I shake my head, smiling. “You are unbelievable.”
“Thank you.”
We start walking toward the parking lot, the afternoon air finally starting to cool down the heat that’s been hanging over the beach all day.
I glance down at the cup in my hand. “What even are these flavours?”
“The brown one is chocolate, the green one is pistachio,” she explains. “And the swirly one is cookie dough. My absolute favourite.”
I let out a quiet laugh. “Well, let’s test them.”
I scoop up a bite of the chocolate first. The cold hits my tongue instantly, a welcome shock after the heat of the day. Then I try the pistachio. And finally the cookie dough. I pause for a second, considering. They are not better than vanilla.
Okay. Fuck. They actually are. She was right.
“And…?” She asks me, with her big green eyes. And I can see she is waiting for me to tell her she was right.
“Vanilla is still better.”
She turns her head to me, eyes wide. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Ugh, I can never change you.”
A grin pulls at my mouth at the way she acts so offended by it. I’ve always liked getting that reaction out of her.
After a while of walking in silence, Maddy takes another little scoop, then lowers her voice. “You ever think about what would happen if the others found out?”
I glance over at her. “About us?”
She nods slightly. “About this not being real.”
The word makes me pause. I had so much fun today, I completely forgot this whole thing is just an act.
We toss around a few quiet, half-amused what-if scenarios as we walk, but the humour fades quicker than usual. Maddy takes another bite of ice cream, her expression shifting a little.
“Bailey would be disappointed,” she says.
“Yeah,” I admit. “She would.”
A quiet beat settles between us while we keep walking across the warm pavement. Then Maddy sighs. “Noah would kill me.”
“No. Noah would kill me,” I correct. “You’d be fine. I’d be six feet under.”
That pulls a small laugh out of her, though it doesn’t fully stick. “I do feel bad,” she says. “Lying to them.”
“Yeah,” I agree quietly. “Me too.”
I slow my steps a little as we reach the cars, the heat of the day still hanging in the air around us.
“I’m sure they’ll understand,” I add.
She gives me a small, hopeful smile. “I hope so.”
We stop beside her car. She shifts her ice cream to her other hand while digging her keys out of her bag.
“Can I tell you something?” I ask.
