Page 66 of Cloudy With a Chance of Bad Decisions

Stop it, heart, you traitorous whore.

“Why do you hate camping?” Alex asked, instead of dismissing my fears and forcing me from the vehicle.

“The bugs. The animals. The dark. The…dirt. It’s all so…unpredictable.” It didn’t help that I’d lost my luggage and therefore only had like two outfits. Doing laundry would be a lot more difficult if I wasn’t staying in the main cabins.

Alex’s eyes narrowed as he drummed the steering wheel thoughtfully with the hand that wasn’t turning me into goo. “Even though we’ll be in tents, we still get to use the showers—so the dirt problem is easily solved. I’ve got bug spray if you need it, and the yard is fenced off to protect us from rogue critters. I think you’re safe.”

“What about snakes? Snakes can go under fences.”

“How about this? If you see a snake, all you need to do is yell, and I’ll come running.” He was teasing me again, that humorous twinkle in his eyes. His confidence that we’d be okay was as reassuring as his words.

“Do you mean that?” I blinked, fiddling with my seatbelt. “That I can actually come to you if I…you know, need to?”

“Of course I mean that, Georgie. You have my word. If you need someone to take care of any big, bad creepy crawlies, I’ll be your guy.” Releasing the steering wheel, he held out his hand, his pinky extended. I narrowed my eyesat it, unsure how to proceed. “What? You’ve never done a pinky swear before?”

“Of course I’ve pinky sworn,” I huffed. It was just…this felt intimate. Very intimate.

I swallowed, my heart fluttering as I reached out tentatively to lock our pinkies together. He smiled, clasping me tighter before releasing.

“What if your tent is way far away from mine?”

“Knowing our families? I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

It wasn’t until we were hauling our stuff from the car that it became abundantly clear that there were not enough tents for everyone to have their own. I hoped I didn’t get paired with someone who snored. Or…god…someone who didn’t usedeodorant.

Myfamily, I trusted to have good hygiene.

Roderick’s? Not so much. I’d grown up with them, after all.

I went to find my mom, figuring she was the one who would know which tent I was in. Alex disappeared, flagged down by his sister and her gaggle of cowgirl boot-wearing bridesmaids. I couldn’t help the way a flare of jealousy twanged inside my chest at the thought of a flock of women fawning over him.

Which was silly.

He’d flirt with a rock if given the opportunity.

Besides, it wasn’t like Alex was mine to be jealous over.

Neither of us was looking for a relationship.

I didn’t want him.

I didn’t.

Not even as a practice boyfriend.

Shut up.

I found Mom knee-deep in blankets, arranging them over the cots in the cabin that was reserved for kids and grandparents.

“Do you know where I’m sleeping?” I inquired.

“Well, hello to you too, dear.” Mom laughed innocently, like she wasn’t a saboteur-ing saboteur. She gestured at the blankets. “Grab a few of these,would you? I can’t reach the top bunks without climbing the ladders.”

I was grateful she’d asked for help.

She was getting old enough that scaling up and down a bunch of rickety wooden rungs wasn’t a good idea. Luckily for both of us, I was tall enough to reach without having to do any climbing at all.

Nodding, I obediently did as I was told. As I gathered bundles of blankets and placed them up high, she tackled the bunks below. After each bed, I glanced over at her, nervously awaiting her answer to my earlier question.

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