Page 90 of Ladybirds

Beside her, Miles rolls his eyes and takes another long drink of wine. Sara’s not exactly sure what glass he’s on. “She kissed him.”

Sara’s cheeks grow hot (Jen’s excited squeal doesn’t help). She catches Seth’s surprised stare before she hides her face in her hands.

“It’s like a fairytale!” Jen sighs, hand clasped to her chest.

“Maybe minus the bullet and stab wounds,” Miles grumbles.

Sara sneaks a glance at Seth’s expression, but he seems more uncomfortable by Jen’s enthusiasm than embarrassed. She wishes she could say the same. “Cake,” Sara blurts, skin hot. “I’m gonna grab the cake.”

“Sit down,” Miles scolds, already pulling out his chair. “You gotta stop walking on that boot.”

“I was going to use my crutch,” she grumbles, even though it’s a total lie. She’s eighty percent sure he’s more concerned with taking her escape route for himself than her actual foot.

Miles responds with, “Yeah, right” the same moment Seth says, “Doubtful.” There’s a grudging respect in the fleeting glance they share, but Sara knows better than to point it out.

Jen’s lips purse, a sad attempt at smothering her smile. She saw it, too. “Guys, I have a great feeling about all this.”

“Your optimism is charming,” Seth says, shifting in his seat. “However, I still suspect the ‘fun’ in the name is more advertising than truth.”

Jen looks ready to correct him, but Sara sees his words for what they are—an effort to change the subject. “It’s rainbow chips,” Sara says. “Big difference.”

Catching on, Jen looks between them curiously, but goes with it. “She’s right. Chocolate is way better than sprinkles.”

“I don’t know why you always gotta hate on my sprinkles like that,” Miles says, setting the cake on the table with one hand and a stack of old paper plates with the other. Sara recognizes the plates as being leftover from her birthday dinner.

“It’s not about the sprinkles, it’s the frosting,” Jen stresses, already cutting into the cake. She hands the first slice to Seth, her smile wide. “We’ll make the other one next time. Maybe you can convince Miles that it’s just his childhood nostalgia lying to him.”

Seth’s returning smile is small, but genuine as he takes the slice of cake from her. “I’ll make no such promises.” Taking a bite, he chews thoughtfully—his gaze meeting Sara’s playfully. “It’s… disgustingly sweet,” he answers before his fork dives in for another bite. “But I suppose it’s not terrible.”

The ride home is quiet, but not really uncomfortable.

Sara knows he’s tired. It’s not that late by the time they get in the car, the clock just creeping past nine, but Seth wears his fatigue like a weight. Sara can see it pushing down on his shoulders and making his feet clumsy. Catching him nearly passing out at the dining table was what prompted her to head home in the first place. So when he falls asleep in the passenger seat on the ride home, the leftover cake clutched protectively on his lap, she’s hardly surprised.

What does surprise her, is the awkwardness that comes after. When she wakes him gently, her hand on his shoulder, he leans away from her touch once he blinks the sleep from his eyes. Then they’re walking, side by side, and there’s something uncomfortable hiding behind in his silence that she just can’t put her finger on. Something deeper than the hobbled echo of her single boot or the way he keeps adjusting his gait so she can keep up.

“I’m sorry,” she blurts, her steps pausing. It’s only when he stops too—when he looks at her with that baffled crease between his brows—that she continues. “If I made you uncomfortable. You looked… well, embarrassed, maybe? That Miles knew I kissed you.”

Seth huffs, head canting to the side. She gets the sense that he’s studying her expression as diligently as she is his and, somehow, that inspires more relief than discomfort. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re the one who went red.”

Sara shrugs her good shoulder, fighting the urge to chew her bottom lip. If she lets her gaze drop now, she’s worried he’ll drop his too. “I guess I wasn’t really prepared for Jen to know. Her enthusiasm can be…”

“Overwhelming?”

The laugh she gives is breathy and short. “That’s one way to put it.”

He nods, the corners of his mouth curling into a subtle smile. “I was…surprised,” he admits, his hand rising in an invitation to continue walking. “I didn’t expect you to tell them.”

Sara shrugs, limping forward . “After dropping the curse bomb, it seemed silly not to.”

“And now?”

Sara frowns, looking at him. His face is carefully (infuriatingly) blank. “And now, what?”

He doesn’t meet her eyes. “Do you wish it remained a secret?”

Sara’s heart drops, her fingers grasping his sleeve urgently. “Do you?”

Seth has the decency to pause, sighing through his nose before giving her a disgruntled look over his shoulder. “It’s bad manners to answer a question with a question.”

---