Meanwhile, Miranda had gone to the bathroom before refreshing the popcorn. She had a hard time finding the microwave popcorn in the McGuires' kitchen. That puzzled her for a minute; she thought she knew that kitchen as well as she did her own family's. Mrs. McGuire must have moved some things around. Why else would she have toilet paper in the kitchen cabinets?
She'd meant to just make more popcorn, but she spotted the frosted glasses with the vintage Route 66 shield on them. When she and Gordo went to Grubby Gulch with Lizzie's family, they'd stopped on the way back to Hillridge for gas and road food. Their drinks had come in cool glasses with one highway sign for each state that the old Route 66 had passed through, the name of the state above the "66" in each shield. Miranda hadn't seen them since that vacation.
Miranda fixed Cokes for the three of them, then found the popcorn. It had just started to pop when she heard a happy-sounding commotion in the living room. Doors were closed, so she couldn't tell what the sound was. She figured Gordo and Lizzie were horsing around. Lately she'd noticed her best friends glancing at each other when the other one wasn't looking, and they'd occasionally asked her what the other one thought ("Will Gordo like this yellow top on me?").
Miranda walked toward the living room. As she opened the door, she said, "Guys ...?"
She'd been about to ask if they wanted Cokes, but then she saw what her ears couldn't identify. Gordo was tickling Lizzie's feet and she got tangled up trying to move her feet and get off the couch, falling on the rug next to him. Her laughing and hollering stopped as she reached out to pull herself up and Gordo took her hands in his.
Miranda could sense the electricity between them. So could they. They weren't sure what it meant, except they both thought a kiss would be a good idea.
"I think the, uh, movie's rewounded," Gordo said. Where was that catch in his throat coming from? It made him stutter a little and add a syllable to "rewound."
"Oh. Right. Yeah. Okay." Lizzie looked down and found her hands in Gordo's. He followed her eyes and saw the same thing. Releasing hands, she said, "Where's Miranda?"
"Here, you guys." Miranda's normal smile was world-class. This one had more warmth and amusement than usual, and her friends could read it well enough to know she'd seen something.
A/N: Sorry about the repeated content. The uploading on this site gives me trouble. It should be OK now. Where do I go from here? Thanks!