Page 12 of Wallflower

Dare's stomach gave a deep grumble then, and I caved.

"Oh, this is just pitiful," I said, shoving the crackers toward him. "Take one already. It's just a cracker, no big deal."

"Okay, but only if you really don't want it," he said.

"For goodness sakes Dare, take it."

And boy, oh boy, did he. Dare ate those peanut butter crackers like they were the best things on Earth. I was glad I'd already gotten three because between one blink and the next the other five were gone. Just like that. Dare had eaten them all in less than a minute.

"Hmm," he said in contentment. "Thanks for sharing, Vi. That was good."

"No problem," I mumbled. "You were hungry, huh?"

Dare winked, patting his stomach. "I'm a growing boy."

I nodded.

"Now, if we only had something to wash it down with," he said.

"Well, there's milk in my thermos if you want some."

"Really?" he said, sounding like a kid in the candy store over some freaking crackers and milk. "Can I get a sip of that? I won't put my mouth on it or anything." Dare grinned. "Not unless you want me to."

"You just can't help it. Can you?" I said. He shrugged, and I rolled my eyes but gave him the go ahead. "Have at it, Frost. I wouldn't want you passing out from hunger. My dad might never forgive me."

We shared the milk, and true to his word, Dare didn't put his mouth on the cup. The banana I'd grabbed also got split in two, and before I knew it we were pulling into the Durham High parking lot. After we got out, Dare met me at the front of my car.

"Well, Buttercup didn't seem to have any problems today," he said. "We got here in plenty of time, and for an older model, she handles like a dream."

I lifted my chin. "This car is my pride and joy, took me two years to save enough to afford her. I just made up that stuff about her being difficult because I didn't want you driving."

Dare winked. "I already knew that."

"Hey, can you blame me?" I said. "You don't have the best track record."

"My cars do tend to get damaged," he said thoughtfully.

That was an understatement.

"But I'd take care of your car, Vi. Don't doubt it. So, Buttercup," he said. "Is that because she's yellow?"

"That's part of it," I said. "But she's really named after a character from one of my favorite movies. It's a quirky romantic comedy about a girl who falls in love with a farm boy, who then turns into a pirate and comes back to save the love of his life from being forced to marry an awful prince. There are some amazing side characters and hilarious/romantic moments in equal measure. It's older and, like I said, kind of quirky, so you probably haven't seen it."

"Ah," he said, crossing his arms. "Because I'm a jock who's never watched a romantic movie in my life."

I blushed. "I didn't mean it like that. I just thought it wouldn't be your kind of thing."

Dare nodded. "Because all I do is watch ESPN, workout and eat peanuts."

"Are you telling me you don't do all of those things?" I asked, raising a brow. "Because I now know for a fact you like peanut butter crackers."

"Okay," he laughed. "So, I do like those things, but there's more to me than that. A lot more."

"Okay," I said under my breath. "Well, it was good driving you—I guess. Hope you have a great senior year."

Dare nodded. "Thanks for the ride and the food. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

"Hmm" was my only response.

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