Page 85 of Actually Yours

She has a point. Sammi, with her impromptu presentation of all the colossal mistakes I’d made with Jake, has really highlighted that the ball is in fact in my court.

“What should I do?”

Madi orders us a round of drinks, while Sammi rests her chin on her hand, a pensive look on her pretty face.

“It needs to be something that makes your feeling clear, while not being over the top,” she starts, while I gratefully take a sip from the glass of wine that’s just been placed in front of me. If we’re doing this, I’m going to need some liquid courage.

“Something classy. That will tell him what he needs to know, but also give him breathing room to reply.”

That sounds like mission impossible. I tell them this, worried that we’ve made this more complicated than it needs to be.

“No, we’ll figure something out,” says Sammi, patting my hand. “You’ll see.”

The three of us sit in silence. I watch their thinking faces, wondering why I can’t just go to Jake’s place and tell him how I feel?

“I’ve got it!” Sammi yells so loudly that I jump, spilling my wine down my shirt. Lucky it is black and not my favourite or else I’d have another thing to be upset about tonight.

“Tell us!” Madi looks excited, which makes me think the alcohol has got to her. She’s usually the level-headed one in the group.

“I’ll be right back.” Sammi picks up her bag and dashes to the door, making a sharp right when she gets out onto the street and then disappearing out of view.

“Where’s she going?”

Madi shrugs, looking as baffled as I feel, and we sit in silence together, watching the door.

“Do you think she’s coming back?”

“Surely,” Madi says, her eyebrows furrowed. “She walked out mid-sentence. That can’t be it.”

No sooner are the words out of Madi’s mouth when we see Sammi prancing back into the bar, a paper bag in her hand.

“Where did you go?” I ask before she’s even sat down.

She places the bag in front of me. “It’s perfect. Look inside.”

Curious, I open the bag and pull out a pack of Christmas cards.Huh?

“Huh?”

Sammi sighs like she’s disappointed in me. “Think about it. What made you realise Jake is the one? That you areactually his?”

Her words jolt me.A Christmas card? Of course!

“You think I should write how I feel about him? Like Natalie inLove, Actually?”

Madi and Sammi give me matching grins, nodding enthusiastically. “It’s perfect. Don’t you think?”

I look at the card on top of the pile. There’s a glitter-covered Santa Claus with the words ‘ho, ho, ho,’ coming out of his mouth in a speech bubble. It’s the least romantic thing I’ve ever seen, and Sammi is right. It is perfect.

Pushing my hair behind my ears, I settle into my seat. “Do either of you have a pen?”

*****

“You guys don’t have to wait for me.”

The three of us are piled into the back of an Uber, which has driven our tipsy butts from the bar to Jake’s house. After we’d hunted down a pen, I’d gotten to work, pouring all my feelings onto the pint-sized Christmas card, telling Jake everything on paper that I’d been too scared to say to him in person.

“Are you sure?” Sammi has her face pressed against the window, looking at Jake’s house, a wistful expression on your face. “I’d love to watch this all go down.”

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