Page 52 of Dating After the End of the World
“Great, you two are back,” Molly calls out. “I went up and showered and got us some water,” she says, handing us each a canteen.
“I’m sorry, what? You had time to shower, dress, and get us water before we even finished?” Tessa cocks her head.
“Well, I was in cross-country back at school.” She takes a seat in the grass beside me. “So two miles is nothing for me. Takes about twelve minutes.”
“It’s sure as hell something for me, and bysomething, I meanabsolute torture.” Tessa chugs from her canteen.
I unscrew the cap from my own and take a long drink.
“Hey, look—the guys are back,” Molly says, all giddy, pointing down at the road, where the truck is pulling up to the gate. JJ hops out and unlocks it, then pushes it open so the truck can pass through.
Tires crunch over gravel as it drives up and stops off to the side of us. Blake shuts the engine off and steps out of the vehicle. I groan internally at the sight of him. I was hoping he wouldn’t come back at all. It was nice waking up late in my room alone, since he was already out on a scavenge run. Blake starts toward us with his hands slipped in his pockets, trying to appear all casual. I look away, pretending I don’t even notice his arrival, or care.
“Casey,” he says in a soft voice.
I busy myself by plucking a dead dandelion from the grass and twirling it between my fingers.
When I don’t acknowledge him, he continues. “I got you something.”
Ugh.Why can’t he just pretend I don’t exist? That’s what I’m trying to do with him. But no, he can’t let me be. Tessa’s brows knit together, signaling her confusion. I didn’t tell her what happened between me and Blake last night, because I want to forget about it, act as though it never happened.
He won’t leave until I respond, so I look up at him with narrowed eyes. “I didn’t ask you to get me anything.”
“I know,” he says with a small shrug. “It’s a gift.”
“I don’t want any gifts from you.” I tighten my eyes even more, making them become slits so I can barely see him and his stupid chiseled jaw.
Blake smiles and pulls a bag of Sour Patch Kids from his coat pocket. “But it’s your favorite candy.”
At first, I wonder how he knows that, but then a memory pops into my head, one I had forgotten or maybe chosen not to remember. We had gone to the movies together to see a horror film, and at concessions, he asked me what my favorite candy was. I told him Sour Patch Kids, so he selected those and a box of Reese’s Pieces for himself, his favorite. “They’re kind of like you in a way,” I said. “First you were sour. Now you’re sweet.”
He grinned momentarily before it tapered, his face turning serious. “I’m sorry about the sour part,” he said.
I smiled and waved it off. “Without the sour, the sweet wouldn’t be as satisfying.”
It sounded cute then. But now that I think about it, it’s really not. I gave him a pass for how he treated me, basically gaslighting myself. How naive of me. Then again, that’s what happens when you’re young, dumb, and in ... fatuated with someone.
Blake shakes the bag in front of my face, pulling me from my thoughts. I glare up at him.
“Theyweremy favorite. Back when I was seventeen, Blake. I can’t stand them now,” I say, jutting my chin.
“Can I have them?” Tessa asks.
“No.” I shoot a glare at her too.
“Really?” Blake raises a brow. “You hate them now?”
“That’s right,” I say with a firm nod. My mouth instantly betrays me, watering at the thought of one of those sour, sugary gummies touching my tongue. I swallow the excess saliva before it dribbles out from my lips.
He begrudgingly repockets the candy. “Fine. Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
“I won’t,” I say without missing a beat.
Blake’s mouth forms a hard line, and his shoulders slump as he turns and heads toward the house. I wish he’d head for the road instead.
“Greg!” Molly calls as he marches past us, carrying a cardboard box of items collected on the scavenge run. “Did you get me anything?” she practically sings with excitement.
Greg shoots her an annoyed glance and says, “No,” and then keeps on walking.
