My mother made us sandwiches, she replied.We also have potato chips, homemade brownies, and San Pellegrino.
Is this all packaged in a picnic basket?I joked.
Of course, she immediately responded.With china plates and cloth napkins.
I inwardly laughed a little—Katie and I’d been texting one-on-one more lately, ever since I’d sent her that female spy movie trailer.A real scheme?she’d responded.Or is it all a dream?
Connor hefted the YETI into the trunk, and then Austin shoved it to the left so they could get my luggage inside, too. Meanwhile, Marco was looking at me bemusedly.
“What?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Please tell your mom thank you for the quiches,” I said, sunshine scorching the back of my neck. “And thank you for being their courier.”
“You’re welcome,” Marco said, then opened his mouth to say more, but Austin cut in between us to shake my shoulders.
“You’re all set,” he said. “Go grab Kates!”
“And gas,” Connor added. “You need gas, remember?”
Austin groaned. “Are you serious?”
Connor’s eyes flashed to mine and held my conspiratorial gaze for a moment before we dissolved into laughter. “Oh, lighten up,” I told my brother as he rubbed his temples. “Don’t you know me?”
I never let my gas gauge dip below a quarter of a tank.
Austin tugged my braid by way of a goodbye. “Drive safely. Stick to the speed limit.”
“I’ll follow the flow of traffic,” I assured him, then braced myself for a football tackle from Connor.
But instead, he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me gently—still tightly, but also, well,tenderly. I let myself relax into it, swallowed up by the aroma of Dove soap and laundry detergent mixed with two overly affectionate Newfoundlands as I hugged him back.
He’s a good hugger, I thought.When he wants to be, he’s areallygood hugger.
“I’ll see you in a couple days,” he said quietly.
“Yeah, a couple days,” I whispered, wondering if I was imagining his heart rate hurrying. “I’ll be back on Monday.” I pulled back, a lump in my throat. “Have a good weekend with Lauren.”
He nodded, his lips twitching like he couldn’t decide whether to smile or frown—like he didn’t know what to think. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Austin raise an eyebrow.
Interesting…it said.
I turned to Marco. The sun was beating down, but I swear the air grew even thicker with heat. I folded my arms across my chest, suddenly feeling awkward.
He’s always liked you, Jacob Bluestein’s words echoed in my ear.
Honestly, I doubted it—Marco and I’d barely known each other in high school—but he had become one of my closest friends, so I took a breath and several steps forward to wrap him in a hug, whether he was awaiting one or not.
“Thanks again,” I said, smelling salt water, sand, and sunshine on his skin.Stone Harbor, I thought, if it were a scent. All we were missing was that magic midnight air. I closed my eyes to picture Marco drunkenly dancing under that corner streetlamp. In hindsight, that night felt like some type of fever dream. “I hope you live it up this week!”
“It’s safe to say some of us will,” he replied, squeezing me back. The blood pumping through my veins amplified when he touched his lips to the tip of my ear. “Don’t let them rile you up,” he whispered. “Just have fun.”
I distantly heard myself murmur that I’d try to keep my cool.
Although with a line of sweat trickling down my spine, I suspected it wouldn’t be so simple.
***
