Riley stops and glances around the garage.
I laugh disbelievingly. “Are you seriously looking for work to give me?”
“Well, I’m practically being kidnapped. Might as well make the best of it.”
“This is what I get for being a knight-in-shining-armor. No flowers. No gratitude.”
“A knight? Where?” She places a hand on her forehead and pretends to search. “I don’t see him.”
“Fine. No ice cream for you.” I fold my arms across my chest, catching the moment Riley’s eyes land on my muscles.
And I will admit that I flex a bit just because she’s looking.
Purely as a pseudo-sibling showing off, of course.
No other intent behind it.
She tilts her head and averts her eyes. The pink stain I saw in her cheeks when we both grabbed the broom this morning makes a reappearance. “Ice cream?”
“Vanilla ice cream.” I wiggle my eyebrows.
Riley scrunches her nose.
“What’s with the face? You used to love vanilla ice cream.”
“Yeah, when I was twelve. My tastebuds have evolved.”
“To what?”
“Oreo ice cream.”
“That’s just vanilla with Oreos in it!”
“It’s an elevated flavor profile,” Riley responds, tilting her nose in the air. “You wouldn’t understand. Your favorite ice cream is cookie dough. That’s basically salmonella in a cup.”
I gasp dramatically. “Howdareyou.”
There’s a long pause.
And then Riley snorts.
I start laughing too.
That makes Riley laugh harder. “I don’t know why I’m laughing. It’s not that funny.”
At her words, I force my lips shut.
But it only lasts a moment before I start laughing again.
It’s so ridiculous and nonsensical, but it takes a long time for us to calm down.
“Let’s go before I burst a spleen,” I tell Riley, ushering her into my car.
She barely holds herself together and I’m glad she does because I cannot, physically, stand to laugh anymore. My body isn’t used to it.
“After you.” I hold the door open for her and then jog around to the driver’s side, smiling like an idiot.
How interesting. I tried to make Riley smile tonight, but she made me smile harder instead.
