“Henry Golding? Nice,” Stef said.
“Waylay, come meet my friend,” I called.
High from her shopping, arcade, and burger experience, Waylay forgot to look annoyed.
“Waylay Witt. Knox Morgan. This is Stefan Liao. Stef for short. Way for short. And Leif Erikson when he’s being moody.”
Stef grinned. Knox growled. Waylay admired Stef’s shiny smartwatch.
“The pleasure is all mine. You look like your aunt,” Stef said to Waylay.
“Really?” Waylay looked not too horrified by that statement, and I wondered if my shopping bribery had worked its magic. Score.
Knox, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to dismember Stef.
“What’s your problem?” I mouthed at him.
He glared at me as if I was the one to blame for his sudden mood swing.
“Knox,” Stef said, holding out a hand. “I can’t thank you enough for looking out for my girl here.”
Knox grunted and stared at the offered hand for a beat before shaking it.
The handshake went on longer than necessary.
“Why are their fingers turning white?” Waylay asked me.
“It’s a man thing,” I explained.
She looked skeptical. “Like pooping for forty-five minutes?”
“Yeah, something like that,” I said.
The handshake was finally over, and both men were now locked in a staring contest. If I wasn’t careful, the penises and rulers would be next.
“Knox very graciously took us shopping today,” I explained to Stef.
“He bought me pink sneakers and he bought Aunt Naomi underwear and a phone.”
“Thank you for that information, Way. Why don’t you go inside and not talk anymore?” I suggested, giving her a shove toward the house.
“That depends. Can I have the last ice cream sandwich?”
“It’s yours as long as you stuff it in your mouth instead of talking.”
“Pleasure doing business with you. See ya, Knox!”
He was already halfway back to his truck.
“Don’t leave on my account,” Stef called after him.
Knox didn’t say anything, but I did hear some sort of growl coming from his general direction. “Hang on a second,” I said to Stef. “He’s got the better part of a mall in his back seat, and I don’t want him to drive off with it.”
I caught him just as he was opening his door.
“Knox. Wait!”
“What? I’m busy. I have shit to do.”