pecan pie [descendants]

step seventeen

Jo burst into Evie and Mal's room, carrying baskets full of food. "Refreshments have arrived!"

"Oh, I could kiss you right now," Imogen said. Neither she nor Evie budged from the table where they'd spent the past week, practicing and revising their proposal to increase food shipments to the Isle. The duo (with the occasional assistance of Ben) had been working tirelessly to perfect their presentation to the council. For some reason, Evie and Mal's dorm had become their base of operations. The room was a complete mess. Swaths of fabric and half-finished dresses were dumped onto Evie's bed to make room for all the papers and snacks and cups of coffee that were required for the work to be done. Crumpled balls of thrown-out ideas littered the floor.

Anyway, since the two were working so hard on something so important, Jo had made it her personal mission to keep them nourished and to lend a hand wherever one was needed. She'd been helping Audrey, Lonnie, and Evie coach Imogen to be more "presentable," which was code for "less of a bitch." She'd given Imogen at least three massages and worked with Doug to make sure Evie's 4 Hearts stayed in business while Evie dedicated her attention elsewhere. But for the most part, she was running back and forth between the kitchens and the designated command base, preparing tasty treats to keep the girls' energy up.

"Save the kissing for Audrey," Jo teased, setting down the bowls she'd prepared as Evie and Imogen made room on the table for lunch.

Evie looked up from the papers she'd been gathering with a sharp gasp, a brilliant smile playing on her ruby-red lips. "I knew it!"

"There is nothing happening between me and Audrey," Imogen insisted.

"There's nothing happening between me and Audrey yet," Jo corrected. She and Evie burst into a fit of giggles. Jo filled the girls' glasses with ice water and dished out sets of utensils.

Imogen rolled her eyes at them, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. So, what'd you make us?"

Jo knew Imogen was just trying to change the subject, but she didn't protest because Jo loved taking any opportunity available to talk about food. She clapped her hands together, beaming, and proudly announced, "Today I've prepared for you white rice with cubed sweet potatoes, grilled chicken, and a generous helping of avocado, finished off with a little bit of cilantro. There's also a peanut butter sauce that goes on top, but I figured I'd let you guys decide how much you want to put on. I got you some ice water, and I also made you strawberry-banana smoothies to tide you over until dinner."

By the time she was done explaining, Evie and Imogen were already stuffing their faces. Jo took the free seat at the table and pulled out her own lunch -- she'd been craving a panini. The smoothies remained in the cooler Jo'd set by her feet for the girls to sip on later. For a few minutes, they ate in relative silence, too busy satiating their hunger to make conversation. Jo lived for moments like this, moments where people were so occupied with eating that everything else became irrelevant.

Then Evie dabbed at the corners of her lips with her napkin and said, "Ben asked about you."

Jo nearly choked on her panini. "What?"

"He said he hasn't seen you in a while," Imogen added, attempting to sound casual. "He's worried he did something wrong and you're avoiding him." Evie and Imogen shot her knowing looks. She let out a groan and dropped her sandwich to bury her face in her hands.

"Oh, I don't know what to do," Jo whined. "I don't want to stop being his friend but I need to stop having feelings for him--"

"So you admit it?" Imogen jumped in. She was smirking like she always did when she won an argument and/or proved someone wrong. "You have feelings for Ben."