“And suddenly, it all makes sense,” I say, rolling my eyes and looking over at Kendall with an exasperatedly fond look.
“No, I wanted to go to the mall with you guys,” Tate argues. “I’m not even going to see Tyler until after we’re done, and he just asked if he could drive me home so we could talk about this week’s episode of Survivor.”
This leads her to tellingusabout this week’s episode ofSurvivor—a show I have never seen but know tons about, thanks to Tate.
Kenny turns the music up once Tate’s finished telling us who was voted off the island and I leave my boots on the floorboard to stick my socked feet up on the dash. She pulls into the first Starbucks we come to and I rifle through my purse for my wallet. Kenny slaps at my knee a few times and waves her hand at me like I should understand what she wants even though she’s still reciting her order to the barista.
“What do you want?” she asks once she’s finished ordering.
“I’m ordering separately. Get Tate,” I tell her, though I never splurge on fancy coffee or eating out, and really shouldn’t be doing so now, given that I’m practically starting over with my savings again. I had to spend some of the savings in my account on a motel for a few nights when it got too cold to sleep in my truck. Luckily, Dad’s bender was over and I was back at home now.
Tate has already decided she needed to fend for herself here and rolled down the back window to yell out her order as well—politely, just… loudly. I still can’t find my wallet. I think I actually left it at home. How in the hell did I leave for the mall without remembering my wallet?
“Maddie gave me his card. He said to buy all your shit on it too,” Kenny whispers as Tate wraps up her order. I pause my frantic hands to look up at her. I look at her incredulously and she puts her hands up. “His words, not mine.”
But that’s not what’s bothering me.
“Guys?”
“All my shit? Like breakfast and lunch?” I clarify, because that’s not really unusual. He paid our bill at the diner that day, too. We’d found out after he left.
“Guys?”
“‘All your shit’ was exactly what he said,” she says with a shrug and a knowing grin. “Maybe you should text him to clarify.”
I open my mouth to argue when the car behind us honks. Tate sticks her middle finger out the window like they’re wrong for honking, even as she says, “I’ve been trying to tell you to finish the order.”
Kenny rolls the back windows up and turns on the child lock while I give the barista my order. The second I’m done ordering, my phone’s in my hands.
Austin
What’s this about you paying for my shit?
Rancher
?
I huff and roll my eyes. “Your brother is a terrible texter.”
Kenny nods, taking the bags from the barista and shoving them in my lap to free her hands for the drinks. “Here,” she says, passing them my way as well so she can drive off. I drop my phone to grab them before she ends up dropping them.
“God forbid you wait a damn minute before you drive away from the window,” I mumble, taking the drinks from the holder and passing them where they go.
“Well, we’ve already pissed off the car behind us twice.”
When I pick my phone up off the floorboard, I see that I accidentally sent Maddox a keyboard smash, to which he replied with two more question marks.
Austin
Sorry, accident. Anyway, you didn’t answer my question.
“That’s cause he doesn’t understand what you’re asking,” Tate says from over my shoulder. I immediately hide my phone against my chest and elbow her back.
“Mind your own damn business and put your seatbelt back on.”
“Jeez Louise, I was just trying to help.”
Rancher
