Page 4 of Never Not Friends

Vinny shifts, completely facing the shelves. “In your mind, pick your favorite book in this section based solely on the title and cover, and I’ll see if I can guess which one you picked.”

“My favorite?” My lips purse. “Out of all of these?”

“Yeah, but not because you’ve read it. We’re just going off cover and title vibes.”

“Okay.” I laugh, liking the challenge. Vinny’s always full of fun little games to distract us while we wait for Juliet. It’s one of my favorite traits of his.

We both scan the shelves. There are at least thirty covers in front of us, but I take my job seriously and study each one before deciding on Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary.

“Oh, I got it!” Vinny claps beside me.

“I don’t know,” I say. “There are a lot of choices.”

Playful cockiness shines in his eyes. “It’s obvious.”

“It’s not obvious. I was having a hard time picking one. I think you might be a little too confident.”

“I know you well enough to be confident.”

A stupid grin tugs at my lips. “You think?”

“Let’s just see. Which book did you choose?”

“Muggie Maggie.” I point to it.

He’s immediately disappointed. “Muggie Maggie?”

“Yeah.” I shrug, defending my choice. “I like it. It’s colorful and happy-looking, and there’s a really cute dog on it.”

“No.” He picks up a book that wasn’t even on my radar. “The correct answer is The Girl Who Thought in Pictures.”

I frown, clearly not impressed by the green cover. “That one didn’t even catch my eye.”

“What?” Vinny shoves the book in my face. “It’s you. Get it?” My brows hover in confusion, prompting further explanation. “This is you. Because you think in colors. Everything has a color: months, days, school subjects.”

“I don’t think that’s the same thing.”

He taps the cover. “Your mind is more creative than anyone else I know.”

My chest expands with that familiar ache.

“You self-diagnosed yourself after one Google search. What do you call it? Graph⁠—”

“Grapheme-color synesthesia,” I finish for him because I know he’ll never get the full name. “And it’s mostly about colors, not pictures.”

“Close enough.” He holds the book up proudly. “This is your book.”

I grab it from his hands. “Then I must purchase it for my class.”

“Really?” There’s immediate joy on his face.

“Yeah, I have to read it and find out if I really am the girl who thinks in pictures.” Vinny’s smile is so adorable it hurts—enough that I force a subject change. “What about you? It’s your turn to pick your favorite one, and I’ll guess.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” He takes three seconds and then turns to me. “Got it.”

My chin lifts, projecting my own confidence. “It’s obviously Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun.”

“Final answer?”