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“It doesn’t work, which is why my deal is perfect,” Cole pointed out as he got up and helped Katie pour a glass of chocolate milk.
“Cole,” Chloe began with a heavy sigh as she grabbed the bag of popcorn out of the microwave and dumped it in the bowl, “we’re not a charity case.”
“This isn’t charity,” Cole said, even as he had to admit that he had no idea what this was, but he knew that she wasn’t a charity case.
At least, that’s not how he saw her anymore.
Once upon a time, he’d been completely oblivious when it came to the girl next door, but now, she was one of his best friends and it killed him knowing how hard everything was for her. She just…
Christ, she deserved better than this.
“Then, what is it?” Chloe asked, throwing him a curious look as she grabbed the large bowl of popcorn and followed Katie into the living room, leaving him with no choice but to follow her.
“A deal that benefits both of us,” Cole said as he dropped down on the overstuffed couch next to Katie and helped himself to a handful of popcorn while he watched the stubborn teenage girl who refused to see how perfect this plan was.
“How exactly does this plan benefit me?” Chloe asked, blinking as she pushed her glasses back up her nose.
“You get a working car,” Cole pointed out, wondering why she was being so damn difficult about this.
“And you?” she asked in a tone that did not properly convey the overwhelming gratitude that she should be feeling at the moment as she crossed her arms back over her chest.
“Get all my needs met,” Cole said, shrugging it off as he helped himself to some popcorn.
Nodding slowly, Chloe asked, “By making me be at your beck and call?”
Wondering why she didn’t see the beauty in this arrangement, Cole shook his head as he released a long-suffering sigh and said, “I wouldn’t put it that way.”
“Then, how would you put it?”
“An exchange of services,” he said with a solemn nod.
“I see,” Chloe murmured absently as she narrowed her eyes as she considered him. “Break this plan of yours down for me again.”
“He fixes our car and you do whatever he wants for the rest of the year,” his partner in crime said around a handful of popcorn.
Nodding slowly, Chloe said, “So, your asinine plan is to change the battery on our Jeep in exchange for me doing whatever you want for the next nine months?”
“There’s a little more to it than that,” Cole pointed out, even as he debated doing this another way, but…
This was for her own good.
“I’m all ears,” Chloe said, gesturing for him to get on with it before going back to folding her arms over her chest so that she could glare at him.
“First of all, the Jeep needs more than just a new battery,” Cole began as he reached over and helped himself to Katie’s chocolate milk and finished it off. “The belts and several wires need to be replaced, the gas needs to be removed, the oil changed, the brakes need to be replaced, the AC needs to be recharged, your back tire has dry rot and needs to be replaced, and it needs to be converted from a manual transmission to an automatic so that you can drive it.”
“And how much is that going to cost?” Chloe asked as Katie looked from her empty cup to him and back again before grumbling and reluctantly getting up and heading back to the kitchen.
“I could probably do it for fifteen hundred dollars,” Cole said, watching her expression turn calculating.
“And if I brought the Jeep to a mechanic?” Chloe asked, looking lost in thought.
“That would probably cost you three times as much,” he said, watching as she slowly nodded.
“You should just say yes,” Katie said as she climbed back onto the couch with a fresh cup of chocolate milk.
“What if I got a job and paid you instead?” Chloe asked as her gaze shifted to Katie.
“We could do that…” Cole said, purposely letting his words trail off.
