Page 69 of Rare Blend
“Which one is for me?”
She laughs, handing me a corn dog. “In case it has food poisoning, you can eat it first as the test dummy. It’s the least you can do for ruining my dinner that night.”
I take an exaggerated bite. I’m not too worried about it. I lived off of these as a kid and know for a fact that as stuck up as Shane is about food, these are still a frequent part of his diet.
She grabs a red box out of the bag. “Want some Cheez-Its to go with it?”
I audibly gag. “No. Those are the worst. I hate Cheez-Its.”
Her head snaps at me. “What?! I think this friendship might be over.”
A huff of a laugh falls out of me. “Think of it this way, more for you.”
My answer seems to please her, because she happily shrugs and pops an orange cracker in her mouth.
Once I get onto the highway toward I-90, Marisa is already on her third Taylor Swift song.
“Got anything else on that playlist besides the entireReputationalbum?”
She laughs. “I’m surprised you know what album this is.”
“I have sisters. And I like the occasional Taylor Swift song. Plus, it’s one of her more upbeat albums.”
She stares at me, openmouthed.
“What?” I smile. “Should I hand in my man-card or something?”
“Just the opposite. I couldn’t be more attracted to you than I am right now.”
Heat creeps up my neck and flames my cheeks. There’s humor in her voice, so I know she’s only fucking with me, but damn do I wish it was true. I want her to find me attractive. I want her to see the good parts of me. It’s delusional of me to think she would ever see me the way I see her, especially after I treated her the way I did, but it’s nice to think that maybe we’re on the same wavelength, if only for a moment.
After the song ends, she puts on an Arctic Monkeys song, which is a lot more my speed.
“Do you think we’ll make it there before it gets dark?” she asks, her voice tense and worried as she looks out the window.
“I’m not sure. I guess we’ll see.”
CHAPTER 27
Marisa
THE BATES MOTEL
Ifell asleep shortly after our trip began. I don’t know what it is about long car rides, but they put me to sleep faster than anything over the counter ever could. I must have been deep in sleep, because when the voice of a man pulls me out of my slumber, I gasp in shock, completely disoriented. It takes me a second to gather my bearings and realize, for some reason, we’re at a standstill, pulled off to the side of the road. The man is wearing a high-visibility jacket and has his head poked through the driver’s door window, chatting with Ethan. The last thing I remember is looking out the window at a sunny day, and now it’s dark, with white snow falling in huge flakes, blanketing the ground.
“You’re going to have to turn around or find somewhere to stay, because DOT is shutting the pass down. The snowfall is pretty heavy up there, and we’re predicting some avalanche activity.”
“When do you think you’ll reopen it?”
“Probably not until tomorrow morning. Where did you folks come from?”
“We’re coming from Red Mountain. It’s about three hours east of here.”
“Oh yeah, I’ve heard of it. Wine country right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, I wouldn’t recommend heading back. I heard the canyon outside Ellensburg had a series of accidents and car pile ups. Your best bet is going to be taking the next exit and hoping Roslyn or Cle Elum have some hotel vacancies for the night.”
