Tulip didn't return Jasper's text however she did call someone. Fresh from a long, relaxing peony-vanilla bubble bath, she slipped into one of her silk nighties, plugged one of the wireless earbuds in her ear, and dialed up Austin. After three rings like always, his easy voice sounded in her ear. An effortless smile slid across her face from hearing the tone of the man that had the ability to transmit his smile to his speech. She clicked ESPN catching the highlights of the NBA Finals and the French Open. She was catching up with three of the activities she wasn't able to keep up with since the new addition to her life.

Every conversation with Austin that happened at night had the same formula; small talk and updating each other on their days, then the most thrilling part was the happy ending. His words dripped with all the erotic things he wanted to do her with she stoked herself and her vibrated throbbed inside of herself. Only this night instead of telling her 'Sleep tight, beautiful' he said 'let's go on a real date. Six words stole the high of her residual climax. After telling him she'd think about it, she washed up, fell asleep, and dreamed about a different man. Or maybe it was a nightmare since the images were ones of Jasper and her.

This is some bullshit. Tulip thought as she looked down at the ETA from Houston to Mustang Island. It was the day of the camping trip. She knew of better ways than spending three hours and forty-something minutes but Sidney was buzzing with excitement as she rolled her suitcase into the living room with her bathing suit and the brimmer hat she begged from at the camping store.

Tulip choked on her coffee at the sight before her. Sidney was extra but then again, so was she. "Go get some shorts and put on shoes not rain boots."

"But I don't want to get my shoes dirty." Sidney retorted, the smile on her cute face fading a slight degree.

"You take your shoes off at the beach," Tulip said abandoning the food she was preparing for the ride. She pulled Sidney's thick pigtails over her shoulder. "You've been to Haiti and The Hamptons, haven't you been to the beach."

Sidney shook her head, looking up with those searching eyes that always made Tulip want to take all the knowledge she had and feed it to her like porridge. "Mom said sand's a headache and going to the pool is better."

"Pools are great but so is the beach. Sand does get everywhere but I got a trick to get rid of it." Tulip winked. "Outdoor shower and some baby powder."

Sidney squinted at her not understanding how those two things went together.

"Don't worry about it." She tapped Sidney's nose. "Go. So, we can get going before everyone and their mama's start puttering around."

Sidney skipped to her room and Tulip finished loading the food in the tote bag. She successfully got her Bronco on the interstate before ten. Traffic wasn't light but it wasn't bumper to bumper until she made it near George R. Brown Convention Center and things slowed down. Sidney decided reading to her would be a great way to ease her annoyance with the congestion and for thirty-plus minutes she learned about The Forgotten Girl and wondered how Sidney snuck in a book about a ghost. She couldn't protest. She was reading about vampires and werewolves when she was that age.

Once they got to the open road with Houston city limits to their backs, Tulip turned off the air conditioner and rolled down the windows. The comforting summery breeze washed over them and Tulip handed over her phone and let Sidney be the deejay. The little girl had them listening to Pop, Classical, Reggae, R&B, Hip Hop, and Country. Tulip thought she had an eclectic taste in music but Sidney was that multiplied by two. Now, she had a dance-pop tune streaming from the speakers Tulip had installed two years ago.

"Which one is your fave?" Tulip asked pointing to the trio of peanut butter sandwiches sitting in Sidney's lap. "Apricot, grape, or blueberry?

"Hmm." Sidney sounded washing down with icy carrot juice. It wasn't Tulip's go-to beverage but her new little buddy swore by it. Sidney swallowed and then said. "The blueberry reminds me of Sour Patch Kids."

"It's kind of tart?" Tulip asked, shifting to a more comfortable angle as she kept the SUV on the lengthy two-lane street with one hand on the steering wheel.

Sidney nodded. "The apricot makes my mouth happy."

"Okay." Tulip nodded with a smirk, keeping her eyes ahead on the van that was going at a nice speed. Not too fast where they'd get a ticket and not so slow it felt like they were rolling backward. "So, what about the grape?"

Sidney shook her head with a twist to her face. "It doesn't taste like grapes. I've had grapes." She said holding up the half she bit into. "A lot of grapes. Branches. This isn't grape."

"It's Smucker's grape." Tulip countered, reaching over and plucking the uneaten half of the grape PB sandwich. "It tastes like grape Kool-Aid with a bag of sugar."

Sidney's head tilted to the side and she inquired."What's Kool-Aid?"

"You don't know what Kool-Aid is?" Tulip asked and the girl shook her head. "It's a drink. A fruit flavor powder in a package, you dump it in a pitcher and add water and sugar. My favorite is red."

"But..." Sidney's thick eyebrows drew together; the same kind Jasper has. "Red isn't a flavor of a fruit."

Tulip shook her head, then washed her bite down with her sip from her vanilla milkshake she picked up from Dairy Queen. "Don't ask. It's just red." She shrugged. "I think it's cherry, though." She wasn't sure she hadn't Kool-Aid since she was sixteen and even then she was drinking it but eating the substance straight from the packet via her pointing finger.

"Apple slice?" Sidney held up the Ziploc filled with slices of McIntosh's finest.

Tulip turned up her nose. "My go-to with PB&J is cheetos." She pointed to the orange bag of crunchy snacks.

"But apples are better. They're healthy. An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Sidney sung the adage Tulip had been hearing she she was her age. "Health is important. You have to stay healthy."

The girl didn't budge. She kept the bag outstretched her and turned on that searching-pleading look that seared into Tulip's wall of resolve.

"You really want me to eat fruit, huh." Tulip added while plucking a slice from the bag.

"Yes." She nodded happily. She bit into a slice of her own reading something on Tulip's phone. "A 'Jasper' says please text him back. I can type fast really fast. I did it for my mom all the time." She primed her little finger over the virtual keyboard.

"Oh! No!" Tulip harked as the vehicle slightly swerved almost out the lane as she quickly swiped the phone from the girl's hand. "No, texting."

"But I'm not driving." She looked at Tulip with confusion. "I can spell better than anyone in my grade. No matter what Anatastia thinks. She cheats."

"Yeah. I have no doubt that that's all true but we're not texting people that aren't Neisha and Lachlan. We're on a mini vacay." Tulip successfully cleared the text from the screen and handed the phone back to her. "Plus, this is our time." She gestured between the two of them.

Sidney nodded. "Us time." A smile lifted shined on her face as she started back searching through all the songs on Apple Music for their next tune.

Tulip let out a contented breath as an infectious beat flowed through the car. That was a close one. Two texts in less than twenty-four hours. What the hell was he on?

She put it out of her mind. She waited ten years, he could wait two days. This was their time.  

Why do you think Jasper has text her more than once?

Why do you think Sidney insisted the Tulip eat some apples?

Do you think Anastasia cheats?

The pool or the beach, which do you prefer?

Why do you think Tulip's euphoria was depleted after Austin asked her on a date?