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"Miss me?"
I took one step forward off the scraggly, muddy carpet. Dallas stood with a foot kicked out, leaned against the front counter in a natural way. His hair was pushed back in disheveled wisps and his eye bags seemed deeper and darker than usual. I took another long stride forward and shot him a lopsided grin.
"Who had the smart idea of lettin' you outta the cooler?" I crinkled my nose and hurried over to him. He wrapped an arm around my neck and pulled me into his broad chest.
"Better shut your mouth or I won't be out for long, huh?" He shoved me back and I smothered a smile, swinging my arm at his chest. My fingers barely missed. I narrowed my eyes and took a step back, flickering my gaze from Hanson to Dallas.
"Why'd they let you out anyway?"
His hitched his chin up and flicked out a weed, then lit it with the dangling chain around his neck. Hanson didn't even give a second look, although I think I might have seen him scrunch his face a bit. "Probation, man. Gotta do community service and shit." He placed the weed between his lips and squinted his eyes.
"Dallas Winston doing community service? Never thought I'd see the day." I snatched the cigarette and took a puff, then dangled it between my two front fingers. Dallas flicked his tongue over his lip and gave me a slight scowl, then grabbed it back.
"Have to, or else they'll send me back to the cooler. No way I'm goin' back there." He shook his head and inhaled sharply. A puff of smoke emanated from his nose.
I bent my head up and gave a teasing smile. "Well maybe It'd be smart to quit doing illegal things now, wouldn't it?" Dallas shot his head down and heightened his scowl, flickering his gaze back to Hanson. "What are you doing here, anyway? You two looked like you were getting along well."
"You could say that," Hanson's creaky voice started. "He's an alright boy."
"Hear that Holly? I'm an alright boy." Dallas's pointed teeth stuck out from his lips and he swiveled on his heel, then strutted off in the other direction. He hung his head, looking at the bags of chips and candy, then picked a few from the bunch. I turned back to the older man with furrowed brows.
"You really think so?" I asked, fiddling with the bottom of my shirt.
"I think he'd be better off dropping the persona and cleaning his act, but you were right Holly." He shook his head and squinted off at Dallas who looked innocent enough. "He is, after all, just a boy. Even if he does get himself into more trouble than he can handle."
"That's where you're wrong." I gave a light snort and glanced toward the roaming boy. "I think he can handle it. I mean, his record is a damn mile long and look at him, getting out on probation after what he just pulled."
