Page 36 of So This Is Love

“Then there’s your answer.”

Bryce doesn’t elaborate, he leaves me in the kitchen and walks over to the living room to sit on the couch and pick up the tv remote.

“What episode do you want to watch,” Bryce asks, navigating to the streaming service and selecting the show that I have been most recently binge rewatching.

It doesn’t mean anything, it's just cookies. I try to reason with myself.

I follow Bryce to the living room and take a seat on the couch next to him, tucking my feet up under me.

“Let’s start from the beginning so you get the full experience.”

The show’s opening scenes and song plays and I open the pack of oreos, taking one out and happily snacking on it.

“So why don’t they like each other?” Bryce asks about the two main characters of the show, halfway through the first episode.

“Because their dad is an asshole,” I reply. “He left his girlfriend while she was pregnant and now doesn’t recognize their son as his and has brainwashed his other son.”

“But he brought his new girl and kid back to the same town where his first kid and his mom lives, and now the brothers go to school together.”

“Yep.”

Bryce shakes his head. “That’s some crazy work.”

“That’s some of the least crazy things that happen just wait.”

My foot falls asleep at the end of the second episode. I move it from the position its been in, stretching it out in hopes that the weird tingling numbness quickly goes away.

“You good?”

“Yeah, it just fell asleep.”

“Give it here.”

“Hmmm?” I ask confused.

I feel Bryce’s hand wrap around my ankle and he pulls my sock clad foot into his lap. He uses his thumb to gently massage the sole of my foot. I relax back into the couch and try to focus back on the episode but I can’t focus, not with Bryce moving from the sole of my foot to rubbing the little stretch of exposed skin between where my leggings end and my sock begins. The simple motion that he does seemingly absentmindedly makes my whole body tingle with warmth.

12

Laila

One thing about meand my friends, we love a good themed event. For Valentine’s day each year we always do something together, just us girls to catch up on each other’s lives. In past years we’ve done picnics, paint and sips, movie nights with matching pajamas, and this year we decided on brunch.

“Hey!” Maia says, opening Cass’s front door. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Thank you, you too,” I reply, hugging her and then stepping in the door.

Cass met Maia on the same vacation in Mexico where she and Cyrus reconnected over a year ago. Cyrus was there for his brother’s wedding and Maia was the bride. Since then they’ve become close like sisters and Maia has joined our friend group.

“Cass is still getting ready,” Maia says. “I was just finishing setting up some last minute things.”

“What’s left? I can help.”

I set the champagne down on the counter and help Maia with the last minute things to make sure everything is perfectly set up. Cass went all out with the decorations, as we all knew shewould. Everything is pink and red from the utensils and napkins to the balloons floating above our heads on the ceiling. The catered bite size finger foods are laid out in an impressive spread on the kitchen counters with rose petals sprinkled around the serving dishes. As we finish up the front door buzzes and Maia goes over to let in Tiffany, Cass’s sister, and shortly after, Reagan and Stella arrive too.

I take pictures of the gorgeous set up on both my phone and polaroid camera for the memories, before we dig into the food and drinks.

A moment later Cass comes out of her bedroom dressed in a pink jumpsuit. She goes around the room giving each of us a hug. She reaches me last, pulling me in for a quick squeeze.

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