Everyone's a Winner with a Heart That Small

Almost as soon as she walked in the door behind Ezra, her name was shouted from three different directions. Tim was the first to reach her and she let go of Cora's hand as Tim threw his arm around her shoulders.

"G! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Cora was in need of a party"

"Well, it looks like she's gonna get one," he replied, smirking and motioning to the spot about five feet away from them. Cora was standing in the corner with Ezra less than two inches from her face and they were smiling at each other like idiots. Gig rolled her eyes but grinned.

"They're meant for each other so I won't be surprised by anything that happens between them"

"Well meanwhile, your boy is out back in a serious game of beer pong"

"Lead the way"

He grinned and grabbed her hand in his much larger one, pulling her through the crowd through the kitchen. He stopped once he reached the doorway. "Drink?"

She shook her head. "Later"

He continued on through the french doors to the back patio. "Hey Johno! Your girl's here!" he shouted over everyone who was standing outside talking and laughing. John, who was taking his shot, missed completely. He turned to give Tim a glare but then his eyes found Gigi and he couldn't look at anything else.

Tim smirked at his friend and let go of Gigi's hand, nudging her toward John before going back inside. John was at her side in a matter of seconds.

"Hi"

"Hi"

"I wasn't expecting to see you here"

Gigi shrugged. "Cora wanted a party. Ezra was ready and willing to take her to one"

He smiled as his eyes drifted down to her feet. "Nice boots"

"I'm a Carolina girl. What can I say?"

"You look beautiful"

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself"

"You want something to drink?"

"Sure"

"I'll be right back"

He disappeared into the house and about a minute later emerged with two red cups in his hands. She sat down on the steps and he took a seat right next to her, their thighs touching. He handed her one of the cups and she smiled gratefully as she took a sip.

"So you and Ezra are alright again?"

She nodded. "He apologized for being an ass so I guess that's it"

"Him and Cora are....?"

"Back together, I assume"

"Are you okay with that?"

"They're still in love with each other so I'm happy for them"

A sad smile formed on her lips and John took the cup from her hands and set it on the step beside his. He stood up and held out his hand. "Come with me"

"Where are we going?" she asked, grabbing his hand and standing to her feet.

Without answering, he glanced back and gave her a huge grin. They walked around the front of the house and out to an old white truck. "This is yours?"

"Yep"

"My uncle Tommy has this exact truck in red"

John laughed as he reached over to unlock the passenger door.

"What's so funny?" she asked as she slid into her seat and shut the door.

"Nothing. Your accent is just adorable. 'My uncle Tommy has this exact truck in red,' " he answered, imitating her with his best southern accent.

She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't talk like that"

"Trust me, it's much cuter on you"

They pulled out of the driveway and got on the road, headed away from town.

"You're not taking me into the desert to murder me are you?"

"Damn. How'd you figure it out?"

"Where are we going anyway?"

"I don't know," was all he would answer.

Eventually, after they'd passed most of the houses and were out in the middle of nowhere, he slowed down and pulled off of the road. He kept driving out away from the road and Gigi was utterly confused as to what he was doing. He finally stopped the truck and got out, motioning for her to do the same. She got out of the truck and walked around to the back. He dug around for something behind the seats before he joined her.

What he'd been reaching for was a thin gray blanket, which he spread out in the bed of the truck before hopping in. She just looked at him strangely. Here they were in the quiet, middle-of-nowhere desert in the dark and he just spread out a blanket and sat down in the bed of his truck.

"Come on," he said, holding out his hands to her.

She raised her eyebrows at him but took his hands anyway and got into the bed of the truck, taking the empty space beside him.

"So what are we doing out here, you might be wondering?"

"Not anymore"

He furrowed his eyebrows at her but she just smiled.

"I don't even care what we do"

He stretched out and laid down on his back, putting his right arm behind his head. With his left hand, he pulled on her shoulder, forcing her backward as well. She used his left arm to rest her head on and looked up at the dark blue sky, littered with millions of tiny bright lights.

She sighed. "It's so gorgeous out here"

"My dad used to bring my brothers and me out here to go camping. We ended up never using our tents because we just wanted to look at the stars until we fell asleep"

"Your relationship with your brothers is so cute. I wish I had siblings"

He chuckled. "They're a pain in the ass a lot of the time"

"I bet it was fun growing up with other kids though"

"Yeah, but at least you had Ezra, right? You guys were close growing up"

"It's not quite the same"

"Do you miss home?"

She sighed. "I do, but I'm also glad I'm here"

He grinned and turned onto his side, throwing his arm over her waist. "So am I"