Page 66 of Taming Georgia

Her description is pretty accurate. We pick out flavors of both the liquid that go in our cups and the gummies, which are in the shape of round little balls or stars. The concoction is mixed together and put into a cup with a wide straw, the circumference broad enough to suck up the gummies at the bottom of the cup.

“Another first?” she asks me with a giggle as we hold our bubble tea in hand.

“Yep. You?”

She nods and places her lips around the straw. I do the same, and we both taste our tea. It’s weird because the sweet liquid hits my tongue first, and then the lumpy gummies enter my mouth. I slide the gummies to my cheek, so I can swallow the tea, and then I chew them up. It’s super sweet and sugary. The different flavors of the juice and candies conflict with one other.

I finish my first gulp and wait for Georgia to finish hers. She’s sliding her tongue around her teeth, evidently trying to remove the gooey gummies that have gotten stuck there.

I press my lips together in a line, trying not to laugh as she struggles to rid her mouth of remnants of the gummy candies. “So, what do you think?”

She tilts her head in thought. “Um, it’s interesting. What do you think?”

“Honestly?”

She nods.

“It’s vile.”

“Oh my God, right?” The volume of her voice rises, and it’s almost shrill. “It’s so bad. I’m feeling nauseous.”

“It’s way too sweet and weird,” I admit.

“What’s the big deal with these globs of gummy crap in the bottom? Honestly, it’s like sucking up boogers. It literally makes me want to vomit.”

I laugh so hard that my side hurts. Georgia wipes the tears of laughter from her eyes and scrunches up her face as she throws her bubble tea into the trash. My cup of crap follows. We look to the long line of customers waiting for their bubble teas and shake our heads.

“I don’t get it,” I say, grabbing Georgia’s hand as we walk out.

“I don’t get it either, and all they serve is that tea. Look at that line. I read that this place was popular, but I truly don’t understand why. Who could drink that?”

“I have no idea.” I grin. “Not us, apparently.”

“I’m so sorry,” Georgia says, her voice low.

“For what?” I ask as we walk hand in hand down the busy Ann Arbor sidewalk.

Georgia stops walking and turns to me. “I guess I suck at planning dates. I wanted to do something super fun that you’d love. I took you to an arcade when you’d never played arcade games, and then I tried to kill you with that cup of sugary mucus.”

“Are you kidding? I can’t remember the last time I’ve had so much fun. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in my life, Peaches. In fact, I feel like a bit of a fraud because the fun we’ve had today isn’t me. You’re going to start liking this version of me and be sorely disappointed tomorrow when I’m a grumpy ass again.”

Her lips tilt up, and her blues shine with joy. She shakes her head. “I adore all of the versions of you. Even when you’re grumpy. I actually find your serious side kind of sexy.” She bites her lip, and her gaze drops to my mouth before returning back to my eyes.

“Oh, yeah?”

She tilts her head down in a nod.

Raising my arms, I hold on to either side of her face and kiss her hard because I can’t kiss her any other way in this moment. I’m so crazy for this girl; it’s insane. She’s kind, beautiful, fun, and sweet, and holy shit, do I want her—all of her.

Loads of people pass us as we stand, kissing in the center of the sidewalk, yet I don’t even notice them. I only see her, my Georgia.

Is she mine?I’m terrified to ask.

If God wants to make up for all the shit I’ve been forced to live through, Georgia would be a fucking amazing apology.

When I pull my lips away from hers, she keeps her eyes closed for a fraction of a second longer and simply smiles. She looks tipsy when her eyes find mine. I know how she feels. I find her intoxicating as well.

“I planned dinner, too,” she says with a dreamy sigh.

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