Chapter 28
DELANEY
“You’re not backing out now,” Daisy chides, giving another yank on my arm.
“Don’t make me do this. I can’t believe I ever agreed in the first place.”
“Oh, come on. This is actually adorable. Plus, I know Abbie’s quite obsessed with the idea.”
“Of course she is. To a seven-year-old, I’m sure this is the best idea in the history of good ideas.”
I’ve heard her squeal and brag to her friends more times over the last week than I can count on two hands about the kissing booth her father and I were organizing.
It seemed like a fine idea when I was trapped in the passenger seat of Darren’s car with a belly full of milkshake and a cheeseburger cooked to perfection. But now?
It’s the worst thing I could have ever agreed to do.
Kissing booths are for carnivals or a high school prom fundraiser. They’re not meant for something like this. I can already feel the awkwardness that’s bound to come when nobody shows up.
Maybe I should have at least offered to help build the booth or even decorate it.
At least then I’d have known what kind of image we’re going to be giving out to the entire town today.
But no. Instead, I let Darren handle it.
My only saving grace will be Abbie. If I’m lucky, she’ll have snuck away from Sasha long enough to help her dad make the booth look mildly appealing.
“Well, I think it’s cute too. It’s unique. You could have easily chosen to sell cookies or something instead,” Daisy offers.
Her hold on my arm stays tight as I huff and slowly follow her across the field. The drive-in was the obvious place to put the booth, and as we pass the fire truck camped out in front of the first set of full parking stalls, I’m almost relieved we chose this location.
Two food trucks are parked off to the side of the fire truck, along with a huge blow-up castle full to the brim with kids.
Folding tables and chairs have been set up in the freshly cut grass, and there’s even a small stage with a sound system and a group of little girls in tutus dancing. It’s busy too. The entire field is.
It’s nothing like I was expecting today.
Daisy giggles, her eyes fixed on my open-mouthed expression. “Before you ask, Bryce and Poppy are already at the booth, triple-checking that Darren hasn’t scared all of the people away.”
“Who organized all of this?”
“Do you really want to know the answer to that?”
I fidget with the loose material of my overalls, suddenly wishing I’d put a bit more effort into myself today.
Darren wasn’t supposed to do all of this.
It wasn’t necessary, nor was it what we’d discussed.
He took a simple idea and turned it into this full-out event that drew a crowd that could rival the one at the station’s dunking setup.
“I feel underdressed.”
“Don’t! You look beautiful,” Daisy soothes.
“I’m in my housework overalls, Daisy. The same ones I wear when I pull weeds out of the yard.”
“You’re fine. They look cute on you. Plus, you’ll be behind a booth all day. Nobody will care about what you’re wearing when you’re going to be smacking lips.”
“I’m not smacking lips with anyone. That’s so unhygienic.”
Daisy frowns. “Cheek kisses, then?”
“Yes, cheek kisses. Which even then feels gross.”
“Oh, you’ll be fine. Most of your kisses will probably come from the old folks’ home, anyway. I saw the van in the parking lot.”
I double blink. “Great. In that case, I can’t wait.”
“Just think about how much money you could raise for the drive-in today. Your cheeks are so smooth you should be a killer money-maker.”
That draws a laugh up my throat. The forever sunny-side-up woman beside me definitely has a way of convincing people that there’s a plus side in any bad situation.
“I don’t see the booth,” I say, squinting to see through the groups of people and the sun that makes me wish I’d worn sunglasses today.
“That’s because the line is too long. It’s over there.”
I follow her finger as she points over the heads of the people crossing in front of us. My stomach cramps as the line she’s talking about comes into sight.
“You’re joking.”
“Nope. It’s been like that for the last hour. Darren had to open early. I hope you’re okay with taking the second shift.”
Shifting to face her, I ask tightly, “Second shift? What are you talking about?”
Daisy presses her lips together nervously, her eyes darting around the field. “Did he tell you anything ?”
“Clearly not. I wasn’t late, was I? I didn’t think this started until noon! There weren’t supposed to be separate shifts. I thought we were doing this together!”
Oh, I’m going to flip my shit on this guy.
If there’s one thing I hate more than anything else, it’s being late to an event. Being kept in the dark about something I’m supposed to play a major part in is second on my list. Talk about a double whammy .
“What about some lemonade? There’s supposed to be a stand around here somewhere. Eliza was in charge, but I know Rory volunteered to help her. And wherever Rory goes, Johnny’s sure to follow, so let’s go look?—”
I cut off Daisy’s rambling. “I don’t want lemonade right now. What I do want is to go talk to Darren.”
“Are you sure? It’s super fresh. The lemons are from Eliza’s new lemon trees! Who knew a greenhouse would be such a good addition to the ranch?”
With a soft pat on her arm, I shake my head. “No, thanks. But you should grab some. I’ll come see you in a bit.”
I’m leaving before she has a chance to reply. I don’t need lemonade right now, even if it sounds so damn good. I’m starving, but I doubt I’d be able to drink or eat anything with how tight my stomach is currently. I’ll treat myself to a handful of lemonades once I’m done with the day.
I slip through a chunk of the crowd before forcing myself to wave at Penny and the group of teachers sitting with her at a table nearby. She tries to call me over, but I smile apologetically.
“Duty calls! I’ll come over later!” I offer.
She gives me a thumbs-up and turns back to the group. I breathe out, relieved.
I keep pushing through and wiggle my fingers to try and flick out the tension in them.
It doesn’t work, so I stop trying. Maybe I should punch Darren right in his mouth so he can’t do his part, and he’ll have to go home.
Ugh, no, that wouldn’t work. I’d feel too guilty and wind up holding a bag of frozen peas to his lips until they felt better.
Poppy’s red hair catches my eyes before the black hat propped on Bryce’s does. Then, I slowly, almost cautiously, bring my eyes to the line of women beside them.
There are at least fifteen of them . . . and is that one using ChapStick right now? My sandals almost catch on a non-existent rock in the grass. Darren’s laugh rings out, and I snap my head in his direction.
He’s got so much nerve today that it may as well be dripping out of his ears and nose. Considering what happened the last time we saw each other, he’s already on thin ice with me. Now? That ice is cracking, and I’m one flirty laugh away from shoving him into the water beneath it.
One moment, he nearly has me kissing him in a medical room with a blood-crusted nose, and the next, he’s out here giving a crooked, wicked grin to Sadie Brighton’s mom behind a booth that Abbie most certainly painted.
The hearts drawn all over the wooden booth have been painted in shades of pinks and reds, then hit with enough sparkles to blind someone if the sun hit them the right way. Even the Kissing Booth written across the top matches the writing on the worksheets I was grading only last night.
Some of the tightness in my stomach loosens.
“Is it only one kiss per person, or can I bribe you for an extra?”
“Unfortunately, it’s one per person, Sarah,” Darren answers, his grin unmoving.
Unfortunately ? It’s unfortunate that he can’t kiss her again? And Sarah? He knows her name and everything. I bet they’ve been chatting for a while now. It would explain the generous line he’s collected.
I start toward Bryce and Poppy, needing to not be standing here alone, watching this conversation unfold from afar like a stalker. Both of them are already staring at me, their expressions kept too blank. Like they’ve been standing here practicing how to appear nonchalant.
“I guess I’ll just have to line up again then. Or we could always meet up after you’re finished your civil service. We could grab some dinner?” Sarah asks, tapping her nails on the edge of the booth.
I scoff. Loudly. Too loudly. So loudly that Bryce coughs a beat after to try and cover it up. There’s a lot of heat building in my body right now. The red-hot, I’m-ready-to-scream kind. The sudden spike is concerning. I shouldn’t feel like this.
Darren’s already looking at me when I risk another glance in his direction.
The smug satisfaction stretching across his face is a generous squirt of gasoline on the blaze burning up inside of me.
And of course— of fricking course —he’s wearing that damn hat again.
The one that I got him when we were in the eleventh grade as a joke, thinking there was no way he’d actually wear it.
The joke’s on me because it seems like he’s found a sudden love for the Cherry Peak curling league.
“You look like you’re going to smash his face into the booth,” Bryce notes, both her and Poppy appearing at my side.
I keep my tone even, unbothered. “If he’s going to use this as a speed dating activity, he deserves it.”
“Mm, maybe you should go over and smack him around a bit,” Poppy agrees.
Bryce palms her hips. “It’s been like this for forever now. I’m bored of it.”
“I didn’t know I should have been here an hour early. Maybe he planned on this the whole time,” I grumble.
Poppy cocks her head at her brother and taps her chin. “It’s only fair that you took a turn now. I mean, the line is already so long, I’m sure everyone can wait a while for him to return.”
“Are you goading me?” I ask, catching on quickly. Darren’s still looking in my direction when I roll my eyes and turn to Bryce first. “Are the three of you in cahoots?”
“No! Absolutely not. Does that sound like me?” Poppy asks.
Bryce quirks her lips into a smile as she chuckles. “Yeah, it does, actually.”
“We got here early to support Eliza. It was pure luck we chose to check on the kissing booth before it was supposed to open and found Darren waving off a line of old ladies blowing kisses at him.” Poppy uses her thumb to point over her shoulder. “Eliza will be my witness. ”
I cross my arms and fix my glare to the woman still lingering at the booth. “He’s probably loving this.”
“Shame on him. This is supposed to be a fundraiser. I mean, come on, think of the kids,” Poppy says with a cluck of her tongue.
I nod. “That’s what I’m saying! Maybe I should go kick him away for a while. The booth is only open for today, and I doubt we’ve made that much money with all of his flirting clogging the line.”
Poppy sets her hands on my shoulders and starts to push me toward the booth. “Go for it, sister!”
My blood pumps quickly as I stop fighting her and walk on my own. The line of women turns to look at me, some of their smiles slipping into frowns the closer I get. It’s weird as hell, but I ignore them before I can get too annoyed again.
Darren doesn’t appear to be listening to what Sarah’s saying because in a blink, I’m held beneath his arrogant stare. He tracks my steps until finally, I reach the booth, stopping so close to him that our shoulders nearly touch.
He can be as smug as he wants right now because in a minute, he’s going to be the one in my shoes.