Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Chapter Nine of My Frightening Summer

I had to quit my job at Walgreens. I’m not kidding! I had a dream the other night that I was just chilling in the chip aisle with an inflatable couch, watching TV. That can’t be normal. Maybe I needed therapy.

"Walgreens therapy?" Oliver laughed when I told him.

"I have been through a lot," I pointed out.

He looked around the building curiously. "Maybe we all should quit."

"Maybe we all need Walgreens therapy."

He turned and gave me a wide, mischievous grin. "You know what we should do?"

I didn’t like the way he was grinning me. He was up to no good. "What?" I asked warily.

"If we’re gonna quit anyway, we should just be little hellions and see who gets fired first."

I frowned. "And get a bad rep?"

Oliver laughed. "Wouldn’t wanna tarnish your perfect rep." He leaned over and gave my lips a quick peck. "Now would we?"

He did it so quickly, so casually, that I had to rethink what had just happened. He’d been doing a lot of casual stuff like that lately. Like holding my hand, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, getting up in my face. I wasn’t complaining. But I was a little…..confused. We hadn’t really talked about…us. If there was an "us", that is.

"What’re we doing, Oliver?" I blurted out.

He blinked. "Working? Well, I guess we’re s’posed to be working." He made a face. "D’you want me to go so you can concentrate on your important duties?"

I shook my head. "No, that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about….."

"Queens, Hudgenson!" our manager screamed, coming out of nowhere. "Get to work!"

I sighed, spinning my chair around so my back was to Oliver. Would I never be able to ask him when I finally worked up the nerve?

Our manager stomped away to yell at the next lazy employee and Oliver slipped behind my counter. He spun my chair around, making me face him again. "Coast is clear."

"No, she’s right," I said defeatedly. "We need to get back to work."

Oliver looked at me as if he might like to say something. But he shrugged his shoulders and hopped over the counter.

I watched him longingly. Someday, very soon, I would get over it and just ask him about us. I would very much like for there to be an "us", and I was anxious if he would be, too.

I worked through the entire day without ever talking to Oliver. Well, I mean, we talked; but it wasn’t the kind of talk I wanted to have. These awful thoughts crept in my mind somewhere before closing.

What if I was making something out of nothing?

What if he didn’t really like me and was just screwing with me?

What if, when I told him how I felt, he just stared at me?

Or laughed?

What if, what if, what if.

All. Day. Long I had these thoughts. It was exhausting! How did more insecure girls cope with these thousands of questions racing through their mind day in and day out?

"Oh, for the love of Pete," Kasey groaned. "Why don’t you just talk to him already? You won’t ever know until you ask."

She had a point, I had to admit. "So….does that mean you asked Todd if he liked you?" I asked her. We were going around locking up and turning lights off.