Cole chuckled as he watched Luke and I approach the bread. He seemed intrigued by our process.
“We’re not going to be able to go all out here,” I noted, my mind already busy with calculations. “I think we should stick with burgers, hot dogs and chicken. They won’t have the number of steaks we need, and if we only get a few there will be fights.”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” Luke agreed. “Burgers and hot dogs it is.” He went for the hot dog buns, leaving me to collect the hamburger rolls. We were so used to this we didn’t even need to count. We automatically grabbed.
Cole sat back and watched, amused, while Kade wandered over to the condiments display.
“We need more mustard and ketchup,” he said. “I know we’re out after last week.”
“Grab a couple bottles of each,” I suggested, going back to my grocery hunt. “We should probably get some extra snacks, too. We really are out in the middle of nowhere and that limits runs into town for everybody.”
Luke bobbed his head. “Good idea.” He waited until we were at the end of the aisle again. “Speaking of good ideas, there are a few touristy things here that I think we should check out. There might not be much to offer when it comes to shopping, but there’s plenty to offer when it comes to kitschy tourist traps.”
I slid my eyes to him, surprised. Luke was usually the last person to embrace what the locals considered culture in rural areas. He was gay and often fearful that he would be isolated and picked on. The fact that he was suggesting it now seemed strange.
“What kind of tourist traps?” I asked. I was legitimately curious.
“Well, for starters, they have a place called Guntown Mountain.” Luke’s eyes sparkled with eagerness. “No joke. You ride a ski lift up the mountain, and when you get there it’s basically a cosplay Old West town.”
That made absolutely no sense to me. “Excuse me?”
“Really.” His enthusiasm was on full display. “The workers dress like gunfighters ... and bartenders ... and saloon girls. I’m betting there’s a few prostitutes thrown in for good measure, because who doesn’t love a good prostitute, right? It’s supposed to be ridiculous, which is always the best type of fun.”
I was dumbfounded. “I don’t understand.” I looked to Kade for clarification. “Is dressing up like gunfighters supposed to be fun? They pretend to murder each other, right? How is that fun?”
“Oh, don’t be so literal.” Luke’s eye roll was withering. “You don’t have to suck the fun out of everything. Guntown Mountain is supposed to be a great way to burn an afternoon. I thought maybe we could go tomorrow or the next day after lunch. Once the circus starts we won’t be able to swing it.”
“We being you and me?” I was still confused.
“We being all of us.” He frowned as he held my gaze. “I’m not going to just leave Cole to entertain himself. I thought the four of us could go.”
Oh, well, that was rich. I couldn’t even count the number of times he’d tried to entice me away from Kade to spend time together. He never seemed to want to go on adventures when it was just the three of us. Now that we were suddenly a foursome, though, he was all about being inclusive. Well ... it was too freaking much.
“I guess.” I held it together as I grabbed boxes of pasta so I could make salad later. “I was thinking we could go to Mammoth Caves. I’ve always wanted to see them.”
Luke wrinkled his nose. “Mammoth Caves? Why would we want to go there?”
“They’re a wonder of nature,” I fired back.
“Yeah, but they’re underground. There will be bugs ... and bats ... and the possibility that the roof could cave in and bury us all alive. You know how I feel about being buried alive.”
I felt as if I was being buried alive ... by nonsense. “It’s the longest cave system in the world,” I persisted, my agitation growing by leaps and bounds. “It has more than four hundred miles of surveyed passageways. There are limestone labyrinths ... and rare bats. It’s a modern marvel.”
Luke stared blankly, working his jaw. When he finally spoke, it was with disdain. “Bats are not a selling point. They’re creepy.”
“They’re cute,” I shot back. “And they’re interesting. What’s interesting about gunfighters faking it on top of a mountain? And what kind of Old West town has a ski lift?”
“Oh, give it up,” Luke snapped. “Ski lifts are awesome and you know it. Who wants to actually climb a mountain? Walking around Mammoth Caves would be like climbing a mountain, but in reverse. It’s like descending a mountain ... and it’s boring and gross.”
Sensing that perhaps things were about to get out of control, Kade snaked his hand out and wrapped it around my wrist, drawing my attention to him.
“Hey, we can do both,” he encouraged. “I think Guntown Mountain sounds just corny enough to be entertaining. And I happen to love modern marvels. Take you for example, Poet. You’re a modern marvel, and I can’t get enough of looking at you.”
I knew what he was doing and it wasn’t going to work. “You don’t have to go with me.” I jerked my arm from him and grabbed the cart handle. “I’ll go by myself and I’ll have a great time. The three of you can dress like cowboys and hang out with the town prostitutes for all I care.”
“That sounds fun,” Cole offered, grinning.
Oh, how I wanted to rip his lips off his face. He was totally ruining our group dynamic, and he didn’t seem to care.
“There’s also a place called Dinosaur World,” he added, keeping his focus on Kade and Luke, and completely ignoring me. “It’s mainly for kids, but I do love a dinosaur museum. I’m not going to lie.”
“Who doesn’t?” Luke enthused. “I used to pretend I was digging for fossils when I was a kid.”
Cole’s grin widened. “So did I.”
“I think that’s a boy thing,” Kade said as he grabbed a container of relish. “I did the exact same thing ... and I was obsessed with watching the Jurassic Park movies. I couldn’t get enough of them. I really wanted dinosaurs to come back and eat people ... as long as it wasn’t me.”
I stared at them for a long time. Not once did any of them look in my direction. Suddenly I was the odd woman out, I realized. Luke and Kade were finally doing the one thing I desperately wanted them to do — bond — and they were doing it without me. Frustration bubbled up at the realization and I had to swallow a scream as I circled to the next aisle, leaving them behind. I couldn’t even look at them right now.
There was something wrong with me, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the whats and the whys. I only knew that I was dangerously close to having a public meltdown.
“Here you are.” Kade ambled around the corner and joined me at the cart. “I didn’t even realize you’d left.”
Of course he didn’t. He was too busy talking dinosaurs with his two favorite people. “I figured you guys would be fine without me.” I grabbed several bottles of Italian dressing from the shelf. “I don’t have much of an interest in dinosaur conversations.”