At that, Mia tossed a piece of hair she’d been playing with and narrowed her eyes. “Okay, I’m going to choose not to take that personally, because I love you and we’ve been friends for too long. But whenever you want to stop taking your shit out on me, let me know.”
Mia leaned back, slowly picking up her purse before removing her glasses and moving over to where Erik was sitting. Randy was there, too, along with a few others. When Erik saw Cierra sitting by herself, he made a confused face andmotioned for her to come and join. She appreciated his gesture, but gracefully refused by clasping her hands together, making a sleeping motion.
But at what felt like the same moment she fell asleep, she heard the pilot overhead alerting the cabin to put their seatbelts back on; they’d be landing in thirty minutes. Mia had returned at some point and was poking around on her iPad. She stuck her tongue out at Cierra and went back to it, which was fine by her. The pair spent the rest of the descent in awkward silence.
Cierra sat with the Lawsons in a black car on the way to the resort. Zelda’s team had booked out an imposing southern mansion right next to the water, flanked by a recreational center, horse stables, and ample grounds with hiking paths and ponds. While Cierra was getting de-sensitized to lavish surroundings, the gothic lushness of the southeast was undeniably breathtaking.
Live oaks adorned with sweeping Spanish moss lined the long driveway to the big house. If not for the fact she was riding in a car, Cierra felt like she could have been seeing the same image from a hundred years ago. The effect wasn’t just on her either. Elliot had quieted, observing the landscape in quiet appreciation. Even Zelda had ceased looking at her phone.
“Don’t you just love plantations?” Zelda asked Cierra. “They’re just so . . . gorgeous.”
“Uh . . .” she said, a little thrown by the wording of the question.
“You know, aside from all that slavery business that built the place,” Erik chimed in, voicing what Cierra was thinking.
Zelda frowned, annoyed at him for ruining her moment. “Well, of course, that was awful. I meant the architecture, Erik. Obviously.” Zelda looked helplessly at Cierra. “Sorry if that was insensitive.”
“It’s fine.” What she wanted to say was,ya think?But she was on the job and couldn’t risk making Zelda uncomfortable. She was too close to the finish line.
Pulling up to the resort, Cierra found her room that she was sharing with Mia, only to find her best friend already putting her clothes away.
“Wanna come grab groceries with me?” Cierra asked.
“Not really,” Mia said in a clipped, professional tone, without looking in her direction. “Oh, and I’m still mad at you.”
“Yeah, I picked up on that.”
Instead of replying, Mia sprayed sickly sweet smelling body mist all over herself that reminded Cierra of a middle-school locker room and left without saying where she was going. Probably to see Randy, from the looks of their nonstop flirty interaction since deplaning.
Cierra huffed and put her stuff down. In their many years of friendship, what Cierra had learned was that Mia just needed a few hours to be dramatic when they got into spats like this.
When she looked down at her phone, half expecting to see a reconciliation text from Mia, she saw a message from Erik:
Erik: I’m starving, wanna grab lunch?
Cierra: I need to head into town asap to pick up the groceries :/
Erik: Perfect! I already got the keys to the rental. Meet downstairs in 15?
Cierra groaned. Just what she needed after her proclamation to Julian about her and Erik being platonic: some one-on-one time in the scenic countryside of the Carolinas.
The heat was unpleasant, but the humidity was downright oppressive. Cierra opted to change into sports shorts, a moisture-wicking tank top, and threw her hair into a top bun. It’s not like she needed to look good for anybody (certainly not Erik), and with three different stores she needed to hit beforeseven p.m. or “supper time” or whenever stores closed around here, she needed to get a move on.
Erik was already waiting near the front door when Cierra came downstairs. He was chatting with Randy and Mia, who promptly peeled off at the sight of Cierra.
“What was that?” Erik asked, intrigued by Mia’s antagonistic flair.
“Nothing, just a misunderstanding. We’re fine.”
“Whatever you say, Chef. Ready to hit the town?”
So we’re back to chef, Cierra thought. It was probably for the best. And by town, Erik meant a rural suburb of ten thousand, spread across ten square miles of forest and swamp.
“Let’s do it.”
The rental turned out to be a Jeep, which looked cool but was insanely bumpy and loud. They needed to head to the florist first, since they were closing in just under an hour, according to Google Maps. Cierra tried calling the place, hoping they didn’t close early, but couldn’t get any signal in the rural woods. Even if she got through, it’s not like she’d be able to hear anyone on the other end. After a few dial tones, she gave up.
“WE SHOULD BE THERE IN NO TIME,” Erik bellowed, trying to raise his voice above the sound of the engine and the music he was playing. “THANKS AGAIN FOR—”
