Unsurprisingly, I’ve never had a new cell phone. The three I’ve had have been hand-me-downs from my mom, and always came to me sticky, dented, and cracked.

But this new iPhone from Rebecca has me shook.

It’s like a work of art. Nestled and glimmering in a sturdy, pristine white box. Perfect, shiny black screen and—oh my God—the prettiest lavender-purple finish.

I’m almost afraid to touch it. It’s that beautiful.

“Skylar?”

I look up to meet Rebecca’s questioning eyes, and I have no chill. I can’t control myself. I throw my arms around her and hug her, not caring if it might be unprofessional. Thankfully, there are no customers browsing the shop right now.

“Rebecca, thank you so much. It’s stunning.”

Laughing, she hugs me back, then slowly pulls away. “It’s just a phone. But I’m really happy you like it. I thought the purple suited you.”

“Like it? I love it. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever had. I promise I’ll take care of it. And if you ever have to fire me, I’ll give it back. I won’t wreck it. I’ll get a really good case for it.”

“Skylar, it’s yours. You don’t ever have to give it back. I have no plans to fire you. I’m excited for you to get started on all this social media stuff. I’m curious to see if it brings in more sales.”

“Me too.” I press the power button on the phone. “As soon as I have it set up, I’m going to load the apps I read about last night, then I’ll start taking photos.”

She smiles. “Have fun. Don’t worry about the register today. I always work up front on the weekends. A lot of regulars come in just to chitchat anyway.”

She takes a few steps toward the front of the store, then pauses. “I made fresh cookies and blueberry muffins. You should grab one before the customers gobble them up.”

Smiling, I nod. “Okay.”

My stomach is growling from the scent of the bakery items, and I’m sure they’re delicious, but I just can’t eat any of them.

I spend the day taking pictures of the products in the shop. Most of the items are already placed in photo-ready positions—the sweaters are neatly folded on top of a shabby chic dresser, the candles sit on distressed wooden shelves, handmade teddy bears are cozy in cute wicker baskets. I arrange necklaces, bracelets, and rings on the wood floor, snake a purple ribbon around them, and use the features of the phone camera to subtly blur out the items in the background.

Glancing through the notes I took on How to Make Instagram Product-Photos Look Amazing, I bring the photos into the editing app, add the filter I’ve chosen to apply to all of the photos to make our brand look cohesive, and wow… My heart does a little jump. I don’t think anyone will be able to tell an eighteen-year-old with zero photography experience took these. They actually look professional. I even have that cool bokeh light thing going on in the background of a few shots, and a tiny glint of sparkle on one of the gemstone necklaces.

“How’s it going?” Rebecca asks when she finds me at the small table in the kitchen.

“Awesome. I’m just planning out a schedule so two pictures will be automatically posted a day, one in the morning and one later in the day. I’m going to post short videos in the stories section, like a little virtual tour of the store.”

“Great idea!”

“Look at the pictures, let me know if you like them.”

She takes the phone from my hand, and the expression on her face says it all. Her eyes widen, her mouth drops open, and then she breaks into a huge smile.

“Skylar… these are better than I could’ve imagined. This looks like we had a professional photo shoot done. I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this.”

I try not to smile too big. “Me too. Tomorrow I’m going to grab some of those fall and Halloween decorations you have out back and take some photos with those so we have them ready. I think we should put a cute little sign by the register, telling people to follow you online to see new items, sales, all that stuff.”

She hands the phone back to me, her earrings swaying as she shakes her head a little. “Keep this up and you’ll end up being my marketing guru.”

“It’s actually really fun and interesting. I can’t wait to see which photos get the most likes.”

“I’m glad. Enjoying your job is the absolute best. If there are any words of wisdom I can pass down, it’s to make sure you enjoy what you do.” I can’t help the proud grin I give her as she heads to the register. “I’ll be up front if you need me.”

I dig into my purse for a honey lozenge and pop it into my mouth. My throat has been burning lately. I hope I’m not getting a cold. The last thing I need is to get sick.

“Did you get laid in the back room or something?” Megan asks as I climb into the passenger side of her Audi.

“No, why?”

“Because you’re smiling like you did.”

Rolling my eyes, I pull my seatbelt strap across my chest and buckle it. Megan drives a bit erratically and I’m not about to take a flying header through the windshield.

“Look at this.” I present my phone to her as if I just caught a unicorn. “Is this not the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen? I got to keep my old phone number, too.”

Her brown eyes flash. “Holy shit! Lavender! Did you steal that?”

“No, bish. Rebecca gave it to me to take pictures of the products and post online. Dude, I’m loving it. I had so much fun doing this today. The time flew by. It’s going to be part of my job now. She’s giving me a raise, too.”

“How much is she giving you?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask. I don’t care.”

She reverses out of the parking lot, and my head wrenches back into the headrest as she floors it onto the main road.

“I don’t know how you haven’t lost your license yet,” I say, gripping the armrest.

She ignores me. “Sky, you can’t just not care about a raise. You need to know these things.”

“To be honest I’m just excited for the opportunity to do something I enjoy while learning and getting paid at the same time.”

“How much you’re getting paid should be the priority, though. You might be doing the kind of work that deserves like, thirty bucks an hour.”

“I doubt it. I’m a part-time employee with zero skills. Rebecca has always been more than fair with my pay and my holiday bonus. I trust her. Not to mention, this phone was legit expensive and she gave it to me to keep.”

Megan side-eyes me. “I’m jelly over that, I must admit.”

My body lurches forward as she brakes abruptly at a red light. “Oh, hey,” she says, unfazed by the sudden stop. “I’m really sorry, but I can’t give you a ride to pick up your car tomorrow. My mom texted me earlier and told me they’re going out and I have to babysit Johnny. Like seriously, they have no regard for my social life at all. None. I’d bring him, but I don’t like putting him in the car. He always screams bloody murder.”

I rub the back of my neck. “That’s okay. I have a backup plan. No worries.”

“Are you sure? I feel really bad.”

“Absolutely. Don’t feel bad. If you want, I’ll stop by your house to visit on my way home.” Her little brother is adorable, so I don’t mind hanging out with her when she has to babysit him. He always makes me laugh.

“Cool. Do you want to go to the diner? I could go for a salad and a strawberry shake right now.”

The idea of onions and lettuce commingling with mushed-up strawberry milk has my gag reflex on overdrive. There’s no way I can sit across from her and witness that kind of culinary cohabitation.

“I’d rather just go home. I’m not feeling too great, and I have to work again tomorrow. I want to go to bed early.”

“You never feel good. Why don’t you go to the doctor?”

“I think I’m getting a cold. Or it could be allergies.”

On that note, I unzip my purse and hunt out another lozenge. I’m going to have to buy more. I’m gobbling these things like candy.

“Take some vitamins,” she says. “Maybe you should get one of those IV vitamin infusion things.”

“What’s that?”

“You get an IV from a nurse that’s filled with all sorts of vitamins. It’s supposed to boost your immunity and make you feel healthy and energized. My cousin gets it done when she travels or doesn’t sleep enough.”

I’m sure I can’t afford that, even though it sounds interesting. I feel tired no matter how much I sleep.

“I’ll keep that in mind if I don’t start to feel better,” I say.

“You know that kid Erik whose locker is like, two down from mine?”

My mind shuffles through her row of lockers and comes up blank.

“No.”

“Yes, you do. He’s always been super quiet, kinda nerdy, and skinny? He had glasses like Harry Potter?”

Nodding, I say, “Kind of.” I have no idea who she’s talking about.

“Well, he’s got contacts now and I think he’s been working out because he’s not so skinny anymore. He’s still nerdy, but in a sexy way. And his hair is a bit longer.”

“Okay…”

“I think I’m going to ask him out.”

I almost choke on my lozenge. “What? Why?”

“Because he’s cute and he’s essentially new meat now that he’s rebooted himself.”

“Meg, just flirt with him and wait for him to ask you out. You’re a total babe, you know he will if you show him some attention.”

“It’s the twenty-first century! I don’t have to wait around for a guy to make the first move.”

That’s true. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I want to get to him before someone else does.”

“Geez. He’s not an X-box.”

“I know. But if I noticed how cute he is, the others will, too.”

The way she says the others makes it sound like there’s a ship of female Vikings coming to claim all the cute boys.

When she pulls into my driveway and puts her car in park, I turn to look at her. I can see her mind spinning, conjuring up ways to snag unsuspecting Erik.

“I hate to break this to you, Meg, but he’s probably still a virgin if he was nerdy and shy up until this year.”

Her mouth scrunches up. “Ya think?”

“I think it’s a good possibility.”

“Hmm. That could suck.” She taps her fingers on the steering wheel, her lips pursed crookedly in thought. “But it could be fun, too. I could rock his world.”

“He’ll probably fall madly in love with you if you’re his first.”

She frowns dramatically. “He better not. I want fun. Not some lovesick puppy drama.”

“Just be nice to him. No breaking hearts.”

A laugh bursts from her. “I’ll try.” Her smile fades as she stares at my house. “This place is getting sketchy. Doesn’t anyone mow the lawn?”

The knot in my stomach twists. “We’re looking for a new landscaper. The last guy quit.” It’s a lie. I’m the one who mows the lawn, but I’ve felt too weak lately to do it in this heat.

“I hope you find someone soon or the grass will be up to your knees. There could be snakes slithering around in there.”

“There aren’t any snakes.” I grab my stuff. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay. Love ya, babe.”

“Love ya, too,” I reply before I slam the door.

I linger by the mailbox at the end of the driveway until she’s gone. I don’t want her seeing me crawling through the window. She’ll abduct me and have me living in her guest room on an IV drip in less than twenty-four hours. As much as I’d be grateful for the care, I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me.

Later, after I’ve settled in bed to watch TV, I stare at my pretty new phone screen, debating on whether I should take Jude up on his offer for a ride. He’s already gone out of his way for me twice, more than anyone besides Megan ever has. He refuses gas money, not that I can really afford to give it to him. I would, though. I don’t expect freebies from strangers.

Walking to the shop in the morning shouldn’t be bad since the temperature will be cooler, but later in the afternoon when I have to get my car it’s expected to be ninety-five degrees with humidity, and I just don’t think I can walk that far.

Finally, I shove pride and the risk of being that annoying person to the side and send Jude a message:

Fluffle-Up-A-Gus curls up against my side, purring loudly. I scratch her head as I eye my phone for a reply.

A few seconds creep by before his answer lights up my screen.

Sure, I could use Uber or Lyft, but that makes me nervous. We’re told from the time we can understand words not to get into cars with strangers, yet here we all are, paying strangers to let us get in their cars. I just don’t feel okay with it.

My heart flutters a little over his nickname for me, just like it does every time he says it in person.