Page 21 of Clouded by Envy

Bray slid on the other one, and the shoes fit perfectly. Wes knelt and pulled off the tab holding them together. She did a little jog in place to test the flip-flops out, and they felt great.

“They aren’t jogging shoes.” His gaze shifted back and forth between her eyes and mouth, but a small smile started to tug at the edge of his lips.

“You never know what you might need them for.”

“Right, but apparently you can just change, and you know—flutter away.” He trickled his fingers across the air like they were running.

Bray tilted her head forward. “Precisely.”

Rolling his eyes, he turned around to head back down the candy aisle and snatched the pack of gummy worms as he kept on walking. She plucked a pack of gummy bears and ran up next to Wes, handing him the candy. “These are for Luca.”

He didn’t answer but grabbed those, too, before turning down another aisle filled with craft items and makeup.

“What are you looking for?” Bray asked curiously as she scanned the area with him.

“Feathers, but they have to be red,” Wes responded as he continued his search.

Farther down the row, Bray spotted several packs of different colored feathers—the options were black, green, and red.Are these the only three colors this store likes to sell?she wondered.

Hopping in place, Bray picked up a pack of the red feathers. “Found them! What do I win?”

“Is that a serious question?” Wes started for her and took the pack of feathers from her hand.

“It could be.” No one was ever too old for games. She missed playing those.

“I guess those flip-flops are your prize.” He smiled and leaned down to snag all four other packs from the shelf—they didn’t come with many feathers inside.

“What are you doing with these feathers?” Bray leaned over Wes as he hunched down to search through the area.

Craning his head over his shoulder, he stared at her. “You don’t have to get all up in my business, scoot back a little.” She moved back maybe a centimeter. Shaking his head, he turned back around. “Luca needs red feathers for his Halloween costume.”

“Oh yeah? What is he going to be? Wait, don’t tell me, let me guess.” She loved to guess things. “A chicken?”

Gazing down at the five packs of feathers in his hands, Wes let out what might have been a small laugh. “We’d probably need a hundred more packs of these if Luca was going to be aredchicken. But seriously, he’s going to be Rufio.”

“Who’s that?” She had never heard of this Rufio before.

“So, you knowPretty Womanbut notHook? What world are you living in? You know…” He took a small pause. “Ru-fi-oooooooooo!”

“No.” Bray giggled. It was the most enthusiastic she had seen Wes all day.

He rubbed the back of his neck, turning his face, cheeks a little heated. “Well, then it was ridiculous to have donethat. We have the movie at home, and I’m sure Luca will play it tonight if you ask him.”

“Now I definitely have to watch it.” Bray felt excitement radiate through her, not only for watching a movie, but getting to see one with her new little beast friend—and maybe Wes.

At the checkout area, Bray propped her leg up on the counter, so the cashier could scan the sticker price tag on the bottom of her flip-flop.

“You could have just taken the tag off and handed it to her,” Wes said, silently mouthing to the cashier that he was sorry.

After getting in the car and driving out of the parking lot, Wes looked down at his watch and frowned at the time. “We can get you some clothes later today—I have to pick up Luca. Do you want me to drop you off on the way, or do you want to wait in the car with me?”

“I’ll come! I’ve never picked anyone up from school before. It sounds fun.” And she could listen to music in the car while they waited.

“I think you’re the only person in the entire world who would say waiting in the pickup line at a school is a fun time.”

She felt something pulse in her chest because he referred to her as a person. “I thought Luca walked home from school.”

“He does most days, but he stillallowsme to pick him up twice during the week.” Bray thought the bond between Wes and Luca was incredibly sweet and genuine. She wished again that she still had something like that with Brenik, but she shrugged off the negativity. One day there would be—nothing between them could ever truly be broken. He was her little brother, and she’d always be there for him.

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