Will one night be enough?
I jog to catch up to the boys.
“Wait,” Cash says as he holds out his arm. Wilder and I stop. “We should see who can find the weirdest flavor.”
“Isn’t that what we planned on doing?” I raise an eyebrow.
“We should wager—”
“No,” I groan. “I can only handle so many bets and wagers before I lose it.”
Cash laughs. “You’re so dramatic, Ingrid.
I roll my eyes as we walk inside. It’s packed full of people. Glass soda bottles line the slanted walls in rows—red, blue, orange, yellow, and green. There are tables and chairs in the center. People are eating, laughing, and conversing.
And for the first time in a year, none of us are fighting.
That’s a win in my book.
“How many grams of sugar do you think are in these sodas?” Cash asks me.
“I’m dramatic?” I scoff. “You’re on a road trip and you’re worried about how much sugar is in a soda? Relax.”
“You know I won’t eat anything unless it’s vegetables.” There’s a beat before he adds, Raw veggies. I prefer them raw. Not cooked.”
“Oh,” I say, winking at Wilder, “you like it raw, Cash. I had no idea.”
“Not so loud, Blondie,” Wilder chides me with a grin as a few heads turn in our direction. “No one needs to know Cash likes it raw.”
Cash exhales heavily. “You two are so immature.”
Wilder drapes his arm over my shoulders. “We are, aren’t we?”
I push up onto my tippy toes and kiss his lips. They taste like mint and Wilder and something terrifyingly close to home.
He sighs against my mouth and every single worry that’s wormed its way into my chest disappears.
Things are fine. We’re fine.
“Okay,” I tell Wilder.
“Okay what?” He smiles and it steals the breath from my lungs.
“You can have your one-night truce.”
Wilder smirks. “Couldn’t even go four days, Blondie. How embarrassing.”
I run a hand over my face. I walked right into that one, didn’t I?
Then, his fingers thread through mine, and he points to the rows of sodas.
“Let’s find the weirdest soda,” Wilder whispers. “And beat Cash at his own game.”
He leads the way, and I happily follow along, my fingers still securely wrapped in his.
There are over six hundred flavors. Regular soda—root beer, lemon-lime—and fruity flavors like watermelon and peach. We grab a few dessert-named ones to try.
Wilder’s thumb runs along the back of my hand as we slowly make our way through the rows and head over to a wall of refrigerators.
