Page 79 of While You Were Trending

She whimpers.

“Are you trying to make a point?”

She wiggles on the ground, on her back, until she’s pressing her body against me, all of that soft fluffy fur brushing my legs, big brown puppy dog eyes begging for forgiveness while she jerks her head like she’s trying to reach my hand.

I slide a look at Declan. “Did you give her some kind of secret hand signal?”

“Nope. She just likes you and doesn’t like you upset.”

“Why’d you upset Ginny?” Olivia asks.

“All of us want to know,” Mabel adds.

“Itoldyou dogs suck,” Lav yells from the nearest field. I can hear the smile in her voice.

Heath’s voice carries too, softer, and even though I can’t make out his exact words, I can guess what he’s saying.

We can say suck at home, but don’t say it at school.

“Ginny was on the internet,” Declan says to my friends.

“Ginny,” Cricket gasps.

Declan smirks at me, then rises. “I’m gonna take a nap. See you all at harvest. C’mon, Flow.”

She snorts at him.

He folds his arms over his chest.

She looks away from him, peeks one eye at me, and then snorts again.

“Fine. Stay with Ginny. But if she gets tired of you, you’re coming back to the apartment, understand?” Declan says.

Flow yawns.

“Good girl.” He rubs her belly, then nods to all of us. “Enjoy dinner.”

My friends all watch me as he departs.

None of them say a word until Heath and Lavender have caught up to us and Declan has faded into the distance.

“You okay?” Mabel asks me.

I blow out a breath. “Just peeling back more layers of things I haven’t fully dealt with yet.”

And a few layers that Declan’s added.

At least harvest is happening tonight.

The sooner we get the grapes and juice fermenting, the sooner he can leave.

And then maybe I’ll get my own dog.

A dog, I can commit to.

A man—I wish I could trust myself.

Not that Declan is that man.