All That and a Bag of Chips

Chapter 10

When Collin's alarm went off at 5:30 the next morning, he practically jumped out of bed. The quicker he got to work, the sooner he would see Heather.

She'd been the one to mention stopping by for a smoothie. That was a good sign, right? It meant she wanted to see him again.

After his shower, he stared into the cloudy mirror. The window was open, the vent was on, and he'd used a dry towel to wipe off the steam. At least he could see himself clearly enough to shave. He really only had a few dark hairs on his chin and upper lip, but his sideburns were thickening, and every time he shaved, his skin felt coarser.

He slapped on some Old Spice aftershave, and the burn gave him a rush. Not a straight girl in the world would be able to resist his sexy charms now.

When he drifted on his bike up to work, seeing Tom's red beanie under a cloud of cigarette smoke, Collin was still grinning like a fool.

"Why the fuck do you look so happy?" Tom asked as he stubbed out his cigarette.

"I'm just thinking about all that mon-ay you'll be giving me on tip day." Collin unlocked the door and walked over to the chirping alarm system.

"Sounds like you've made a smooth transition into the single life," Tom said as he clicked on the lights and followed Collin into the back.

"'Smooth Transition' should be my middle name." Collin licked his index fingers, smoothed down his eyebrows, and then made finger-guns, which he shot in Tom's direction.

"You've already legally changed your name once. Might as well do it again."

"You know it, bro."

They both punched in and changed into their work shirts. Tom chose a bright purple t-shirt from the laundry pile and Collin grabbed a black polo with the company logo embroidered on the chest. Then they walked out to the front of the store to set it up for the day: stocking the freezers, assembling the juicers, and filling up the sinks.

"So, what makes you feel so confident?" Tom asked as he poured gallons of soymilk into the dispenser.

"I had lunch on campus with Heather yesterday. Alone. And I swiped her in. Almost sounds like a date, doesn't it?"

"Almost," Tom admitted. "But not quite, especially because you've bought me lunch before on campus, and that certainly wasn't a date. I've never met anyone who gives as many free swipes away as you do."

Collin laughed, closing up the orange juicing monster and moving on to the disassembled carrot juicer. "I didn't say I had won the bet yet..."

"But you were about to!" Tom interrupted as he walked past Collin and into the back to grab tubs of sherbet and fro yo from the walk-in freezer.

"No," Collin shouted after him. "But you gotta admit that I'm making quick inroads."

A minute later, Tom came walking back holding two stacked 5-gallon tubs, dropping them on the counter next to the reach-in. "Yeah, but where are those roads leading? Friendship or something more?" He made a crude gesture to emphasize the "something more" he was referring to.

Collin rolled his eyes. "Just keep to your budget this month so I don't feel too guilty about taking my winnings when they're due." Then he squatted in front of the black cast-iron safe and entered the code on the keypad. Swinging open the door, he pulled out the pre-counted register drawers and the bags of cash deposits. Then he carried everything into the back office to set up the day's deposit.

Tom finished setting up the storefront as Collin did the accounting, placing stacks of bills on the electronic counter and rolling up loose coins. He added the totals up, filled out the deposit slip, and then put everything neatly into a burlap sack, which he would bring to the bank after it had opened.