Ah man …
Nick didn’t breathe again until she was gone.
Whew … that had been the most awesome experience of his life.
You know, Bubba, I need to pay you to work here. ’Cause if women like that came by often, even if they were total head cases, he definitely wanted a job. Forget Liza and her store that was usual y frequented by little girls and their moms. He wanted to work in Hot Woman Valhal a until he died of testosterone poisoning.
Letting out a low whistle of appreciation, he pul ed the stakes off the counter and wondered who or what had bled on them. With Bubba’s friends, there was no tel ing.
He put them in one of the plastic bins Bubba used for intake items and left a note with her name and the instructions she’d given him.
As he started back to the computer, the door jingled again.
Reversing course to return to the counter, he tried not to be frustrated with the interruption.
It was Madaug from school.
“Hey, bud, what’s up?”
Madaug also leaned over the counter to look into the back room—it just wasn’t as cool as when Tabitha had done it.
Which was probably a good thing from Nick’s way of thinking.
“Is Bubba around?”
“Nah, he’s sleeping upstairs. Can I help you with something?”
“No, I guess not.”
Nick noticed the fact that Madaug was real y distracted and fidgeting. Like something heavy was on his mind. “You wigged out about what happened at school?”
“Wha—no … not exactly. Wel , maybe. Kind of. Look, I real y need to get a hold of Bubba when he gets up. It’s real y important.”
Nick gently scratched at his injured arm. “Yeah, okay. Want to leave your number and I’l have him cal you?” Madaug reached for the pad and pen by the register. He quickly scribbled his number on it, then handed it to Nick.
“Please don’t forget. It’s really important.”
“You got it.”
Madaug hesitated before he let go of the paper and stepped back. He cast one last wistful stare to the back room, then left.
Okay, the boy was even more insane than Tabitha had been. Too many sniffs of the formaldehyde jar in their biology class. His brain must be pickled. Either that or Stone and crew had bashed him against the lockers one time too many and given him a massive head injury.
Whatever …
Nick tucked the note into his pocket and started back for the computer.
He’d barely reached it when the door chime rang again.
“Son of a …”
What now? He growled low in his throat before he headed back to the counter to see who needed Bubba this time. No wonder Bubba was so cranky. If this was a taste of Bubba’s typical day, it explained much about the surly redneck.
Nick paused as he saw three members from his footbal team walking around the store like they were looking for something. He didn’t know their names, but he recognized their faces. Second-stringers like Stone, they were even more aggressive against “nerdy” kids. The kind of pricks Nick spent al of his time avoiding and the kind who slammed poor Madaug into lockers, then laughed about it.
But the weird thing was they were sniffing the air like dogs chasing prey. It was epical y creepy.
“Can I help you guys?” Nick asked.
The tal est, a guy with brown hair and a smile that ought to be used to sel toothpaste, stepped forward. His jacket had the name biff on it.
Nick bit his tongue to keep from baiting him over that name.
His parents must have real y hated him. I’m here to serve Bubba, not get my butt kicked by oafs.
Biff stepped closer. “Nerd boy? Where he?” Okay … sad that they couldn’t even form a complete sentence. See what happens when you abuse steroids?
Dudes should have read the warning label. First the penis shrinks, then the sentence structure deteriorates. Next thing you know, you’re climbing to the top of the Empire State Building, swatting at planes with your oversized fists.
Granted you’d be there with a seriously attractive blonde, so even being a monster freak had some perks. …
But that was neither here nor there.
“You looking for Bubba or Mark?” Nick asked. Nerd definitely applied to either-or since they were the kings of computers, B-movies, video games, and science.
“Nerd boy!” He grabbed Nick by the shirt and hauled him over the counter to stand in front of him.
Cursing as pain shot through his injured arm, Nick slugged him hard across the face, but he didn’t seem to even feel it.
“Let me down, you animal. So help me …” The jock buried his nose against Nick’s neck and inhaled.
Nick screwed his face up in distaste. “What are you? A pervert? Get your sick hands off me.” He kicked him hard in the groin.