“Ooo, I bet that made you rethink your decisions.”

“It did. That’s how we became so close, because it was no longer us against each other, it was us against our parents.”

“What about your sister?”

“She was always the goody two shoes. She’s been a prime example of how to be the picture-perfect child growing up. Banner and I couldn’t make it that easy on our parents, so we gave them a run for their money.”

“Are you all close now?”

“Yes,” he answers as his fingers play with some strands of my hair. “We get together for the holidays. I love Bright Harbor in the winter, and we keep in touch often. My parents, Nola, and Banner always plan a trip to one of my away games. They rent a house and stay in the city for a few days while attending my games. This year they went to Miami.”

“I’m envious. I don’t have siblings, and everything about my family is broken. I’m not sure we ever went on a family vacation. If we did, it was to a military base. Nothing special.”

“That’s sad,” he says. “Is that why you’ve been to a few places with Nichole? Why you live so carefree? So you can experience life in a different way?”

I pause and tilt my head to the side. “You know, I never really thought about it that way. It makes sense. I’ve been more places with Nichole than I have with my parents, and any extra penny I make, I put to the side to continue those experiences.”

“What’s the favorite place that you’ve visited?”

“We went to Cancun a year or so ago, and it was so relaxing. We decided to make it a beach vacation. I had the best tan of my life, and while I was out and about at night, I’d also lay on a lounger in front of the ocean and just listen to the waves crash on the sand. It was the most peace I’ve felt in a long time. Not to mention, the coconut shrimp won my heart at that resort.”

“I love coconut shrimp.”

“Really? I wouldn’t peg you for a coconut shrimp kind of guy.”

“No?” he asks, brow raised as his fingers move along the back of my neck now. It’s sending a deep, radiating chill down my spine, making me feel more alive than ever. “What kind of guy would you peg me as?”

Smirking, I answer, “The kind who orders chicken tendies at a seafood restaurant and calls them chicken tendies.”

He lets out a laugh while shaking his head. “You got me all wrong, Myla.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah, I would order fish sticks.”

Now it’s my turn to laugh. “With a gallon of tartar sauce, right?”

“What’s a fish stick without tartar sauce?”

“Just like what’s peanut butter without jelly?”

“See, you feel me.” He wraps a piece of my hair around his finger and lightly twirls it, creating this warm sensation over my scalp and down my arms.