One Broke Girl by Rhonda Helms

would, but I have to work in the evening.” The pizza joint had called me earlier and asked if I could deliver tomorrow night instead of tonight. Which meant I didn’t have to spend any of my money on Halloween candy to avoid looking like a cheap putz. But it also meant I was going to miss spending more time with Gavin.
    Though with as much sexual attraction I had for him, that was probably not the worst thing ever.
    “How many jobs are you working now?” he asked in a light tone.
    “Oh. Uh, a few. I do a lot of things here and there.” I gave an awkward chuckle and wrapped my arms tighter around my torso. Warm yellow light from streetlamps lit the sidewalk up in front of us, and we were surrounded by large trees on the yard and tree lawn. Naked branches stretched over our heads and formed an arc.
    “I was wrong about you,” Gavin said.
    “What do you mean?”
    I heard him exhale through his nose. “When I first saw you, in your designer clothes and jewelry and whatever, I thought you were…”
    “Were what? Go ahead and say it.” I knew what he was gonna say, but some self-torturing part of me needed to hear it.
    “I thought you were a bit of a snob,” he said evenly. “That you would quit the cafeteria job within a few days because you’d think you were too good to do it.”
    I didn’t reply, but my chest stabbed with pain. Because frankly, he was right in a way—the old me, before our family’s severe income change, would have laughed at the thought of working as a lunch lady. It would have been far, far below me.
    The new me was fully aware that any money was good money. Frankly, I couldn’t afford to be a snob.
    Gavin touched my arm and tugged me to a stop. He was inches from me, his mouth tantalizingly close. “I feel bad, Anna. I was wrong about you and I wanted to admit it. You’re not a snob, and you’re not a flake. You work hard.” His breath puffed on my face, and I could smell a hint of mint.
    My stomach tightened in response to his proximity. The desire to push up on my toes and close the distance between our lips was so strong. Don’t forget about Steven, I reminded myself. I had a boyfriend. Though the thought of him didn’t fill me with emotion the way Gavin did.
    Steven had never made my skin tingle this way. I’d never been this hungry to know everything about him.
    Gavin’s hand slid down my arm to cup my fingers. The gesture was simple but powerful. He squeezed my hand. “Sorry. I just figured I’d tell you because I felt bad about my assumption and needed to own it. That’ll teach me to be so judgmental.”
    “Thank you.” All my feelings were in my voice, and I squeezed his hand back. “I really appreciate your honesty.” I had to admit, his words had a balmy effect on my soul. Instead of feeling embarrassed about the work I was doing, I allowed pride to flit in, fill me. He was right about how hard I worked.
    Maybe I was stronger than I’d realized.
    When I went to withdraw my hand, he kept my fingers locked in his. “Anna,” he said in an anguished tone that made the air lock in my lungs. “God…you’re so beautiful.”
    My resistance was crumbling faster than I could maintain the protective wall around me. I scrambled for something light to say that would get me out of trouble before I dove headfirst in. “Oh, yeah, my dating life went through the roof once I got my braces off in high school.”
    He chuckled and let go of my hand, and I was filled with equal parts relief and regret. “You know, I wanted to kiss you so badly when we were dating, but I was petrified you’d smack me or something. I thought you were the cutest girl in school. I couldn’t believe you’d said yes to going with me.”
    My jaw dropped. “You never told me any of that.” Our relationship had basically consisted of holding hands and walking around school. I hadn’t gotten any hint that he’d wanted to kiss me the way I’d wanted to kiss him.
    Unlike now, where I could feel