Serena just wasn't shutting up.

I waited for her by the door after packing our snacks and all, but when I saw that her conversation with Reed wasn't ending anytime soon I decided to go to the car before Elliot finished paying for his snacks and decided to speak to me while waiting for Reed.

I was halfway to the truck when the plastic with the drinks suddenly gave in and all the drinks fell to the ground, rolling across the gravel.

Perfect.

I stuffed the useless plastic bag into the plastic with the snacks and began stuffing the drinks into that same plastic with the snacks.

"It'll just rip again," a voice said behind me, and I looked back to see Elliot approaching with two empty plastic bags. He bent down before me and started filling the plastics with the drinks that had fallen, and I honestly couldn't help but note his masculine scent as he moved past me.

"There," he said and stood.

"Thanks," I made to take the plastics from him but he moved them out of my reach.

"I got it."

"Oh," I cleared my throat. "Thanks."

He carried the plastics to the pickup truck and placed them in the trunk with the suitcases.

"Na-ah!" I heard Ally shout from inside the truck. She didn't look back but opened her door only to say, "Bring them in the back with us. Knowing you and Serena, you'll finish them all."

I heard Elliot's soft chuckle, but he opened the door for me and placed the plastics inside.

"I bet ya'll have already snagged a chocolate or two or—" Ally looked back and immediately paused.

Knowing what was coming, I quickly thanked Elliot and shut the car door, but before we could leave Ally was out of the car and making her way around toward us.

"Whoa, who's your friend, Zara?" Ally asked, but I only looked at her, shaking my head and urging her to stop talking. "Don't tell me he's the convertible dude." I only shook my head in answer, praying she didn't say anything forward. But then again, this was Ally, she was definitely going to say something forward.

She didn't bother waiting for an answer but looked around and when she spotted the red convertible she exclaimed, "he is! And he's hot!"

"Ally!"

"What?! I'm pretty sure he already knows he's hot."

"Ally," I groaned, cringing further when I heard Elliot's uncomfortable chuckle.

"And he helped you carry the bags to the car?" Ally noticed. "Hmm, I guess not all nice guys are ugly."

"Oh my gosh, okay," I grabbed her shoulders and spun her around, glancing back at Elliot before saying a quick thank you and forcing Ally forward.

"Wait!" Ally spun out of my hold and opened Faizah's door before declaring, "see Faizah, this is what a hot guy looks like."

Faizah shot Ally a look but said goodbye to whoever she had been talking to on her phone and stuck her head out the door. Her mouth opened but she quickly clamped it shut.

"Ally," she said, but I could tell she was trying not to stare at Elliot. "Can't you see you're torturing the poor guy?"

"Exactly," I agreed, but when Ally opened her mouth to speak I covered it with my hand.

"This is your cue to leave," Faizah said to Elliot. "Trust me."

He glanced at me and offered me a small smile before retreating to his car.

****

I didn't let Ally go until Serena was back, but rather than jumping in the car with the rest of us, Serena said she wanted to ride in the convertible with Reed and Elliot.

"Since we're going to the same destination," she said, "it'll be fine."

All of us—but Ally, of course—said that wasn't a good idea. We didn't know who they were, we didn't know how good Reed drove, and we didn't know if he would suddenly decide to swerve onto another road and kidnap Serena.

"You guys are so extra," Serena sighed. "But fine, I won't go with them. Under one condition," she added with a purposeful look at me.

I groaned, knowing exactly what she wanted. I unbuckled my seatbelt in the back and hopped into the rear of the pickup truck again, using the wheel for leverage. If this was what it took for her not to jump into a stranger's car, I was fine with it. I doubted she would be able to hear Reed over the wind anyway, and I planned to lie flat on the panel to avoid having to talk and embarrass myself. It was fine. It would only be for two hours, after all.

****

So, lying flat on the floor panel for the whole ride didn't work out. Eventually, my back started to hurt. And eventually, Serena started nudging me and urging me to sit up.

"Sit up, Zara."

"No. Thanks for the offer though."

"Why not?"

"If you wanted someone who would talk, you should have let Ally come to the rear with you."

"Are you kidding me? Ally would have said so many inappropriate things by now that the guys would have eventually driven ahead of us."

I couldn't help my chuckle, "that is true, isn't it?"

"Now get up, your little 'nap'" she said with air quotes, "is over."

"No, I don't think it is."

Serena huffed, "fine, but you left me with no choice." Serena moved away from me and closer to the tailgate of the truck to talk. "She's not napping, she's just shy to talk to you guys because she finds you hot."

That did it.

I sat up with a start, "that is not true! Serena!"

"Oh look, she's awake now," she said with a sly grin.

****

I wish I had stayed lying on the floor panel rather than sitting up because, not only had I embarrassed myself too many times to count, but I also found myself starting to take a liking to Elliot. I didn't know what it was about him that I found so intriguing, but I couldn't help but notice everything he did. The way he ducked his head to hide his smile whenever he was complimented, the way he brought a fist to his mouth to stop himself from laughing at something, the way he wasn't afraid of holding eye contact with the person he was talking to.

"You aren't good at keeping eye contact, are you?" Elliot asked after I looked to the side for the millionth time when talking to him.

I wasn't a fan of eye contact, especially not when I had to maintain said eye contact with someone as attractive as Elliot.

"Yeah," I admitted, scratching the back of my neck. "I don't know, eye contact just feels like you're connecting with someone personally, for me. It's like seeing the depths of someone, you know? Trying to understand them on a deep level."

"And that makes you feel awkward?" Elliot asked me. "You don't want someone seeing the depths of you?"

"I mean, not necessarily."

"She's just like that," Serena butted in.

"Yeah!" Ally agreed out of nowhere from behind us and, ignoring the protests of Faizah, she squeezed her way to the rear to join us and closed the window to shut out Faizah. "Having never dated anyone," Ally continued, "Things like eye contact arouse Zara."

"Ally!" I exclaimed. "Why would you say that," I groaned, shooting her a look before waving my hands in a denying gesture. "She's talking nonsense, that's not true."

Elliot held his fist against his mouth, and I knew exactly what that meant. I shot Ally another look.

"Is the dating part not true, or the aroused part?" Reed asked.

"The aroused part, obviously," I stated. "I don't even know why she said that."

"Wait, you haven't dated anyone?" Elliot asked, slightly surprised. "How come?"

"I—"

"She's picky," Ally interrupted.

"I am not!" I defended. "Ally, go back to the front!"

"No, I've endured the heat for long enough," she said. "And I wanted to see the other one's face and I just have to say," Ally continued, looking at Reed this time. "I am not disappointed. Do you know how uncommon it is to find two guys who are friends and who are both hot? Usually one is ugly but you're both stunning."

Serena and I both looked at each other at the same time. If Ally continued talking, she was going to chase them away, that was for sure.

"And you're both fit," Ally gauged. "Would you mind just lifting your shirts so I can—"

Serena and I simultaneously leapt at Ally, holding her down and covering her mouth to stop her from saying anything that would make everyone uncomfortable.

"How about we just ride the rest of the way like this?" I asked.

"Fine by me," Serena agreed.

Ally grumbled beneath us, protesting.

"You have to promise to go back to the front if we let you go," Serena said, but Ally let out a long groan before nodding.

As promised, we let her go, and as promised, she went to squeeze back to the front. But, unsurprisingly, she decided to speak before leaving, "I'm guessing you're both taken?"

"Ally!" Serena and I chided, but she only winked at us.

"What? Just checking to make sure you guys aren't wasting your time talking to them."

"We're just having a friendly conversation," I said.

Serena mumbled under her breath, "maybe you are, but not me."

I snickered, "still, it's not like you're going to do anything more than flirt."

Serena considered this, "True."

"Still, you never know," Ally grinned at me before repeating her question, and Serena and I couldn't help but look back at them to hear their answer.

"I'm not taken," Reed said loud enough for us to hear then glanced at Elliot. "But he is. He's engaged actually."

Engaged?! But he had no ring on his finger.

As if sensing my confusion, Elliot reached into his shirt and pulled out a chain from which hung a ring.

An engagement ring.

And I didn't know why I felt so disappointed at the sight of that.