Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72395 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72395 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
“I don’t think you’d die …” Valerie retorted when a broad-shouldered man came through the doors.
Jumping off the stool, she shimmied up to the cash register, giving Winnie a wink. “I got you, girl.”
“Valerie, please don’t embarrass me!” Winnie hissed from beside her, trying to shove her out of the way.
Elbowing her back, Valerie shot her a warning glance, pointing at the stool. “Sit.”
Pivoting back, she saw Amo coming to the counter and played it cool. “How’s it going, Amo?”
“Good.”
Valerie started ringing up the pack of gum, chips, and two Gatorades, like she had done it a million times before. Welp, there went trying to get out of ringing up the next five customers. “Feeling dehydrated?”
Amo didn’t break a smile at her friendly chatter, and he didn’t answer her question either. So, she decided to try a different tactic after looking over secretly at Winnie.
“Sal and I are planning on going to a movie this weekend. If you have a girlfriend, we could do a double date. It’s more fun to go with another couple.”
Amo held out his credit card to tap it on the machine. “What’s the movie?”
Valerie had to quickly think what was out and what the big oaf would want to see, as well. “Mission Impossible.”
“What night are you wanting to go?”
Why couldn’t he just answer the fucking question with a yes or no? Now she had to think of the best night that he would actually want to go. Friday and Saturday would be busy, and Amo would have to work, so would Sal. “Sunday.”
“I have to work Sunda—”
“We could go another night,” she quickly offered before rambling on. “I’ll ask Sal what other night would be good for him. So, are you up for a double date? Do you need to check with your girlfriend what night she’s available?”
“You’re better off asking someone else,” Amo told her unhelpfully. “Nero and Vincent are scheduled for the day shifts. Elle or Lake love going to the movies, but I don’t see them wanting to see Mission Impossible.”
“Exactly why I didn’t ask them …” she mumbled, feeling just as defeated as poor Winnie looked.
“You could ask—”
“Never mind,” Valerie cut him off, giving up on her own mission impossible. Amo was helpless. “I’ll leave it up to Sal. He can figure it out. Have a nice day.”
Grabbing his drinks and his other purchases, Amo left them staring after him.
Valerie turned back to Winnie. “Are you sure you like him? I think he’s a dick.” How the man couldn’t see Winnie was in love with him by a single look defied her imagination. Boys, they’re so oblivious.
“I didn’t say I liked him.” Turning bright red, Winnie started putting out some keychains. “Only that I was curious about him.”
“You know the first thing that attracted me to Sal?”
The girl looked back at her. “No, what?”
“How hot he was,” she confided. “Of course, I had to get past the strong and silent part of his personality.”
“Amo is hot.” Red seeped down from her cheeks to her chest as her head hung low. “Too bad he doesn’t even know I’m alive.”
“You know that isn’t true,” she tried consoling the lovesick girl. “It’s not like he thinks a robot is ringing him up when he comes in here.”
“I might as well be a robot—a fat robot.” Glumly, she picked up one of the keychains to play with. “He probably has a lot of women he goes out with that are prettier than me.”
“You’re very pretty.” Valerie stared her down intently to make sure the girl understood that. Life was already hard for a girl in this cruel world; adding societal pressures on women of needing to fit inside a box of what was pretty by societies pressures didn’t help. She knew that better than anyone, considering how she dressed. However, men were dumb dogs, and Valerie didn’t want to get her hopes to high.
She didn’t know anything about Amo’s personal life. He could have a steady girlfriend, and it wouldn’t be fair to raise Winnie’s hopes up if there was no chance of getting with him. It was obvious her confidence was already a bit low by the way Winnie talked about herself.
“Besides looks shouldn’t matter, anyway.”
“Didn’t you say Sal’s looks was the first thing you noticed about him?”
“I admit, I’m a shallow person,” she said, putting a hand over her chest before scooping all the empty wrappers in the now empty bag and throwing it into the full trash can. “It’s okay for women to be shallow—it’s endearing. When men do it, they’re womanizing assholes. Just from the little I’ve been around Amo, he doesn’t come across as that much of a womanizer.” She couldn’t say the same about the asshole part …
“I don’t think so either,” Winnie agreed helplessly. “He seems too sad to be a womanizer.”