“Marni and Dean have tickets for us," Riley said as she pointed at the old truck parked on the side of the street.
“I’m scared to ask what kind of tickets...”
“Mudding tickets.” Her smile was positively radiant—in a scary, serial-killer way. I had a sneaking suspicion she was still trying to show me that I didn’t belong.
Marni and Dean, a couple I’d met earlier this week, were standing next to Wren by the truck, waving us over. It looked like a truck that belonged at a mudding event. It was practically law that you brought an old, beat-up, nearly collectors-era truck to a mudding event where you planned to sink it in man-made mudding pits and possibly overturn it with climbing the hills, all while being careful of the other trucks driving around like crazy people.
Riley grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the truck.
I watched as she waggled her eyebrows at me and kept her back to Marni and Dean. "I understand if you're too busy and don't have time to come with us." She shook her head slightly at me.
Aha. She wanted me to be rude and refuse to go. She thought I was afraid to get splattered with a little mud. I didn’t mind a little mud. Especially if it turned into something like mud wrestling—with Riley.
"Oh, don't worry, bumpkin, I would love to go with you. You know how much I love going mudding!"
"I do, sweetie pie, but what about that thing that you had to do for the other thing?" Riley had always been terrible at coming up with excuses.
Dean was frowning at us like he wasn’t sure he wanted two crazy people riding in his pride and joy. Wren was shaking her head in embarrassment from where she stood next to Marni.
“Oh, that thing. Well, I guess I'll have to do that thing for that other thing another time, because I wouldn't miss out on this for the world."
Riley widened her eyes at me as far as they could go.
I just grinned. Even though I knew she’d enjoyed herself on our date, there was some part of her that was still trying to get rid of me.
But I knew that I wanted to be around her no matter what it took, and if going to a mudding event was what I had to do to spend time with Riley, then I’d gladly do it.
I wasn't going to let her have a moment's hesitation to push me away again. I'd made too much progress to do that. She still hadn't explained why she felt the need to run away, but I didn't know her. I knew the life she came from. I knew the way she grew up. She had enough emotional baggage that could've driven her away. But I wanted to be here, standing at her side, to help her get through that. If she were going to break the cycle of her mother’s mistakes, she would have to face up to her own. Self-sabotage was real.
"Great," Dean yelled. "Let's all climb in the rig."
"How about I drive my car, too?" I suggested. “I don't know if we’ll all fit in your Ford.” I looked at the single cab with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh no, we’ll fit," Riley said with a smile. "Climb on in.” She pointed at the truck, and I had an overwhelming urge to lean over and kiss that smug look right off her face. If she thought I was riding in the middle, she had another thing coming.
“Wren, you're in the middle,” Riley said. "Nate, you're next."
"I don't think so." I waited until Wren climbed into the truck, then I grabbed Riley and shoved her into the cab before I jumped in after her.
Dean and Marni climbed in on the other side. He fired it up. Riley had to turn sideways so we could fit. But the old bench seats of the Ford gave plenty of room for five of us as long as Riley halfway sat on my lap. I would've preferred that she sat entirely on my lap, but I settled for being able to lift my arm around behind her head and tuck her in close to me.
I flipped the back of Wren’s hair. She smacked my hand with a big grin. I'd always wanted to be the older brother. It was refreshing to have someone else smaller than me that I could pick on.
I’d experienced my fair share of tormenting growing up. Having your sister come pick you up from your date when you were fifteen was the most mortifying experience in the world. Especially since she was only eleven months older than me. I'd have to talk with my parents, figure out why they trusted the welfare of their precious fifteen-year-old son with their irresponsible sixteen-year-old daughter. I probably needed therapy.
Riley shifted next to me. She tried to remain stiff against my arm. I chuckled and slipped a hand around her waist, tugging her closer to me, pulling her more onto my lap.
“I’m going to crush you,” she protested.
“I don't think so,” I replied. “I think one hundred pounds is going to be just fine.”
She snorted. “Much more than one hundred pounds.”
“Just relax,” I told her as I brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You won’t flatten me. Quite the contrary.”
Wren snorted next to me, reminding me that I should watch my mouth. There were children present.
Dean and Marni started in on a long monologue of the great fun that could be had at the mudding event. They talked about the many wrecks they’d seen and their favorite trucks.
By the time we pulled up to the big open field, I felt like I knew every little fact about mudding there’d ever been.
I’d never been before, but several of
