Jay sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. “They’re going to get here, tweet out where they are, and everyone is going to ignore us for the bigger line at the flashier place.”
Sam shrugged. “I’ve been trying to get some attention, but we don’t exactly have a name. It’s hard to get people to rally behind three dudes sitting at a folding table. We need better advertising.”
Both Jay and I stared at him.
“It’s true. You two need to come up with a name for this, so that I can start competing with Helen and Stanley. Unless you want them to drive us out of business?”
Jay and I looked at each other. A name? Neither of our products had a name, beyond labels saying what they had in them. “We’ll have to think on that,” I said, when it became clear that Jay felt just as lost as I did.
“Well, think fast,” Sam said. “Because we’re gonna lose if we don’t compete with them on every level.” He waved his phone to emphasize his point.
“All right,” I said, holding my hands up. “But that doesn’t help us for today. They’re going to show up soon, and they’re going to take all the customers, just like always.”
We had to break when a car pulled over and the man driving it asked about our sandwiches. He bought three, looking quite pleased with himself, and drove off. When I sat back down, Jay tapped his fingers together in a way that looked positively maniacal.
“I think I might have a way to fix our problem, for today,” Jay said.
“Oh?” I asked.
He pulled his phone out and waved it back and forth. “Give me but a moment.”
He put it on speaker, and I listened to it ring twice before Bea picked up. “Hello, darling brother. Can I help you with something?”
“Yes, actually,” Jay said. “You have the day off, don’t you?”
“I do,” she said.
“Then do you think that you could do me a small favor?”
“If it involves setting that food truck lady’s house on fire, then no. You’ll have to ask me in person for that, where no one can trace the call.”
“I’d never ask for something so vile,” Jay said, unconvincingly.
“Then what can I do for you?” Bea asked.
Jay started to outline his plan, smiling the entire time. By the time he had gotten halfway through it, a smile had stretched across my own face. It was ridiculous. It would cause so much confusion. And it would be wonderful, watching Helen and Stanley trying to figure out what to do.
“When can you get here?” Jay asked.
“I’ll make a few phone calls, and we’ll be down there within the next thirty minutes. You guys hang tight.” The phone went silent as Bea hung up. Jay put it down on the table and leaned back, looking quietly pleased with himself.
I shook my head at him. “If your goal is to make me not want to jump you, then you have failed.”
Despite everything, Jay looked even more happy than he had before.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jay
I wasn’t proud of myself. Well… a little. But not in a good way. More in a yeah, fuckers, see what I can do way. They had pushed me to the edge, and I couldn’t be held accountable for my actions. I blamed the heat, personally. I was a nice guy in the wintertime. Come summer… everyone better look out.
Three cars had parked in a row in my spot. I stared at it longingly, remembering when everything had been easy, and I would make a little money to help my family. Then my sworn enemy had to show up and decide to be my friend, making everything a million times harder. Then the devil herself had to show up with her stupid pretty food truck with the shiny hubcaps and glossy paint. It had been a whim for them to decide to do this. Because some couple got bored, my whole future had been put at risk. It didn’t feel fair.
“How long did you want us here?” Bea’s friend Paul asked around a mouthful of chips. He’d bought a bag off us, taking a seat on the steps of the RV. “I have all day, but I was just curious.”
Sam turned to him, eyeing the way his blond hair blew in the hot wind. “Well, until we win.”
“What does that even mean?” Bea’s other friend, Rachael asked. She yawned, pulling hair through dark brown tangles from her time outside. They were all troopers, really. Not everyone would stand around in the heat for their brother’s friend. It made me jealous that my sister even had people willing, and I wondered if I would too.
My sister smiled, rubbing her hands together after checking the clock. “It means the game is about to start. Sit back, relax, and watch a crazy lady lose her damn mind.”
We had ten minutes until Miss Fish and her doting hubby would arrive. At the moment, the spot had been completely taken over by Bea’s friends’ cars. They sat with us, all waiting as if some show was about to start. Maybe things would get hairy, but I didn’t know what that meant. I mostly just sat quietly in my chair next to Hammy, trying not to wish we could be closer.
As if he could read my mind, Hamilton put an arm around my sh
oulders. It was a good thing we sat in two separate chairs or I might have accidentally laid a head down on his chest or something. Since we had that distance, I felt safe. Though the small amount of cuddling raised eyebrows.
“You guys been dating long?” another friend, Angela asked Hamilton. “Did you decide to go into business together?”
“Not dating,” I said.
At the same time, Hamilton said, “Yeah. It was a whirlwind romance. One day we were sworn enemies, and the next, Jay was falling in love with me.”
“Aww,” Rachael said with her hand in Paul’s chip bag. “That’s so cute. I like an enemies to lovers thing.”
My sister made a face. “Don’t say lovers. I don’t want to think about my brother having sex.”
“Weird,” Hammy said. “Because your brother thinks about having sex with me all the time.”
I glared at him. “I do not.”
“Do you mean he thinks about it all the time?” Paul asks. “Or he thinks about the two of you having a lot of sex?”
“Both.”
“Neither,” I corrected. I most certainly hadn’t been thinking about Hamilton naked in any capacity. Not when I’d been falling asleep the last few nights, or doing chores, or in the shower, or while working. My mind was a pure and good place. As it would remain for all time.
Angela snorted out a laugh. “You guys have kind of a hostile sounding relationship. How does that work?”
“Makes it hot,” Hammy said.
I flicked his arm and he just purred at me, pulling me closer and almost knocking me out of my chair. I shoved at him and removed his arm. I missed it the second the weight disappeared.
“Oh, oh, oh!” Sam said as he looked down the road. “Here we go!”
We all watched the food truck coming for my spot. I pictured the anger on Helen’s face when she saw what we’d done, and the way Paul had knocked over their illegal sign. I pictured fury on her stupid face, and it brought me comfort like no naked Hamilton ever could have. Well, maybe some kind of naked Hamilton. Who am I to say that nothing he did while naked could be as good as revenge?
