Page 97 of Cloudy With a Chance of Bad Decisions

My attention was quickly stolen by George again as he violently stabbed a potato. I didn’t dare tease him, worried I’d break his concentration. After he’d swallowed it, a small smile tugged proudly at his lips. Without prompting, he went in for another bite.

I grabbed my first sandwich and took a big bite out of it, wagging my eyebrows his way encouragingly. What started out as slow-paced tiny bird bites turned into average-paced tiny bird bites. George ate a quarter of my potato salad while I tried to pretend like I wasn’t staring.

Apparently I failed, because he glared at me. “Stop staring.”

“I’m not—” I lied, quickly turning my attention to June because I totallyhadbeen staring, and we both knew it.

“How was the hike?” June asked, probably figuring enough awkward silence had passed for it to be time to break it.

“You didn’t miss much,” I shrugged, playing off the snake misadventure for what it was. The last thing I wanted was to poke George’s open wound.

“How come you’re back earlier than everyone else?”

“It’s hot as balls outside. I decided to take a swim in the creek,” I answered, a half-truth. “Needed some dry clothes after.”

“Idiot.” June laughed, amused. I grinned back. “Man, I wish I could’ve gone. My boob sweat has boob sweat. A dip in the creek sounds lovely.”

George choked.

She’d find out the full story later when Roderick returned, but I refused to hurt George’s feelings by bringing it up. The last thing he needed was to be put under a microscope when he was already feeling vulnerable and anxious.

“There’s a sunrise hike tomorrow,” I reminded her as if she hadn’t been the person who’d written the entire itinerary herself. “Same trail.” She had a horrible memory. Like a fucking goldfish. “That can be your redo. I recommend packing a swimsuit.” I’d have to warn her about the snakes ifRoderick didn’t.

“Oh, right! I forgot about that.” I rolled my eyes fondly. “Roddy and I are going,” June beamed, excited. “Are you?”

“After the bonfire tonight?” I frowned at her like she was out of her mind, because she was. “Hell no.”

“Huh.” June blinked, frowning, like I hadn’t repeatedly told her this during the initial planning phase.

“Dad and I pointed out how sadistic that choice was, like six times.”

“Okay but?—”

“I know, I know. It’syourwedding andyourplan and blah blahblah—”I changed the cadence of my voice to mimic hers. “No, Alex. You don’t understand. It’s soromantic!” I took another bite of my sandwich, shaking my head with amusement before dropping my impression of her to play my own role in this conversation. “But June, don’t you think it’s a bad idea to do both events consecutively? Shouldn’t we break it up?” I had my Juniper impression down to a T—had since we were kids, a fact that caused her a lot of ire. “No, no. Ugh! You’resucha boy. You just don’t understand. It’s the only day that couldpossiblywork.”

No reaction.

None.

Not even a smile.

“Do you think the others won’t want to go?” June asked without acknowledging my teasing, brow furrowed. “On the hike I mean. Because of the bonfire.”

“I would bet my left ass cheek the only people waking up at sunrise are you and Rod.”

June processed this. I had no idea why she was acting so shocked. This had been a point of contention between us the entire time we’d been planning. I’d told her it was a bad idea, and she’d refused to hear reason. “You know what? I actually don’t care.” June’s smile came back. “In fact, even better! Romanticsunrise stroll alone with Rod? Hell yeah.”

“You enjoy that,” I said, finishing my first sandwich with a little sigh. I reallyhadbeen hungry. And though at first I’d judged George for bringing me this much food, I was grateful for it now as I plucked open the wrapper on the second sandwich and began to devour that too. “I’m going to enjoy my nice cozy tent. And the fact I get to sleep in. Because this is technically a vacation. And I am expecting to be hung over,” I managed around my mouthful.

Tomorrow I’d be right back in wedding-task mode, and I figured I at least deserved a solid night's rest before lake day. I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to relax, given I was in charge of everything. I planned to take advantage.

“Speaking of alcohol—” June began. For a solid fifteen minutes, we discussed the plans for the bonfire that night, and all the while, George nibbled on my potato salad, content to eavesdrop.

It was nice.

He smiled a few times when June and I would quip at each other, but otherwise, didn’t weigh in. It was…comfortable in a way I’d never expected. And the one time George spoke up to tease June, it made me grin so hard it felt like my face was going to break.

I didn’t end up getting Georgie-cooties.

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