Page 40 of Rules for Rule Breaking
“Ugh, fine!” she yelled after him.
Bobby shook his head and continued walking. Maybe if he walked fast enough, he could escape his own embarrassment.
“You can wear a swimsuit in front of me, you know,”Winter mocked his words from earlier as she caught up.
He glared at her. “You’re not honoring the moratorium.”
“We’re calling them every five minutes now. I’m not even sure what the original purpose of moratoriums was to begin with.”
Bobby was tight-lipped. “They were to maintain a level of peace and civility between us.”
“Well, we’ve been civil... mostly. I mean, until you tried to get me to blow you,” she said, her mouth splitting into a devious smile.
Bobby’s face got hot. “That is not what happened!”
“That’s exactly what happened!”
Bobby put up a finger. “Moratorium!”
Winter deflated. “Fine. Whatever.”
He sighed. “Should we go for a swim?”
“I can’t swim.”
“Me neither. Should we get food?”
“You’re buying.”
Winter Park
16. WE WILL NOT DISCUSS PERSONAL MATTERS
Winter was filthy in the way that she liked. She had sand in every crevice, and the seawater in which she’d been drenched evaporated, taking all her scented moisturizer and antiperspirant with it. Her complexion seemed to glow in the light of the sun, her newly tanned skin reflecting its warmth.
Bobby and Winter were sitting at a table made of uneven wooden planks, right on the water. They already had a smorgasbord in front of them and hadn’t even gotten their crabs yet. The smell of briny sea breeze made Winter’s stomach rumble, so she went in for a soft pretzel rod and ripped off a piece. Hot steam billowed out of the pillowy pretzel. She dunked it into the creamy crab dip and danced as she shoved it into her mouth along with some salty Old Bay fries. Bobby, who was fully clothed again, was eating his fries with a fork and had a napkin in his lap.
“Describe your perfect day,” Winter said. Between the beach, the space center, and this feast, she was having hers despite Bobby Bae’s presence.
“You want to talk?” he replied, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m in a good mood, and I’ve never had lunch with a supercomputer before. Indulge me.”
He put his finger to his chin. “My perfect day would probably include chillin’ in my boxers, irony-playingFortnitewith Kai butactually kind of enjoying it, with a giant sweet tea next to me—on a coaster of course—and the promise of a sandwich.”
“Thepromiseof a sandwich? Not the actual sandwich?”
“Well, no. I’m playing video games. It’d be a mess. But knowing I was going to get one later would be nice.”
She threw a fry at his head. “Thanks for reminding me why I hate you.”
The waiter came, and they lifted their plates so he could roll out some brown craft paper over the table. He then disappeared and returned with a plastic tray of a dozen blue crabs crusted in Old Bay seasoning, waiting to be cracked open. Winter took a slow-motion video of the waiter dumping them out onto the table.
She rubbed her hands together and chose her first victim. She ripped the claws off and sucked out what she could, then broke it in half. The juices ran down her arms as she happily stuffed the bright white meat into her mouth. Bobby was cracking his and forming a neat pile of crabmeat before he even thought about eating it. Winter shook her head but said nothing about it.
The saltiness was giving her that pinched kiwi feeling in her cheeks. She raised her glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade to Bobby, and he raised his in return. “Jjan!” she said as they clinked glasses, then took a drink.
“Is that Korean for ‘cheers’?” Bobby asked, wiping the bottom of his cup before placing it back on the table.
