The Fill-In Boyfriend(48)

Hayden raised his hand. “Well, technically, I got you licorice.”

Bec hit him on the back of the head with the package and then handed it to Nate.

“Cool,” he said. “Thanks.” He tore into the pack right away.

Hayden pointed to the 7-Eleven bag by my feet. “You ready to play copilot?”

“I have no idea what that means.”

“It means you get to open my treats for me.”

“Do I have to feed them to you as well?”

“Ew. No,” Bec said.

Hayden smiled. “I think I can handle that part.”

I opened his treats and put them on the center console.

“Now we play road trip games.”

Bec groaned. “Hayden, this is why that three-week RV trip was unbearable.”

“No, I’m pretty sure that was unbearable because we had to dispose of our own waste and sleep in bunk beds.”

She smiled. “True. But your games came in a close third.”

“Yes, my games.” He took a pretzel and popped it into his mouth. “So, I Spy or Would You Rather? Those are your game choices. Actually maybe we should play Twenty Questions since Gia here lost so handily the last time she attempted that game.”

“Hey.”

He laughed.

“You’re right. I need redemption. I’m actually very good at that game.”

“Prove it,” he said.

“I will.” I opened my bag of dried bananas. “Okay, think of something.”

“You’re not actually going to eat those, are you?”

“Why wouldn’t I eat these? Now think of something.”

He tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel a few times and then he said, “Got it.”

I turned back to Nate and Bec. “We’ll take turns asking him questions about it, first one to guess wins. If it takes us more than twenty questions, he wins.”

“I’m not playing your dumb game.”

“Let’s play,” Nate said.

“Fine,” Bec agreed without another argument.

“I’ll start,” I said. “Is it bigger than a bread box?”

Hayden opened then shut his mouth. “Really? That’s your first question? Do people even have bread boxes anymore? Are you eighty years old?”

“I play this game with my parents. That’s actually a very smart question. Because if the answer is no, I can automatically rule out a person or a place without having to waste two questions. If the answer is yes, I can rule out insects, rodents, and anything else that might fit in a backpack without having to ask multiple questions.”

“That’s what you should’ve asked. Is it bigger than a backpack?”

“Don’t critique my questions. I have a strategy.”

He bowed his head slightly. “I didn’t realize I had played this game with the master last time. Although I should’ve, with the sheer amount of questions you had about a name.”

“So? Is it bigger than a bread box?”

“What size of bread box?”

“I am the asker, you are the answerer.”

He smiled. “Yes, it is bigger than a bread box.”

Nate went next. “Is it a monkey?”

Bec backhanded him across the chest. “You don’t guess until you get more clues.”

“I wanted to guess. It’s part of my strategy.”

“What strategy is that? The dumbest one ever?”

Hayden met my eyes and mouthed, “See, she needs help.”

I laughed.

“No, it’s not a monkey,” Hayden said aloud. “Your turn, Bec.”

“Is it cold-blooded?” Bec looked at me as she asked this, like she was implying something more with the question.

Hayden seemed to think this as well because he gave her a hard look. “No.”

I had a feeling this day might not turn out as fun as I’d hoped.





CHAPTER 22





“I don’t believe it took you guys three hours to ask sixteen questions. Three hours.”

“It was Gia’s fault. She took the longest with hers,” Bec said.

I laughed. “If you didn’t analyze every one of my questions, Hayden, it wouldn’t have taken me so long. And we still get four more.”

He pulled into the parking lot of the university. “I feel like I need to change my answer to something more exciting after this buildup, like last time.”