Page 14 of My Dream

I yanked the wheel to the right, narrowly missing the curb. I pulled into the Burger and Shake parking lot. “A little warning next time, babe. What’s so urgent?”

She pointed at the drive-thru lane, which only had one car in it. “Go through the drive-thru. I’m not in the mood to sit inside and have people watch me stuff my face.”

I gave her a sideways glance. “We just bought five hundred dollars’ worth of groceries, Fallon. You don’t think maybe we should, I don’t know, eat some of that?”

Her grin was all sunshine and mischief. “That’s for later. We just shopped our butts off, so now our reward is Burger and Shake. That’s how it works.”

I couldn’t help but shake my head as I pulled into the lane. “You and your rules. You’re lucky I’m easygoing.”

She snorted. “Easygoing? Is that what we’re calling you now?”

I ignored the jab as the car in front of us moved forward. The speaker crackled to life, and a cheery voice greeted us. “Welcome to Burger and Shake! What can I make for you today?”

I glanced at Fallon. “What do you want?”

She hesitated and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Am I paying?”

I rolled my eyes. “No.”

“Then just a small vanilla shake,” she said quickly. “I don’t want to spend more of your money.”

I stared at her for a second before turning back to the speaker. “We’ll take two double cheeseburgers with the works, two large fries, two large vanilla shakes, and an order of pickle fries.”

“Compass!” Fallon hissed, smacking my arm lightly. “I said just a shake!”

I ignored her and added, “Ranch and ketchup for the fries, please.”

The voice on the speaker confirmed the total, and I pulled forward. Fallon sat back in her seat, glaring out the windshield.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she said softly. “I just wanted a shake. You insisted on buying my clothes and stuff. I could have bought you lunch.”

I had bought her stuff at the store, but that was my choice. She had tried to insist she would buy it, but I didn’t let that happen. “Aren’t you hungry?” I asked.

“Well, yeah, but—”

“Then don’t argue. You’re eating, Fallon.”

She sighed and muttered something under her breath but didn’t fight me further.

I handed over a fifty to the girl at the window, and then she handed over two large shakes along with straws. I passed the straws to Fallon, who opened them and stabbed one into each cup. She took one cup and sat back in her seat. “Thanks,” she whispered.

“That’s all I need from you, babe,” I replied. I meant it. I wasn’t buying her things to hold it over her head. I did it because I wanted to.

The girl handed me the rest of the food, and I parked under the shade of a tree. Fallon handed me the pickle fries as she pulled her burger from the bag.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had pickle fries before,” she said, eyeing them suspiciously.

“Try one,” I said and popped one into my mouth. “You might surprise yourself.”

She hesitated, then grabbed one and took a bite. Her expression shifted almost instantly. “Okay, that’s good.”

“See? Told you.” I grinned and shook the container at her. “Have some more.”

We settled into a quiet rhythm, eating in the cab of the truck while watching cars pass on the road in front of us.

She glanced over at me. “You know, you didn’t have to do all this.”

“Do what?” I asked and wiped my hands on a napkin.

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