My hand slid to her backside, the thin cotton of that blue-and-white striped dress hugging her just right, and gave a squeeze. “I think I’m exactly the right amount of trouble.”
Her smile widened. Then she kissed me. “Let’s get out of here before the police find you facedown in the hedges.”
I threw the truck in gear and made a U-turn.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
I leaned forward, grabbed a paper bag, and handed it to her. Michelle reached inside and pulled out a packet of Twizzlers.
“You converted?” she asked. “For me?”
“Fuck no,” I replied, grabbing my box of red vines from the door.
“So your plan is to drive around and eat licorice?”
“It’s not like you gave me much time to plan your dream date. So this is it—my very last-minute idea. The drive-in. Not to watch the movie. To...”
“I get the idea.”
Was that… disappointment?
“You don’t want to go?” I asked.
“I mean, it’s fine.”
“So enthusiastic.”
“No, it’s just… I was kind of hoping we could go back to your place.”
“My place?” I raised a brow. “Yeah, that’s probably not a good idea.”
“Because of April? I’ll be quiet… like a mouse. She’ll never know I’m there.”
Oh, I was pretty sure the second Michelle spotted Zonk, the entire neighborhood would know she was there.
I hesitated. “I don’t know…”
“Come on,” she urged, tugging my shirt. “I want to see where you live.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “No. You definitely don’t.”
“Yes, I do. Why? Are you hiding something?”
I could tell by her insistence that Michelle wasn’t going to drop it, leaving me with only the nuclear option.
“Okay,” I said, exhaling. “I’m going to tell you something, and you’re not going to like it.”
Her eyes went huge. “What?”
“I have a pet.”
“A pet? Like… a dog?”
“No.” I dragged the word out. “Like an opossum.”
She stared at me, trying to process. “So, a dog that looks like an opossum?”
“No, an opossum whoisan opossum.”
