Well, she hoped she was.
When he’d mentioned the calls from his folks and how he was stuck in the middle, it had been impossible to miss the tightness in his jaw, and the offer was out of her mouth before she could stop it.
Probably from guilt.
“You said your parents were being annoying, right?”
“Yes.” He nodded cautiously. “This will help how?”
“I’ve been dragged to this wretched campground since I was six years old. Trust me, I know all about annoying parents. Every year Zac and I would come here and pull the worst faces ever. By the time we were done, we’d be laughing. I swear you can’t be unhappy when you’re in here.”
“That’s quite possibly the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard.” He didn’t attempt to stand up and leave. The machine was still coin operated, and she fumbled around in her purse. “And what happened to splitting up and doing our own thing?”
She swallowed. Good question.
His leg was pressed against hers, and her skin tingled again. She wasn’t good at being around most people. They could never understand how she could be so different from her brother. That she was dark and serious, while he was golden and outgoing. In the end it had become easier to stay in the background.
It was why she didn’t have many friends and why she didn’t date.
When she was in the background, she was safe. No panic attacks. But she wasn’t having a panic attack now. She was sitting in a photo booth with Hudson Trent, breathing in his cinnamon scent. He’d shaved and his jaw was relaxed now, the tension gone.
He was so close. If he turned around, their lips would almost be touching.
And if their lips were touching—
Get it together.
“And miss out on getting you to pull that weird face you used to do? Remember in the sixth grade Mrs. Hawker almost demanded we redo the class photos,” she said, trying to keep her voice light and casual—and not like someone who’d been thinking about kissing him.
Hudson instantly crossed his eyes and poked his tongue out.
“You mean this one?” He tried to speak, but his words were slurred. She burst out laughing, and the warmth in her chest increased.
“Whatever you do, don’t move.” She stuffed some coins in the slot and pressed the button. An orange warning light blinked. He nudged her elbow, and her hair went flying out in all directions as the flash went off. He let out a yelp as she returned the favor, sending his right shoulder knocking against the side wall.
“Oh, you’re going to pay for that,” he warned, his eyes gleaming.
She grinned as they posed for another photo. This was…nice.
Hudson didn’t seem to think she was odd or weird. It was probably why they’d been friends in the first place. She just wasn’t sure quite how she’d forgotten.
xxxx
“You’re seriously going to eat all of that?”
“Watch and learn.” Via thrust her spoon into the three scoops of pastel pink ice cream in the bowl as afternoon sun filtered into the old-fashioned ice cream parlor. He was quickly learning everything about the small town was old fashioned. Usually it wasn’t his thing, but with Via it was fun.
After the photo booth they’d spent an hour in the bookstore, then she’d bought emergency supplies for Zac, which included every kind of candy bar ever invented. For a jock he sure had a sweet tooth.
And now they were eating ice cream.
Correction. Via was eating ice cream. He was watching.
Her eyes were bright, and her lips were slicked with the pale sheen of strawberry. If he leaned over he could kiss her. He didn’t. After all, he’d been imagining what it would be like to kiss Via for almost three years. It was just that up until today he’d never thought she might want to kiss him back.
I’m still not sure.
But she’d stayed and hung out with him. It had been a long time since someone had wanted to spend time with him. He picked up the strip of photos and studied them. Most of them were terrible—half-shut eyes, open mouths, weird expressions—but he couldn’t remember when he’d laughed so much.
“Thanks for these. Turns out your theory’s valid.”
“Apart from the one where you gave me bunny ears,” she said. “Who does that anymore?”
“I stand by my decision,” he said as another text message from his mom flashed up on his phone. He flipped it face down. Across the table Via’s gaze swept his face, the spoon paused halfway between the bowl and her mouth.
“You really aren’t going to read any of them?”
“They’re not going anywhere.” He shrugged, wishing he hadn’t mentioned it. Last thing he wanted was sympathy. “Seriously, it’s no big deal. I’ve had two years of it, remember?”
“Two years doesn’t make it better. It just means you’ve been dealing with it for a long time. All on your own. I wish I’d known. I—” She broke off, as if searching for words. There it was again. Via being considerate. It was unnerving. “I’m sorry I made it worse for you.”
“Now you’re freaking me out. Via, it wasn’t your fault. I get why you were mad at me.”
She pushed away the half-eaten bowl of ice cream. Her face had lost the smile, and her eyes were cast down to the table.
“You don’t, though.” Her voice was low, forcing him to lean forward. “After it happened, I had a panic attack. I’d had them before, but this one lasted longer. It freaked me out. I guess I blamed you for it. I shouldn’t have.”
She returned his gaze, gray eyes pensive.
His gut tightened. He felt sick.
“I gave you a panic attack?”
“No.” She quickly shook her head. “Not really. You weren’t to know. Just like I didn’t know what you were going through. It started in first grade. Zac and I were cast as leads in the school play. The teacher thought I’d love being on stage as much as my loudmouth brother.”
“That’s why you
