“Do you have a death wish?” I laughed at his haul of colorful bags.
“We’re indulging, remember? I can’t afford to eat half of this crap when training.” He shrugged while trailing after me. “What do you have so far?”
I held up a bag of plain chips and water. “Simple and to the point.”
“Come on,” he encouraged. “Get something you used to when you were a kid. Something fun. If you were a snack, what would you be?”
I tried to give it some actual thought. “Something with cheese. And salt. Probably a pretzel.”
“Boring,” he decided. I shoved his shoulder playfully. “You don’t have to hold back.”
“I’m not. I really enjoy pretzels. If that makes me a boring person, so be it,” I insisted while scanning the row of snack bags. Hanging at the bottom was a bag of pretzels covered with a cheese-like powder. Who knew what kind of lab those things were created in. But it didn’t matter tonight because we were being ‘average.’ Average people indulged.
“Do you like these?” Weston held up a plastic bottle of Arizona tea.
“Sure, but grab some in a can,” I told him with a wave of my hand. “They taste ten times better that way.”
He studied the bottle. “I didn’t think it made a difference.”
“Oh, I’m about to ruin you.” I led the way to the back of the store where the refrigerators were.
“Too late,” Weston said in a low voice.
I gave him a small smile and a warning look. When I opened the refrigerator door, I instructed him to choose two cans. We decided to still buy the bottles to properly compare the two. The cashier, an old man with a prominent mole on his upper lip, eyed us suspiciously when we dumped our items on the front counter.
“I’ll send you half,” I whispered into Weston’s ear when I saw the total go above thirty dollars.
He pressed a kiss on my lips, lingering against me like he’d been waiting to do this for a while. “Don’t you dare. I’ll send it right back. Besides, I owe you more than snacks. We’ll find you some actual food soon, okay?”
I nodded with a smile. He winked at me before turning back to swipe his card. When we got into his truck, we opened the bottles first. After a few sips, Weston shrugged.
“Wait for it,” I promised as I cracked open my can. He followed suit, raising the can to his lips at the same time I did. After a few gulps, he frowned and pulled the can back to study it.
“Holy crap,” he said after taking a few more sips. “It tastes different.”
I giggled. “I wasn’t kidding. Better, right?”
He hummed while drinking some more. “You ruined me.”
“My plan all along,” I teased.
He leaned over the console to capture my lips with his. The pressure of him made me sigh. He swallowed my sound, tasting of sugar and desire. His thumb brushed across my cheek. The heat from his touch lingered on my skin even after he pulled away.
“Ready?” He asked, breathless. His eyes were trained on my parted lips. He looked ready to claim them again.
“Sure.” My voice sounded light. My tone held a lingering laugh, and the sound of my joy made Weston smile. His eyes lit up when he did so. For a complicated person, he was simple when it came to his smiles. I could get him to grin in a heartbeat, and that fact made me a little prideful.
“You’re happy with me, aren’t you?” he asked.
The question made my heart speed up. I nodded, slowly at first. He barely caught the movement, so I opened my mouth to add, “I am.”
“I’m happy with you too,” he confirmed with a wide smile. His hand swiped back a few hairs on his forehead. He leaned back into his seat to start up the car.
“Good.” I took a few more sips of my drink to stop grinning like a lovesick person.
Weston pulled back onto the highway. I teased him about his sweet tooth and he stole a few pretzels, after joking that he too was a boring person. The dark road seemed to stretch on forever. I secretly prayed it wouldn’t end. I prayed for Weston and I to continue driving in his truck until we were too tired to go any further. Until we pulled over to sleep in the back and then restart like we hadn’t stopped.
Every few minutes, Weston gave me a look that told me he wished for the same. This road wasn’t long enough for him either. If two people prayed hard enough, could the impossible happen?
