We freshened up, cleaned up after ourselves, and headed back home.
Home. Starlight had felt more and more like that special place I could rely on. I imagined all the counselors felt that same sense of safety. There was this acceptance and love that I’d only felt when I was there. Of all the places I’d traveled, nothing had clicked for me as it did there.
As we took off, the truck made a growling noise, eager to take us back home. I noticed Bernice hanging out with us, swinging back and forth on Jack’s key ring as we traversed the bumpy road leading back to the highway.
“Did you bring that just to taunt me? You’re such an asshole,” I groused, but there was no anger or hatred, and I realized I didn’t miss that push-pull between us. It felt like a natural evolution.
I like being his friend.
Jack grinned at me, and I tried not to swoon at the way he looked in a backward baseball hat. “If you’re going to call me an asshole, Nat, you may as well add the wordchampionto the endearment.Don’t forget what really matters here. I won this shabby thing fair and square.”
I scoffed at his blatant disrespect. “Don’t knock Bernice. She’s a worthy prize, and you just got lucky.”
Jack’s fingers grazed the toy talisman. “How’d you get her anyway?”
“It was on my first solo hike. I’d always wanted to see Crater Lake and decided to hike the perimeter. I got completely lost in the moment, but there was a flash of lime green that caught my attention. I walked a couple of feet off the path toward it. Out of nowhere, a branch crashed onto the ground in the exact place I would have been walking.” A tremor went through me when I thought of the secluded miles I’d hiked, and pictured myself injured or worse. But I kept that part to myself. Jack’s face was already twisted in concern, and I wanted to make him smile again. “It taught me that straying from the path can be a good thing.”
“That’s beautiful, Nat.”
I shrugged, ready to lighten the mood. “She’s been my good luck charm ever since. In most things.”
“Most things? You mean, except when it comes to beating me?”
I chuckled. The nerve. “You’ll be eating your words soon enough.”
Jack shook his head. “Then what did you mean?”
“Well, Jack, if you knew any of my exes, you’d understand.”
“You act like you’re the only one with bad exes.” He grinned at me.
My eyebrows flew to my hairline. “Excuse you. I’ve cornered the market. Didyoudate someone who sold your socks online?”
Jack’s face scrunched up, and I smirked. In a game of comparing bad relationships, that anecdote usually won out.
“No, but that’s gross. I did have an ex who had her mom break up with me.”
I gasped. “She did not.”
“She was supposed to meet me at a coffee shop, and then in walks Rhonda.”
I burst into laughter. “I’m sorry,” I wheezed. “I can’t stop.”
“It’s okay. Rhonda was hot. Kind of wish I’d hooked up with her instead.”
I kept laughing until my sides hurt. When I’d regained my composure, I had another flop locked and loaded. “I once had a guy ask me to join his cult.”
Jack literally turned away from the road and stared me dead in my eyes.
“They worshipped goats, and he was their leader. After the goats, that is.” The dude and I only went on one date. You’d think someone trying to indoctrinate you would play a little bit of the long game. I laughed at the memory. I’d never actually laughed about my fucked-up dating history before. It was oddly cathartic.
Jack looked both entertained and dumbfounded. “Do you have any normal breakup stories?”
“Do you?”
Jack and I had gotten to know each other over our time living together, but I frequently found myself wanting to know him more, any crumb he would give me.
“Can’t say that I have, but I did have an ex who liked my best friend more than me, which made things a bit awkward when they hooked up.”
