Page 95 of Tourist Trap

"That's animal cruelty," Ava says, not a hint of sarcasm in her words.

"I think, technically, having hermit crabs as a whole is inhumane since they aren't even from this area," Jaime adds. His wife turns to him with a fierce glare.

"Well, what is she supposed to do, Jaime, just let them be free?" He shrugs. "She's doing what she can with the tools she has available to her."

"That's what I said!" I say, smiling at Ava. "I can't undo their trauma, but I'm doing my best to give them a better life."

"I so get you," Ava says, taking a sip of her drink.

"How did she con you into keeping them?" Jaime asks with an all-too-knowing look, tipping his head towards Ava. "This one found a stray cat in an alleyway with fucking worms."

Miles cringes.

"She had tummy troubles, Jaime; she's just a girl,” Ava says, then turns to Miles. “She’s all better now, the perfect little princess.”

"And then she made me cart the thing across the country with us."

Miles lets out an entertained laugh. I should have known Jaime and Miles would get along because Ava and I are so similar in personality. Any man who could endure us with a smile is bound to be friends.

"Why didn't you just make her take them back?" Sutton asks, confused.

"I can't stand the guy she stole them from, so it seemed like a good compromise."

Jaime nods sagely, as if that makes perfect sense to him. Honestly, I should have realized earlier that Jaime and Miles would hit it off.

"Plus, it was on his bucket list."

"A bucket list?"

Miles sighs and takes a look at the ceiling.

"You made the poor man one of your bucket lists?" Sutton asks with exasperation. She knows all too well my love of bucket lists since I made her live out many a bucket list while we were growing up. Being barely sixteen months apart in age, Sutton and I were the closest of our siblings, which is probably why we also butt heads the most. But it meant that most of the trouble we got into, we got into together.

Okay, so I got us into trouble, and Sutton had to endure it. Potatoes, potatoes.

"Of course I did. He wasn't having any fun until I came into his life."

Miles glares at me but doesn't argue, probably knowing he doesn't have a leg to stand on there.

"Inevitably," Ava says.

"How was stealing hermit crabs on your summer fun list?" Sutton asks, a speculative brow raised.

"Pettinga hermit crab was on my list," I say like it's obvious.

Jaime blinks at me confused, before opening his mouth to ask something.

"Don't ask," Miles suggests.

"What else was on your list?"

"I'm so glad you asked. See dolphins, which we did. Get ice cream, eat s’mores, go for a walk on the beach, play volleyball. We ended up merging his withmysummer list since we're now attached at the hip, so I got to check off hook up with a local, and we went to the be—" Miles’s wide hand covers my mouth, cutting off what I was going to say.

"Beach?" Reed guesses by some miracle, and I nod feverishly. I lift my hands to try and mimic what Miles and I did, but that clearly is the tipping point for him.

"It's been great, you guys. I gotta get this one out of here before she gets into any huge trouble or confesses everything we've ever done that her sister really shouldn't know about." He stands, hand still on my mouth, as Jaime also stands.

"Yeah, I gotta get Ava home for the same reason.”

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