SWEET SPOT

Hot Sauce 10

Nyla

My face fell. A sharp pang of regret hit me square in the chest. I had thrown that beautiful necklace away in a fit of anger and jealousy, and now it was gone. The one thing he had chosen for me. The one thing that had made me feel seen.

“Well… it’s all right,” I mumbled, trying to hide how much it hurt.

“Don’t worry,” he added quickly, offering a small smile. “I’ll get you another one. A much prettier one.”

I shook my head. “I actually want that necklace. The same one.”

He smiled softly, his eyes warm. “Yeah, sure. I’ll get it for you.”

Before I could say anything else, Garrett stepped out of the house, looking between us with a cautious expression.

“All right then,” he said. “Let’s go.”

They started walking away together. My heart squeezed. I couldn’t just let them leave like this.

I ran after them. “Hope you guys aren’t going to fight again.”

Garrett stopped and turned to me. “No, we actually want to talk things out. I feel bad for fighting him without hearing him out first. I could have known he didn’t do anything wrong to you.”

I scratched the back of my head, feeling a wave of guilt wash over me. I had caused all of this.

“But Nyla,” Garrett continued, his voice gentler now, “did you really cry? Why would you cry? Why would you even throw away the necklace? What exactly really happened? I still need explanations, you know. Like, did I do anything that made you upset?”

My throat tightened. I couldn’t tell him the truth. Not right now. Not with Ezekiel standing right there.

“No, not at all,” I said quickly, forcing a smile. “You guys should just settle and go back home. Do not talk about me at all!”

Before either of them could respond, I turned and ran back inside the house, slamming the door behind me. I didn’t want to hear anything more. I didn’t want to explain why I had cried, why I had thrown the necklace away, or why my heart still raced every time I looked at Ezekiel.

I leaned against the door, breathing hard, my hand pressed to my chest. From the window, I could see them outside. They were talking. A few moments later, they started laughing. It looked like they had made up.

A small, relieved smile tugged at my lips. At least that was fixed.

I went to take a long shower, letting the hot water wash away the stress of the day. When I came out, Mom called me to help with dinner. We worked side by side in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and stirring pots. It felt nice. Normal.

An hour later, we sat down for dinner. To my surprise, Ezekiel was there too. Garrett had invited him over, probably to ease the tension even more. I felt a flutter in my stomach as I watched him sit across from me.

During dinner, Ezekiel took a bite of the chicken I had helped prepare and smiled. “This is really good. Who made this?”

“I did,” I said softly, feeling my cheeks warm.

He looked at me, his eyes sincere. “It’s delicious. Thank you.”

I couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the meal.

When dinner ended and it was time for him to leave, Mom thanked him for coming over. Ezekiel thanked her for the food, then turned to me with a small, gentle smile.

Garrett offered to escort him down the road to catch a taxi. As they walked away, I went back to my room and stood by the window, watching them. They were talking and laughing again. It made me happy.

I stayed there for a while, smiling softly to myself. That was the moment when I remembered the vibrator.

The sleek black box I had thrown into the trash outside in a fit of anger and embarrassment. My cheeks burned just thinking about it. Why did I do that? It hadn’t deserved to be tossed away like some shameful secret. It was just an innocent gift from Susie — a silly, playful thing that had actually brought me a moment of private pleasure while I thought about Ezekiel.

I stood up, hesitated, then walked to the window and looked out toward the garbage area. The idea of digging through the trash in the dark made my stomach turn. It was probably already messed up anyway, covered in food scraps or worse. I sighed and sat back down on the bed, hugging my knees to my chest.

What is wrong with me lately?

I crawled under the covers, pulling them up to my chin. Sleep came slowly, restless and filled with fragments of dreams I couldn’t quite remember when I woke up.

***

The next day was Saturday. No school, and thankfully no shift at Subway. I woke up later than usual, the house quiet except for the distant sound of Mom moving around in the kitchen. I stayed in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, trying to shake off the lingering embarrassment from yesterday.

But my peace didn’t last long.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. It was the manager from Subway.

I answered with a sigh. “Hello?”

“Nyla, we need all hands today. A big delivery just came in, and we need help unloading and organizing everything in the storage room. Can you come in?”

I groaned internally. “Today? I thought I was off.”

“We’ll give everyone extra compensation and a free meal. Please, we’re short-staffed.”

I rubbed my eyes. “Okay… I’ll be there soon.”

I hung up and got dressed quickly, choosing comfortable clothes for the physical work ahead. I didn’t tell Mom where I was going. She still didn’t know about my part-time job, and I wanted to keep it that way. She had made it very clear she didn’t want us working while in school. Only Garrett knew, and he helped me keep the secret.

I slipped out of the house quietly, closing the door softly behind me, and headed to the restaurant.