“I don’t know. I feel like I should put on some jeans and a sweater or something.”
Lacey opened her bag and pulled out a sweater and a pair of jeans.
“ShouldIchange?” River asked.
“No, you look fine,” Lacey said without even glancing in her direction.
River sat on the end of the bed, wondering what to do until dinner, which would be served in about five minutes. She’d spent much of the morning in the kitchen with Kennedy, making fudge but also talking and getting to know each other. After lunch, they’d all sat around in the living room for a while, giving Jessie whatever it was that she still seemed to need for the cameras. Then, they had been allowed to go downstairs to the game room, where Kennedy had shown off her skills at darts before they’d sat down on the sofa to talk some more while Cameron and Lacey had played pool.
This would be their final dinner. After that, they would have breakfast in the morning and hit the road. She had a little over twelve hours left of this weekend, most of which would be spent sleeping, and she didn’t want to go. She hadn’t even wanted to come to this thing, but now, she did not want to leave because of another woman. Watching Lacey and Cameron play pool and even flirt a little hadn’t bothered River. Earlier that day, she’d gotten territorial, but that had passed when she realized something.
Lacey changed into a cable-knit sweater that River had never seen on her and her nice jeans that River used to admire whenever Lacey wore them, and she went into the bathroom to run a brush through her hair. It looked to River like she was getting dressed for a nice beach date, and it wasn’t a date withher. When Lacey was done, River stood, and they walked out into the hallway together. They arrived in the formal dining room a minute later and found that the table wasn’t set like it had been the previous night.
“You’re eating outside tonight. It’s a nice night, so we moved the kitchen table out on the patio. Everything’s out there, so feel free to head on out,” Jessie said from her spot on the sofa before she looked back down at her phone.
They followed the instructions, and River smiled when she saw Kennedy already there, leaning over the railing a bit, staring out at the water. Cameron was sitting down, and she smiled up at Lacey.
“You look nice. I mean, you changed,” she heard Cameron say, but that didn’t bother her at all as she walked over to Kennedy, leaving Cameron and Lacey at the table to talk because she knew they’d want to.
“Hey,” she said.
“Oh, hey,” Kennedy replied, turning a little toward her. “No cameras, at least this time. I think Jessie has most of what sheneeds, so we can be normal tonight. I’m guessing she’ll want a shot of us all saying goodbye tomorrow, but Cam and I finally managed to get her to chill.”
“She’s staring at her phone and tapping her foot in the living room right now.”
“Well, fuck.” Kennedy turned back to the water. “That woman needs a drink or two, or to get laid or something. I don’t know.”
River leaned over the railing as well and said, “I guess we’re supposed to be eating dinner right now.”
“Yes, we are.” Kennedy turned her head toward the table. “But I’m suddenly feeling very claustrophobic.”
“Yeah, it’s a little… I just want to go, honestly.”
“Go?” Kennedy asked, turning back to her and looking worried.
“Not likego. I just–”
“Hey, are you two coming over to eat?” Cameron asked.
“We are,” Kennedy said quickly and walked away.
River followed her to the table, and they sat down next to one another. They ate in awkward silence for a long time, but then, River noticed that Kennedy was pushing her mushrooms out of the sauce that had been on top of the chicken.
“No mushrooms?”
“Not my favorite, no.”
“I’ll take them if you’re offering,” she said, trying to get Kennedy to smile.
“You like mushrooms?”
“I do,” she replied. “Do you like…” She looked down at her plate. “Cooked carrots?”
“I do.” Kennedy chuckled, and River felt like she’d won a prize.
Then, they spent some time scraping mushrooms onto River’s plate and carrots onto Kennedy’s and laughed a littlewhile they did it. When they were done, River glanced over at Lacey, who gave her a tight smile and returned her attention to her own plate.
“What do you want to do after this?” Cameron asked.
