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Coco isn’t wrong. My mind instantly pictured how I might look naked and spread out. I totally forgot to consider how beautiful he’ll be. Or how sexy his careful kisses were in the stables. Walla Walla isn’t a kid. He owns every room he enters. He’ll oversee our sex life. I doubt he’ll fumble around like I would.
“We’ll pair off,” I tell Coco who frowns at herself in the mirror. “At every meal, we’ll sit next to the one we want. We’ll also ask Goose open-ended questions to help her warm up to us. I think she’s out of sorts in a new place.”
“Did you see how she shot the scumbag at the clinic?” Coco asks and grabs my arm. “She was a fearless warrior. Meanwhile, I wanted to cry the entire time. That’s why I kept giving Golden and the other Backcountry Kings so much shit. I needed to distract from my urge to cry.”
“It was scary. Do you want to cry now?”
“No, I dealt with it last night in the shower.”
“You should have come to me and cried. We could have sobbed together like group therapy.”
Coco smiles. “That sounds awful, but I appreciate how you would have cried with me. Just like that time when I showed off by drinking too much sake and ate those clams. You held my hair while I upchucked it all.”
“You were so sick.”
“I probably would have died if you hadn’t taken me to the hospital,” she says and pats my cheek. “You’re a good friend. And you’ll make Walla Walla happy as long as you get out of your own way, and he doesn’t turn out to be a shithead.”
“I was behaving very bizarrely in the horse stables. Any other man would have rolled his eyes and walked away. But Walla Walla talked me down from my crazy ledge and came up with a plan for us to kiss.”
“Men can be very inventive when there’s sexual gratification on the line.”
Sharing a laugh, we admire ourselves in the mirror. We’ve always been an odd pair. In school, many girls seemed to seek out someone who looked like themselves. Coco and I never made sense. Yet, our differences are what make us work. She’s short and thin, making her skilled at reaching things deep in bottom cabinets. Meanwhile, my height allows me to get objects off top shelves. Yep, we’re perfect together.
Our excellent teamwork comes in handy the next day when I’m a blubbering mess. I keep coming up with excuses to stay with Suzanne. Hunter’s choice to visit the house to see me off only increases my panic. Now I’m certain I should remain in Banta City and work on my relationship with my sister.
“Get your ass in the SUV,” Coco growls when I keep needing to hug someone or pee.
“Just one more minute,” I whimper and kneel to stroke the cat. “I won’t be seeing Pudding for a while.”
Coco and Suzanne work together to get my stalling ass into the SUV. Meanwhile, Goose and Walla Walla watch our antics and wear relaxed “WTF” expressions.
Once we’re on the road, I settle down and thank Coco for her help.
“Feel free to repay me when you catch me acting like a dipshit with Goose.”
Nodding, I mentally prepare for when we’re face to face at lunch. I know I must have seemed insane to Walla Walla, so I need to act super casual for the rest of the trip.
“I felt a little guilty for talking you into leaving your home,” he says as we stop hours later.
“Leaving might be too much for me,” I blurt out rather than sticking to my plan to act casual.
“No, I’m sure you can handle it. That’s why I only felt a little guilty. Mostly, I was excited to get you to McMurdo Valley where we can get to know each other better.”
Standing in the parking lot while Coco fixes her hair, I admit to him, “I’m afraid you won’t like me.”
“Well, I’m afraid you won’t like me. Or you’ll find my friends to be shitty people. Or you’ll get bored and leave.”
“Are you really afraid of those things?”
“Of course. Despite what you think, I’m just a guy hoping a girl likes him back.”
His hangdog expression makes me grin. I can’t imagine he’s as smitten with me as I am with him. Except I know I don’t see the world correctly. My instincts are wrong, and I’m rarely in control of myself.
That’s why rather than explaining to Walla Walla how scared I am, I tell him, “I’m excited to see the Pigsty. I used to hear so many stories about your clubhouse. Now, I’ll see the real deal.”
Walla Walla smiles at my words, and I’m glad to have reined in my worst tendencies even if only for now.
Once seated inside the restaurant, Coco keeps frowning at Goose who stares at Walla Walla as if overly aware of the pissy woman glaring at her.
