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“Now that I live outside the city, I’m on my own. I used to dance with my buddies Finn and Diesel.”

Do people give their kids normal names anymore?

He continues. “I need to basically start from scratch and rebuild my platform as a solo act. Which takes time and interesting locations to serve as a backdrop for my TikToks. If I tell my parents I’m out with my girlfriend—a nice Arab girl with a car, they won’t question where I am all the time and I won’t have to get any lectures about how I’m too serious about dancing and that it won’t get me anywhere.”

“I’m sorry, I must have missed the memo that gas was free now.”

“I’ll chip in.” His lips curve up in a closed-mouth smile. It’s less of a smirk and a tiny bit more playful but genuine.

“So, if I agree to extend the fake-girlfriend farce to your family, as well as being your occasional driver, you’ll knock the repair price by half?” That’s two hundred and twenty-five dollars. It’s still going to take me at least a couple months to come up with that. Bye-bye pretty books.

“Farce? You do realize you’re not a seventy-five-year-old man, right?”

“That’s not a very nice way to speak to your girlfriend,” I say, resisting the urge to smile.

“Then you’ll pretend to be a nice Arab girl in front of my parents?”

“Hey!” I sit up and slam my hands on the table. “I am a nice Arab girl.”

Axel leans back in his seat. “We’ll see about that.” His eyes scan the restaurant. “How often do you work here?”

“I just help my uncle out when he needs it.”

“So he’s looking for help?”

Before I can respond, Amo Eli comes out of the backroom carrying a case of drinks. Axel shoots up and offers to carry the load for my uncle.

“Who’s this?” Eli asks, his eyebrow raised.

“Alexander Dahini,” Axel says. “A friend of Jamie’s.”

Alexander?

“Jamie doesn’t have any friends,” Eli says, his glance darting in my direction.

“He’s a new friend,” I say, rising from my seat as my cheeks burn. “We met yesterday.”

“Okay.” Amo Eli smirks. “I see you.” He nods his head slowly and deliberately, clearly believing his pep talk got through to me. I’ll let him believe it, for now anyway.

“Jamie says you’re looking to hire. Good news, because I’m looking to work.” Axel smiles and his brown eyes twinkle, like his plan is coming together perfectly.

I walk to where Axel and my uncle are. “Technically I never said…”

Amo Eli cuts me off. “You have any experience in the service industry?”

“I worked at Harvey’s all of last year,” Axel replies.

“Why’d you leave?”

“May I?” Axel asks, placing the case of drinks onto the floor. My uncle nods and Axel opens the fridge, lining the drinks up, one by one, making sure to put the older drinks in front. “I just moved here.”

Eli twists his mouth while apparently sizing up Axel. “If you can provide me with a résumé and two references, the job is yours.”

“I can do that. Does Jamie count as a reference?”

Both of them look at me and it’s all I can do not to scream. What is even happening here? This guy is taking over my life. First, he moves onto Ben’s street. Then he gets me to agree to fake-date him (okay, part of the onus of that is on me), and now he’s managed to weasel his way into a job with my uncle. If I’m not careful, in a few months I’ll have to slap a restraining order on…Alexander Dahini.

Who knew my savior’s last name would rhyme withtahini? A sauce that I love but sends me straight to the toilet every time I ingest it. Just like this entire interaction is about to. With quick feet, I grab my things and disappear into the bathroom. One problem at a time.