"Well, they are."
We laughed, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught Tolliver watching me.
"What's in the bag, Stone?" I asked, nodding to the paper bag in his lap.
"Snacks," he said. "I got the ramen and that dragonfruit drink you like. Like I said, I was going to surprise you. "
I swallowed.
Someone in the backseat sighed.
I wasn't sure if it was Viola or Lottie or both.
I knew exactly how they felt.
"I also wasn't sure what you'd want, so I got a little of everything "
"That's nice of you," I said.
"So nice," Lottie repeated.
"The nicest," Viola said.
I rolled my eyes, but Tolliver just smiled.
"Real subtle, guys," I said then gestured to Tolliver. "Well, hand out those snacks. We've got a long drive, and I need to stay awake."
"I'll make sure you stay awake," he said.
"I was kidding."
"I wasn't."
As my cousins tittered in the back, I saw Tolliver's signature smile again and knew it would be a long trip. And I didn't mean the time or distance. Hopefully, their presence would prevent me from doing something crazy, like confessing my undying love to the guy riding shotgun—who brought me snacks…to surprise me…the day he got back. But he hadn't called, I reminded myself. He wrote me one text, said he missed me. That was it. And yet, my pulse still raced knowing he was sitting in the seat next to me, breathing the same air. At least with Viola and Lottie in the car, nothing too earth shattering could happen. My lipstwitched as Tolliver opened the refresher for me, holding it up to my mouth so I could take a sip.
Laughing softly, I clasped the drink, trying (and failing) not to notice how our fingers slid against each other in the most distracting way. I drank quickly then set the can in the center cupholder.
"Thanks," I said.
"No problem," Tolliver said back.
It was going to be a very long trip.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"Iforgot how bad you are at this," I mumbled.
"What?" Tolliver said, speaking over the music before going right back to singing.
Loudly.
Off-key.
Pitchy for sure.
Tolliver was a bad singer. It was one of the first things I'd learned about him, but the reminder was startling. In the confines of the car, it was impossible to ignore or escape. I winced as he tried for a high note, missed, tried again. He must've seen my face because he threw me a look.
"What?" he asked again.
