Vanilla ice cream, banana slices tucked into the sides, chopped peanuts scattered over the top, peanut butter sauce and hot fudge drizzled generously, a single cherry perched on top like punctuation.
“Damn,” Penny said.“That looks obscene.”
Adley laughed.“I regret nothing.”
Ever lingered a moment, wiping her hands on her apron.“Y’all holler if you need anything,” she said.
Her eyes flicked to Jude again.
He smiled politely.“Thanks.”
She walked away, shoulders slightly slumped.
I watched her go, then glanced at Penny, who raised an eyebrow knowingly.
“Poor girl,” Penny murmured.
“Shh,” I whispered.“He’ll catch on eventually.”
“Will he, though?”Penny asked.
Probably not.
We dug in, conversation drifting easily.Mason and Jude argued about who’d win in a stupid hypothetical fight.Penny tried to convince Jude to take a sip of her shake.He declined, amused but firm.
I took a slow sip of mine and smiled.
Ender leaned in slightly.“You okay?”
I nodded.“Yeah.”
He stayed close anyway.
I laughed more than I expected to.Ate more than I planned to.Let myself relax in a way I hadn’t since before the kidnapping.
When we finally stood to leave, Ender’s hand found mine without thinking.
I didn’t let go.
And for the first time since everything happened, I believed, really believed, that someday soon, life might feel normal again.
With an Ender twist.
Chapter Nineteen
Ender
“Church!”
The tone snapped the room in half.
Laughter died mid-breath.Someone’s chair scraped back hard.A pool ball clacked against the felt like it had been struck too forcefully.Even the air changed, charged with that familiar club-business edge that made your skin tighten.
I felt Clove stiffen beside me.
I turned my head slightly, checking her without making it obvious.
Her eyes were on the hallway.On the door to church.On the place she wasn’t allowed to go.