Page 14 of Rumor Has It

Three songs in and everything is chopped. She diced up some steak, added it to a hot pan, and has been pushing it around to sear it on all sides. I bring the vegetables to her side and then grab two beers from the fridge.

“Are we sitting at the table or do you want to watch a movie while we eat?” I ask, taking a sip from my bottle.

Ellie tilts her head back and forth, contemplating the question. She can be a little indecisive, as I find most women are. But I’ve learned it’s more about the stress of deciding on top of all their other decisions. Sometimes they just don’t want to decide.

“I think a movie sounds good,” she says. “It will be a nice cap on the past twenty-four hours. Go see if there’s something to rent that looks good.”

“Rom-com or fright night?” I ask.

“You pick,” she says.

Ugh. That’s tough. I don’t particularly love watching rom-coms, but they’re her favorite. So I feel like if I choose one, she’s just going to say I’m trying to make her happy. But if I don’t pick one, she might not enjoy it. It’s a sticky situation.

Lucky for me, after scrolling through, there’s really only one solid choice and it’s a rom-com. The universe hath chosen for us.

“Food’s ready,” she says.

Ellie approaches with two plates, placing one in front of me and the other in front of her as she sits.

“You picked a rom-com?” She asks. “You hate these movies.”

I shrug. “Nothing else caught my attention.” But truth be told, even if it had, I probably still would’ve picked this.

Ellie’s face perks up a bit, and I know her well enough to know that’s her low-key excited face. She does this thing where she doesn’t want to express how excited she is, so she presses her lips together tight but her eyes are super wide the entire time. It’s cute.

Three bites into this stir fry, and I’m both upset I can’t eat it faster and dreading the end. I swear it’s like two angels fucking in my mouth. Delicious. I know her family—all good cooks—but Ellie has always had a special talent for bold yet comforting flavors.

I don’t totally know what’s going on in this movie, because I’ve been too busy eating, but I think we’re around the halfway point. Our plates have been shoved back, and Ellie has essentially curled herself into a croissant on her side of the couch. I don’t know how women do it, but they magically fold themselves up in the smallest bundles, sort of like when a cat’s legs disappear the moment it sits down.

The leading man in the movie is having regrets about not making a move on the leading lady when they were out at dinner. Now she thinks he’s not interested or something. I should add that they were friends first, which is ironic considering all the comments my friends are making about me and Ellie today.

I don’t know where they get this shit. Though I will say I’m glad they said something to me about it and not directly to Ellie. I can’t imagine how horrified she’d be to discover we’d become part of the rumor chain around here.

Although, and this is strictly curiosity—I think—but the moment Garrett mentioned me and Ellie being something of an item, my mind did start to wonder ever so quietly what that would be like.

TEN

ELLIE

By the end of the movie, I’m at the edge of the couch, leaning forward as if that final kiss between new lovers will fulfill all my hopes and wishes. That it will somehow erase what happened to me last night and restore my faith in love once again. Though it is ironic, watching two best friends fall in love on-screen while sitting next to my best friend and wonderinghow many people along with Emma think we’re in love, or hooking up, or whatever else they think we’re up to.

I glance over at Theo, who’s already looking at me with this dopey expression across his face.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing,” he says, and his lips curl into a smile. “You’re just sappier than I realized.”

“I don’t think that’s a word,” I quip.

“Sappier? People can be happier, why can’t they be sappier?”

“I’m ignoring you until the credits finish rolling,” I say, focusing on the last few moments of the movie. The two main characters intertwine hands and walk away from the camera, seemingly happy and fulfilled. These stupid movies make me want that more than anything. “Why can’t I be loved like that?’

Theo’s eyebrows scrunch together as if this might be the first time he’s ever thought about the question. “You’ve been in love before.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think it ever looked like that. Or felt like it for that matter.” I lean into the couch, curling back up and twisting to face Theo more directly. He looks toward the rolling credits of the movie, tilting his head to the side.

“Movie love isn’t real,” he says. “I don’t think that’s what real love looks like.”

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