“You weren’t even going to eat them,” I remind him.
“I forgot they were in there.”
He holds the cookie high above his head. I jump, but it’s still too high for me. I realize that he’s not even trying. Our height difference makes this easy for him. I forget about the ring for a second. I dig my fingers into his ribcage. He folds over, laughing, but he can’t fight back unless he gives up the cookie.
“Fine. Here, take it,” he says, then shoves the cookie into my mouth. The sudden contact of his hand putting food in my mouth is unexpected. It stops me in my tracks. It’s something that feels intimate, but I don’t want it to. My mind is conflicted. I take a second to process what just happened. “Happy now?”
My impromptu plan is thrown off now. Regaining my composure, I bite into the cookie. My mouth fills with chocolatey-minty goodness. I nod, and say, “Yes.”
Before I know it, he’s a few feet away from me again, opening the front door, and I’ve missed my chance.
He smiles at me as I pass him on the way out the door. He stops to lock up. When he turns back around, he’s putting a cookie in his mouth. I decide not to harass him about this one. I’m still wrapping my mind around the fact that he stuck a cookie in my mouth. I don’t know why I’m having trouble thinking about anything else. We have only a few paces between the door and my car, and I still haven’t figured out how to get that damn ring away from him.
When we get to my car, my mind is scrambling. We both sit down. As he reaches for the seatbelt, an idea springs to mind.
“This buckle is finicky,” I tell him. “Let me help you with that.” I lean over and grab the seatbelt out of his hands. As I pretend to struggle to get it latched, I sneak a hand into his coat pocket and feel around for the ring box. “Sorry, just one… second.” I grab the box and tuck it up into my sleeve as I buckle his seatbelt.
“I probably could have done that myself,” he says with a frown.
My heart is hammering. I expect him to notice what I did at any moment. When he doesn’t say anything right away, I release a slow breath. I put the key in the ignition and turn it, then pretend to look for something in my bag. I drop the ring box inside without him noticing. I feel like a magician.
We make it to Tina’s house just as she and Ryan are stepping out the front door. Ryan frowns and Tina’s eyebrows shoot up when they see us.
“What are you guys doing here?” Tina asks. “I thought we were picking you both up.”
I avoid looking at Oliver, but I can feel his stare on the side of my head. I brace myself, hoping he won’t call me out for lying about this. He’s bound to catch on at any moment and notice the ring is missing from his pocket, but it’s not like he can accuse me of taking it in front of them without giving away Ryan’s plan.
“Oh. You didn’t get my text?” I definitely didn’t send her a text. This was a last-minute plan. It may have been hurried, but I feel like it’s working out in my favor so far.
She frowns and checks her phone. “Nope.”
“Weird. Well, we’re here.”
Her eyes dart from me to Oliver, and back to me. A smile tugs at the corner of her mouth.
“I just picked him up,” I clarify, because I know that she’s wondering why we rode in together. Even though it didn’t happen, the thought of staying the night at his place makes my ears burn. I know that’s what Tina’s thinking.
“His place is a little out of the way for you, isn’t it?” She wiggles her eyebrows.
“It is,” Oliver agrees. “Hmm.”
I steal a glance at him and find him staring at me, eyes narrowed. I smile back at Tina. I know that this is going to bring up a million questions that aren’t going to have the answers she’s hoping for. I also know that she’s not going to believe a word I say.
“It wasn’t a problem,” I say with a shrug.
“We have cookies for the road,” Oliver says, holding up the green box.
It’s the perfect distraction, because Tina squeals and snatches the box out of his hand. “My favorites!”
Oliver follows Ryan to the car, but he’s not watching where he’s going. His eyes are on me. I hold his stare, unable to look away. His brow wrinkles, almost imperceptibly. I wish I could read minds.
I have to force my legs to move and follow him. He heads for the back seat while Tina gets in the passenger seat. I let out a sigh and reluctantly slide into the back next to Oliver. Tina knows that I wanted her in the back with me. I take a deep breath, bracing myself for being stuck back here with him for the next few hours.
ChapterSeven
Roadblock
“Good thing we left when we did,” Tina says.
