Chapter 6 #2
“Fine,” I tell him. I turn to leave his room. He closes his door behind me. I stand there for a moment, thinking about how hard he tried to get me out of his kitchen. The ring has to be in there.
I head back into his kitchen and open the freezer.
I think about how he was leaning against the refrigerator when I was in here before.
Maybe he was trying to keep me out of here.
It’s the last place I would expect to find a ring, which makes it the perfect hiding spot.
I check the ice tray, behind some frozen dinners, and inside a box of frozen Girl Scout cookies.
“Looking for a snack?”
His voice is right behind me. I almost jump out of my skin. I turn around, my eyes wide. He rolls his eyes when he sees the look on my face. I guess I give myself away.
“Or something a little more sparkly?” he guesses.
I close the freezer door behind myself and lean against it. I cross my arms over my chest.
“You’re not gonna find it,” he says. “And I just told you that you don’t need to bother. He’s not proposing today.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Your first guess was right. I was being nosy and looking for a snack.”
“Oh yeah?” He raises an eyebrow. It’s clear he doesn’t believe me. “Find anything you like?”
“Thin mints.” I hold up a chocolate mint-flavored cookie I snagged when he snuck up behind me, then pop it into my mouth.
His mouth twitches. “Hope you enjoy freezer burn. Those have been in there for a year.”
I shrug. “Tastes perfectly fine to me. What kind of psycho keeps Girl Scout cookies in the freezer for a year and doesn’t eat them?”
“I don’t snack much,” he says. “I bought them to support a coworker’s daughter.”
I consider that for a moment, then turn around and pull the box of cookies out of the freezer. “We’re taking these with us,” I decide.
“You ready?” He turns toward the front door.
He’s wearing a coat even though it’s not cold outside.
His hands are tucked into the pockets. If I had to guess, the ring is in one of his coat pockets.
With his hands shoved into both of them, I can’t tell which pocket it’s in.
This is going to be harder than I thought.
I think of how I can get close enough to reach into his pocket without him realizing that’s what I’m doing.
The first image that comes to mind has me standing only inches from him, one hand on his waist, the way we stood only a few minutes ago in his bedroom.
But in this image, our mouths come dangerously close while I sneak my other hand into his pocket and pull out the ring box. My body warms with the thought.
“Earth to Priscilla,” Oliver says.
I shake the image out of my head, startled by how easily it popped into my mind. A blush comes over me. I push my hair away from my face in an attempt to cool myself down.
“Ready to go?” he asks again.
I know that I can’t act on what I was thinking about a minute ago, so I do the next best thing that comes to mind.
“Here, catch!” Before he has the chance to react, I toss the box of cookies at him.
He pulls both hands out to catch the box before it hits him.
I steal a glance at his pockets before he can cover them back up.
I can see a small bulge on the left side.
It’s about the size of the ring box. Now I just have to figure out how to get it out of there.
He opens the cookie box and pulls one out.
“Hey. Those are for the road.” I step up closer to him and grab his arm as he brings the cookie up to his mouth.
“They’re my cookies,” he argues.
I reach one hand toward his left pocket, but as I do so, he raises his arm up higher. It will be too obvious now if I continue reaching into his pocket, so I put that plan on hold and reach for the cookie instead.
“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.