Raveled by Anne McAneny

off,” Bobby said. “How ‘bout I go into town and get us some beer to take back to the barn? You drink?”
    She looked at the ground for only a quick second before spitting out her answer. “Of course I drink, Bobby Kettrick. I’m no prude.”
    He definitely didn’t think she was a prude. He knew for a fact she’d let Kyle Thompson feel her up in the boys’ bathroom last year at the high school. Little did Kyle know he shoulda held out a few more months and he’d have had more to work with.
    “Wait here. I’ll be back in twenty minutes and then we’ll walk to the barn.”
    “Wanna borrow my bike?”
    Bobby glanced at the rusty bike with its remnants of plastic tassels hanging from the handlebars. It looked too small even for the five-foot Shelby. Probably got it for Christmas years ago. Although Bobby considered himself cool enough to pull off being seen on a girl’s bike, he knew he couldn’t ride it and carry beer at the same time.
    “Nah. Just wait here.”
    “Ya never did tell me where your car was.”
    “Does it matter?” he said dismissively, as if she should feel lucky to have encountered him, with or without a vehicle. As he took the first few steps towards town, he gave her a quick glance back. “And when I get back, you make sure that tongue is good and red.”
    “Oh my God, Bobby!”
    As Shelby sucked for all she was worth, Bobby sauntered into Lavitte proper to steal beer from Westerling General Store. Bobby and Jasper usually pulled off the heist together, but he could do it on his own if none of the employees was smoking in the alleyway. Every Friday afternoon, Westerling’s was shorthanded, so he and Jasper would get one of the red, plastic carts and fill it with water pistols and cheap T-shirts, anything to hide the beer they put in on aisle 6. Then they’d wheel around to the snack foods in the last aisle. When no one was around, Jasper would climb up a couple shelves until he could reach the window behind the gallon-size peanut jars on the top and unlock the window from the inside. Bobby would then hand Jasper the beer to place next to the window. After returning all the other crap to the wrong places, they’d buy a pack of gum and head to the alley. Jasper would climb onto Bobby’s shoulders, open the window, snatch the beer, and they were good for another Friday.
    At his new height of over six feet, Bobby was pretty sure he could maneuver the beer back there by himself, and if he stood on a couple crates in the alley, he’d definitely be able to retrieve it. But once he entered the store under the greeting jingle of the year-round Christmas bells, he tossed his plans out the window. This would be as easy as convincing Mrs. Abernathy to change his grade on last year’s science final by promising her a touchdown in September. There, behind the Westerling’s checkout counter, all by herself, was a bony, awkward girl with a drawn-out face and stringy, dark hair. She’d had a crush on him since third grade, maybe even kindergarten. All these years later, he should’ve learned her name, but damned if he could come up with it. He walked right up to her, looked at her name tag, and blurted, “Hey, Amber. Thank God it’s you.”
    If humans could melt, Amber would have been a puddle of blush and bother right then. Her eager smile revealed new braces to which she was still adjusting. “Hey, Bobby. How are you?” She wiped away the spit that landed on the counter.
    “I like your braces ,” he said. “Gonna look real nice when those come off. You always had the prettiest smile in middle school.”
    “Ohmigod,” she said, hiding her mouth with her hand. “Stop it.”
    “Hey listen,” he said, leaning forward and letting his hand linger within a couple inches of hers, “I need to get some beer. You think you could let me slip out of here with some if I buy something else?”
    The conflict between panic and desire made Amber want to pee and puke at the same time. Amber never