Lake flinched, and Georgia’s smile widened. “It seems you aren’t quite so unattached after all… Gus called dibs.”
She walked away, joining the others on the porch where the air felt far less stifling, and where she hoped Lakeland Lovett’s presence would feel less like a total invasion on her life.
I WANT A HIPPOPOTAMUS FOR CHRISTMAS
GAYLA PEEVEY
THEN
Georgia lookedat the clock on the wall again. Four fifteen. Almost an hour had passed since the meeting had begun, and they had accomplished next to nothing.
“Does anyone have ideas for sponsors?” She looked around at the small group of volunteers she’d managed to round up for this year’s winter formal. Ryan and Blaire showed up out of sheer loyalty and her promise of free lattes at her parent’s shop. Judy Greer, an enthusiastic sophomore, had joined them too, convinced she’d get into her top choice of college if the box was checked beside: join every group offered at your educational facility.
Georgia wasn’t complaining—she needed the help. But Judy’s eagerness would be met with a lot more gratefulness from Georgia if she’d stop staring dreamy-eyed laser beams into Lakeland Lovett’s head for the entirety of their meetings.
Lake had spent the last hour tossing up gummy bears into the air and catching them in his mouth, met with a vigorous round of applause from Judy. Much to Georgia’s dismay, Ryan had begun to catch gummies in his mouth as Lake chucked them from across the room. They’d spent the better half of the meetinglisteningto Georgia’s primary objectives for the formal and ideas for fundraising while simultaneously observing how far apart they could go while still maintaining the integrity of their gummy catching.
“Guys… sponsors? Anyone?”
She was met with silence again and a particularly contrite look from Blaire, who she knew wanted to support Georgia, but probably wished she had the freedom to also catch gummy bears in her own mouth without Georgia’s retribution.
Georgia let out a sigh of frustration, without much notice from the rest of the room, and promptly started packing up her things.
Blaire grabbed her friend’s wrist. “Sorry, Georgia. We can figure this out though. Maybe later in the week?”
Georgia nodded, but knew she’d be the one figuring things out… alone. She’d been given instructions by her faculty supervisor, Mrs. Montgomery, that the sponsorship letters needed to be sent out by the weekend. And so far, Georgia had managed to gain only one sponsor: Good Start Coffee.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” she agreed, shoving her notes into her backpack and preparing herself for her shift. She adjourned the meeting, grabbed her apron, and stepped behind the counter with the college kid working that shift.
Blaire and Ryan said goodbye, agreeing to meet at the end of the week, and promptly left the shop with lattes in hand. Judy lingered, taking her time packing up, then standing near the exit but not quite leaving. She kept a careful eye on Lake, who’d remained at the table with feet propped on a spare chair, gummy bears in hand. He gave little notice to poor Judy and called across the otherwise empty shop to Georgia.
“Would it kill you to have a little fun?”
Georgia froze, nearly dropping the ceramic mugs in her hands. She barked back across the room, “Would itKILLyou to take something seriously for once!?” In all of their meetings, Lake had shown up but had offered little input or aid when it came to planning.
He stood up, the sound of both chairs he’d been using squealed loudly against the hardwood.
“It might,” he replied, daring to move closer to her but still maintaining a healthy distance from the center of the coffee shop. “Would itKILL you,Peaches, to stop looking at me like I’m a chewed up wad of gum stuck beneath your shoe?!”
“It might!” She stomped her foot on the floor like an angry child throwing a tantrum.
Georgia hadn’t noticed before, but Lake still carried the bag of gummy bears in his hand. She’d only given it a small glance, but with the break in eye contact, Lake took notice. Before she registered what was happening, he dipped his hand into the bag and tossed a bear in the air in her direction. She barely had to move to catch it in her mouth.
An orange one. She spit it out in the trash under the counter. When she stood back up, Lake took one step away, showed her a yellow gummy bear and tossed it at her.
Catch.
Spit.
He smirked, took another step back, putting more space between them, and threw another. More challenging this time. Georgia had to take a step back, herself, and weave her head to the left to catch it in time.
She spit the red gummy in the trash and stood with her hands proudly on her hips just as Lake threw a final bear. When she caught it and chewed, he let out a hearty laugh.
“You like the green ones,” he said, finally coming closer to the counter.
Georgia rested her hip against the counter and noticed Judy leaving the coffee shop in a fluster. She almost felt guilty that she hadn’t noticed her there, still watching them. Almost…
“Ionlylike the green ones.”
