Page 23 of Thanks for Coming Along

"Did you get some good footage?" Eden inquired nonchalantly, but Ronan couldn't help noticing a slight glint in her eyes. Did she know that her dance had almost caused him to keel over?

"Yes, I've seen you perform twice, and you were utterly astonishing both times. I refuse to believe that's just a coincidence," he said.

"Well, they do say lightning never strikes the same place twice, but you never know," Eden said, shrugging her shoulders with a smile.

"By the way," Ronan leaned in a little closer to Eden as they walked, "we never got to our secret of the day." He thought for a moment, then asked, "What’s one of your biggest fears?"

She sang her indecision with a playful lilt, "I don’t know, I don’t know..." Her voice trailed off as their steps brought them closer to her trailer. After a pause, she smiled faintly. "Sharks," she said, but her smile faded as her brows knit together, her thoughts turning deeper. "And rejection... the fear of dying alone. What about you?"

As they reached the trailer door, Ronan’s gaze grew distant, his expression introspective. He lingered in thought before finally speaking, his voice soft and thoughtful. "I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately," he admitted. "I think my biggest fear is waking up one day and realizing I never really lived my life."

"There's no time like the present, so let's start living now!" Eden said excitedly as she swung open the door to her trailer. Finn and Reef chimed in with cheers: "Yeah!" and "Let's do it!" Ronan couldn't help but chuckle as he stepped into the trailer, immediately sensing the palpable tension between Ingrid and Beck. Ingrid appeared rigid as a board, idly picking at her nails, while Beck sprawled nonchalantly on the couch.

"Tequila shots!" Finn yelled out, thrusting a hefty glass bottle of tequila into the air. Ronan's eyes widened as he took in the gallon-sized jug of clear liquor. Tequila had been absent from his life since his wild college days, which felt like a distant memory. In truth, apart from the occasional glass of whiskey shared with his Grandad, he had never been much of a drinker.

"So, who's doing the toast?" Reef said as he surveyed each person with a scrutinizing gaze.

"I will," Beck said as he stood up from the couch. As Finn poured the clear liquid into shot glasses, Reef efficiently distributed the small glasses to everyone except Beck. Beck cleared his throat and raised a water bottle, commanding the room's attention.

"Here's to leather, here's to lace, here's to the people who let us sit on their face." The group erupted in cheers, downing the liquid in one swift motion. Ronan drank the fiery liquid, grimacing at the familiar burn. It was as awful as he remembered.

In a span of forty-five minutes, Ingrid had convinced Ronan to down three shots of tequila. Beck and Eden observed the scene with fascination, choosing to abstain from the shots. Finn and Reef took one for the team and drank double the number of shots in Eden and Beck's honor.

Like a dog with a bone, Ingrid grilled him on every facet of his life. If Ronan didn't know any better, he'd suspect Ingrid was attempting to loosen him up with alcohol for information. Eventually, Ingrid was appeased, or she ran out of questions. Either way, Ronan was relieved to be done with the questioning before Ingrid started waterboarding him. He had never been asked about his credit score outside of a car dealership, but Ingrid left no stone unturned and asked for the exact number. He answered every question while Ingrid watched him like a hawk. He felt sweat collect over his back at her unflinching stare. He had nothing to hide. His credit score was excellent.

"I'm offended you haven't interviewed us, Ro-man," Finn said, leaning back on the small leather couch, gesturing to Reef, Beck, and himself with the bottle of his beer. Ronan's eyebrows raised at the nickname. "Ro-man" was a first for him, but there was a first time for everything he supposed.

"Yeah, man, we've known Eden for years. We've seen it all. The bad haircuts…" Reef said, his arm buried deep in a chip bag beside Finn on the couch.

"I thought bangs suited my face," Eden muttered under her breath.

"You were sadly mistaken, my sweet angel," Ingrid said with genuine care, tapping the back of her hand as Eden smiled slightly.

"Praise God for Her creation of headbands. Otherwise, I would have spent my senior year in college looking like Mrs. Potatohead," Eden said with a laugh.

"We have an excess of material about Eden at our disposal. Like, remember her Improv days?" Beck said with a smile while Eden groaned in embarrassment. Ingrid's lips curled in a small, mischievous smile.

"Dark days. Eden was convinced she had a talent for Improv, but really, it was like watching one terrible game of charades on stage," Ingrid added, reminiscing with a touch of humor.

"That clown car improv scene will go down in history. She and like 12 people in black turtlenecks pretended to enter a clown car but ended up in a human pile-up in the center of the stage," Finn recounted, throwing his head back in laughter. Reef, beside Eden, elbowed her with a teasing smile. She rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the mischief in her own smile.

"We all make mistakes! I distinctly remember your slam poetry phase, Finn," Eden replied with a grin.

"More dark times. I thought I had a gift, but it turns out reading your grocery list isn't 'art.' I still think my alliteration of the produce aisle was top-notch," Finn stated with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"More like illiterate...ation," Beck mumbled, and Finn spun his head at Beck in mock betrayal. Eden covered her laugh with a cough.

"Burn!" Reef exclaimed with laughter, pulling his hand out of the chip bag and giving Beck a high-five. After their hands slapped together, Beck looked at his hand with disgust and wiped off the chip grease on the back of his pants.

"Rude! Finn reads at least at a fifth-grade level. 'Captain Underpants' is his favorite book!" Ingrid defended, her voice carrying a mix of laughter and exasperation.

"Ingrid, albeit true. That isn't helping my case," Finn admitted, then turned to Beck with a defiant look. "And jealousy is a disease, bitch. Get well soon," Finn added with a huff.

"Thoughts and prayers for a swift recovery," Eden said with a bow to Beck as he looked at her with raised eyebrows. Finn shot a look at Ronan as if seeking solidarity against Beck.

"Let the haters be your motivators," Ronan replied diplomatically, a subtle hint of sarcasm underscoring his words.

"Words I live by. Are you stalking my Pinterest page by chance?" Finn asked Ronan, a playful grin on his face as Ronan returned the smile.

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