Page 94 of Cloudy With a Chance of Bad Decisions

George didn’t touch me, but he also didn’t shy away as I laid my hand on his lower back and urged him toward the main lodge. Lunch was being served, and my stomach was a cavernous empty hole.

“Are you hungry?” I asked. I was curious why he’d invited me to spend more time with him. I’d assumed he’d run as far and as fast from me as possible—just like he’d done every other time he’d been vulnerable in my presence.

“No,” George said. I frowned. His back bunched beneath my hands, the ripple of muscle tantalizing. “Butyouare.”

How the hell had he known that?

I must’ve side-eyed him because he answered my question without me having to ask.“You didn’t come to breakfast. And you went on the hike with an empty stomach. You’re probably starving,” George explained.

Huh.

I paused, honestly floored. No one ever paid attention to my needs. I wasn’t used to it. For a second, I didn’t know how to process what he’d said at all. And then just as quickly, I forced my feet to move again, my heartbeat oddly fluttery. “You noticed that?”

“Of course I did,” George quipped. “That’s not healthy, you know. If we’re speaking about health—” I grimaced, knowing he was right. “Especially if you’re going to be doing something as strenuous as hiking. You need to eat a solid meal for fuel beforehand. You’re a big man. Big man equals big fuel.”

“Big man also equals big di—” I flirted, but George kept going like I hadn’t said anything at all.

“Considering your muscle mass and overall size I have no doubt you need to eat more than the average person even on a normal day.”

He was right. And god, was he cute when he was chewing my head off.

“I’ll do better,” I promised, not bringing up the fact that I hadn’t gone to breakfast because I’d known he was there and didn’t want to crowd him. Asingle bite of stolen waffle did not “big man fuel” make.

“Good.” George blew out an irritated breath. “Take better care of yourself. You’re a grown-ass adult. You shouldn’t be going hungry. Not when there’s food readily available. It’s poor planning.”

He was the most charming hypocrite I’d ever met.

“You’re right,” I agreed, gently compelling him forward again. We were halfway to the main lodge, and I desperately wished it was farther away. I wanted to prolong this conversation for as long as possible. No one had ever been so righteously indignant on my behalf before—or cared so much. Not my ex, or any of the randos I’d dated in my early twenties.

George fussed over me the entire walk and I enjoyed it far more than was healthy. By the time we entered the building, George’s ire had dissipated a bit and I was grinning. Of course, because fuck my life, June was already sitting down for lunch. Her shit-eating grin told me that she’d definitely clocked my smile for what it was, but I was too pleased to squash it, even knowing the teasing I was about to endure.

Despite his injured hand, and my protests, George insisted on gathering my food for me. He pointed across the room at the empty places on the bench beside my sister, arched a brow, and flared his bossy little nostrils in a silent command to sit and wait.

“Do you have any allergies?” he asked before I could follow my adorable orders. “Dietary restrictions?”

“Ah, nope. None. Don’t like Brussels sprouts, but I’ll eat them if I have to.”

“Noted.” George’s lips twitched like he was trying not to smile—then he remembered he was being a Bossy-Mc-Cutie-Pie and scowled at me all over again. Swiveling on his heel, George stormed off toward the kitchen where his mother was lurking.

Cheeks already flushed from the teasing I knew I was about to receive, I worked my way to my evil twin. The closer I got to her table, the more diabolical she looked. Like that scene fromThe Grinchwhen his smile curlsand curls and curls.

Now that she was out of her pajamas, June was dressed in another puffy gown, this one in the colors of the trans flag. Had she not been knees-deep in her makeup trial, she’d have joined us on the hike that morning.

June made kissy faces at me as I slid into the seat across from her.

“Oh, shut up,” I griped. Her pale eyes danced.

“Someone’s looking cooozy,” June cooed like the asshole she was.

“You’re a bitch.”

“But I’myourbitch, Alex.” June batted her lashes, and I groaned, sliding my hands down my face to hide my flush. Not that it helped, she’d already seen it. “Yourfavoritebitch,” she added. “Because I introduced you to Geooorgieee.”

“Don’t say his name like that. Or at all.” I was the only one that was allowed to call him Georgie. It was the law.

“I’ve never seen you with heart eyes before,” June continued, like she wasn’t killing me one comment at a time. “It’s so disgusting.” Her voice told me she didn’t find it disgusting in the slightest. “I’m very proud of myself and the fact that this is all my fault. You should buy me a present. I’m thinking flowers? Oooh, actually, no. I want dinner. Dinner for me and Roddy. Somewhere fancy, with candles. We could make it a double date! Oh my god, I’m a genius.”

I couldn’t even deny her accusations. I really did have heart eyes. Which made me feel itchy and hot and embarrassed. And half-inclined to run. “The whole thing is temporary, June.”

---