“See, it kinda looks like the end of my line is connected to you. So what about ‘caught me a winner’?”
I give him a withering look. “You caught nothing, city boy.”
Benny pouts. “I thought that was pretty cute.”
“It is,” I say, then lower my voice to a whisper as I add, “You are. But we’re being subtle, remember?”
One side of his mouth quirks up and he gives me a wink before looking back at his phone. Gracious, do I want to kiss those dimples again.
“All right, all right. I got it—‘Coming soon: Fish of Flavor.’ Eh?” He raises his eyebrows and I laugh.
“Fine by me, you punny fella.”
Before long, the flames in the firepit are embers, and little by little, people head off to bed. I decide to turn in before Benny and give his shoulder an affectionate but discreet squeeze before going inside, leaving him chatting with Seb and Raj.
Once I’m in my room, teeth brushed and pajamas on, I climb into bed and mess around on my phone a bit. Impulsively, I go to Benny’s Instagram page from the Friends of Flavor account, which I’m logged in to, and take a screenshot of his latest post to send to Natalie and Clara. Under the picture, I text my own caption.
Reese:#instaofficial
Reese:or should I say oFISHal
Natalie:!!!!!!!!!!!
Clara:wait so does this mean real life official too
Clara:???
Natalie:YOU CAN’T DROP THESE BOMBS WITH NO DETAILS
Reese:Would y’all give a woman time to type pls
Reese:Ummm I think real life official too? As in, we kissed today
Natalie:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clara:!!!
Reese:…a lot. But we haven’t done the “what are we” talk. And we’re keeping it a secret
Reese:Except for this convo I guess lol
Reese:So shh
Natalie:Oh my god I’m having heart palpitations
Natalie:Lord help
Natalie:SOS girl down
Reese:Thank you for handling this so coolly. Really helping me continue to not freak out about it yet
Clara:happy for you, R. he seems great. and super hot ofc
Natalie:I just want you to feel my undying love and support
Natalie:Undying, even if I myself literally die right here from my heart attack
Clara:I thought it was palpitations
