Page 109 of While You Were Trending

“Because the cash freaked me out and I started verbally vomiting all over him about the time I got arrested for stealing lube when I was fifteen and then he was hugging me like he was this giant wall between me and false accusations and it was—” I swallow and look away. It was everything.

That’s what him holding me and protecting me was.

It waseverything.

“And he was such a dick to me before, but when he hugged me, it was like—like I was safe.” Being safe has always been an aphrodisiac for me. It’s why I’ve only had three real boyfriends and why the first time I had sex was with a bartender who pretended to be my boyfriend to make a creep quit hitting on me. “And I know it’s because Iwantedto be safe, not because Iwassafe, but I—it made me want to do something bad. Safely.”

“Do you like him?”

“Can you not be so straightforward before coffee?”

She smiles. “In desire for caffeine, there is truth.”

“I can’t like someone without overthinking it, so I don’t know if I like him or if I’m overthinking it.”

“Cricket overthinks. You overfeel.”

“I felt all of Cricket’s overthinking, and now I do it myself too. Can I have coffee now?”

“Was it a good kiss?”

“Yes. But that doesn’t mean anything more than I wanted to be kissed and would’ve taken any kiss.”Lies lies lies.

It was exactly the kiss I needed from exactly the person I wanted to be kissed by.

No more denying it.

I have a crush on Declan Fox.

“I shouldn’t have kissed him,” I add in a rush. “He’s still friends with Alex.”

“Is he? Did he tell you that?”

He didn’t.

I saw it on my brief glance at socials after Declan himself went viral when the news broke that he put out a barn fire at Caro’s surprise wedding.

Mabel doesn’t press when I don’t answer.

Instead, she pulls out her phone. “Other news, did you see this?”

I wince.

A new video is making the rounds, this one of a woman with a deep Southern drawl asking for a slice ofpee-can pahat a festival.

It’s ignited thepee-canorpuh-cahnorpee-cahnorpuh-canargument on the internet.

But more, it’s ignited a lot of mockery forpee-can. Andpahinstead ofpie.

“You want to invite her?” I ask Mabel.

“I did a deep dive. She’s single, works remotely as an engineer for a big manufacturing company, and was on a road trip in honor of her mom.”

“Do we have space?”

“I’ll clear my projects out of the last bedroom.”

This is the other big reason we need to get the winery operational and profitable again.