Page 35 of One Last Run

The sight made her ponder what sharing a home with Danica could be like — cooking together, sharing jokes, dancing on the kitchen tile… taking a break from cooking to lay Danica back on the kitchen counter and?—

"Isn't that right, Pete?" Izzy asked.

Pete glanced back to the group to find three sets of eyes staring at her. "Yeah. That's right." She had no idea what she was agreeing with.

Kiera rolled her eyes and Maggie openly laughed while sipping a soda. So, shewasn'tsupposed to agree with whatever Izzy was saying.

"Happy thoughts?" Izzy inquired, looking innocent.

"Wh-what? No," Pete said, and she could feel her cheeks flushing. Damn wine. This was somehow entirely the wine’s fault.

"The Happy Thought run, weirdo," Izzy said, rolling her eyes. "We were talking about that run through the trees."

Pete shook her head to clear her thoughts, focusing solely on the rush she had felt while boarding through the Happy Thought woods, less of a run and more of a portal into a winter wonderland, weaving between gigantic evergreens laden with fresh snow. It had felt magical. Otherworldly. For a run called Happy Thought, the only thought in her mind the entire time had been Danica.

Distraction plagued Pete all day, and by early afternoon, Izzy's patience was exhausted, causing them to end their day after Pete made a rookie mistake and fell. They had come back to the condo and overheard Kiera yelling at someone on the phone. Kiera had sounded livid, and they’d hidden from her bad mood by taking naps downstairs in Pete’s bunk beds.

Danica and Maggie had come home in the late afternoon with shopping bags and wind-flushed cheeks. Danica had kept things short with her, going to take a nap in her room before coming out to dinner wearing a new sky-blue sweater. Maggie made her catwalk through the living room to show it off. It matched her eyes perfectly.

Izzy waved a hand in front of Pete's face. "Did you hit your head when I wasn't looking today or what?" she snapped.

"Sorry, I’m just tired," Pete said, sighing. She tapped her fingers on the table, her gaze resting on the exhausted faces of Kiera, Maggie, and Izzy. "We should play a game."

Kiera glanced around the room. "Maybe a puzzle, I don't think Aunt Jade has any board games."

"We could do an extreme puzzling session where we try to finish the puzzle in under an hour," Pete suggested. "They have these competitions?—"

"Pass," Izzy said, leaning back in her chair.

"We could play charades," Pete offered.

Kiera shook her head.

"Let's play truth or dare," Maggie exclaimed, looking mischievous.

"No way," Danica said from the kitchen. "Remember that time you dared me to run through the boy's floor in just my bra and underwear?"

"Oh my god, I'd forgotten about that.” Kiera turned to Danica, laughing. "Didn't you trip and fall?"

"Some idiot had left a big puddle on the floor outside of the bathroom, and I pulled an accidental Risky Business slide into the RA's door. I had a bruise on my cheek for days," Danica said, shaking her head.

"Which cheek?" Maggie teased.

"You know what, maybe we should play truth or dare. Maybe it's time for payback. This is a fantastic idea," Danica said, pointing the soup spoon at Maggie.

Maggie tapped her fingers together in an evil, plotting way. "Bring it on."

"I still can't feelmy tongue," Kiera complained, chugging water.

Danica's soup had proven to be extremely spicy, but absolutely delicious. Kiera, Izzy, and Maggie had all added cream cheese to their portions to try to dampen some of the heat, but Pete scarfed a full bowl and went back for seconds.

Izzy was still wiping her drippy nose, eating straight out of an ice cream carton in an effort to quell the heat.

"Sorry, I guess I forgot you're all babies," Danica said with a grin. "Except Pete."

"I thought it was perfect," Pete said with a smile, looking toward Danica at the head of the table.

"Okay, Danica, truth or dare," Maggie said, leaning to take a bite from the ice cream carton Izzy had been hoarding.

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