Slow Burn(36)

    “That’s a television show, not real life,” said Stacey. “And besides—”

    “What are you girls talking about in here?” Griffin’s head appeared in the doorway. He was grinning, and he looked so good.

    “Nothing,” I said, standing up. When Griffin came to find us, it meant girl talk was over.

    We joined Griffin and Jack in the kitchen, where the two of them were eating vegan cheesecake. It was actually really good, even though Stacey had made it from tofu. We sat down at the table.

    “How many pieces of that have you had?” said Stacey.

    Jack shrugged. “I don’t know.”

    “Because,” she said, “I did make it, and I kind of wanted there to be some left for me tomorrow.”

    “Sorry,” said Griffin. He set his fork down. There was half a piece of cheesecake on his plate. “You can have the rest of this piece.”

    “Oh, I wasn’t talking to you, Griffin,” said Stacey. “I meant Jack.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

    He held up his hands in surrender. “Geez. I’m sorry.”

    “Good,” she said. “As long as you’re remorseful.” She smoothed a flyaway piece of crimson hair. “So, Leigh and I were just talking about what she and Griffin were going to do over spring break.”

    Griffin looked confused. “We’re doing something?”

    I didn’t know where she was going with this, but I imagined it had something to do with the idea that Griffin and I needed to do something romantic.

    “Yeah,” said Stacey. “Don’t you think it would be neat to do something together, just the two of you?”

    Griffin ate a bite of cheesecake. “Look, Stacey, I don’t know how to tell you this, but this matchmaking thing you’re trying to pull off between me and Leigh? It’s not going to happen.”

    I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. The air went out of me.

    “Oh, whatever,” said Stacey. “I’m just trying to help you plan something fun. That’s all. You can read into it whatever you want, but there’s nothing else to it.”

    “We don’t need to make plans,” said Griffin. He finished up the cheesecake. “This was delicious, by the way.”

    I tried to catch Stacey’s eye, to tell her to let it go, but she wasn’t looking at me.

    “You’re a city boy, right? Leigh says you’re from New Jersey. I bet you’ve never been camping.”

    Griffin actually grinned. “Camping? Actually, I haven’t. Not exactly.”

    Stacey rubbed her hands together. “Great. Then you and Leigh should go to Blackwater Falls. It’s right down the road. And we have everything you might need. Tents, sleeping bags, coolers.”

    “Camping?” I said. “Like outside? With animals and bugs?”

    Griffin turned his grin on me. “I take it you’ve never been camping either.”

    I made a face. “I don’t know that I’ve ever wanted to.”

    “It’s so much fun,” said Stacey. “You guys are going to have a blast.”

    I wasn’t so sure. And it didn’t sound particularly romantic to me.

* * *

    I sat on the ground, sorting through the various things that were in the bag that Stacey and Jack had given us. “I don’t understand how this is going to be a tent.”

    Griffin was still pulling things out of the back of my car. “How much crap did you bring, Leigh? We’re here for two nights, not a month.”

    “Sorry,” I said. I had never been camping before, so I didn’t know what to expect and what to bring. When I felt like that, I usually overcompensated. We probably wouldn’t be able to use half of the stuff I’d brought and wouldn’t need it. But you never knew. It made me feel better to have it. I eyed several foot-long metal poles. “I don’t see how those are going to be big enough to hold up the tent.”

    Griffin dropped one of my duffel bags on the ground. “I think those are stakes.”

    “What?” I said.

    “You pound them into the ground to keep the tent from blowing away,” he said.