Page 32 of That Kind of Guy

“What?” I blanched. “That’s awful.” I remembered that her favorite pizza had dairy-free cheese on it, and now it made sense.

Miri sent me a chastising look. “Emmett, you need to remember things like this. You sound like you hardly know her.” She laughed. “Imagine that.”

Avery cocked her head at me, a little grin forming on her pretty mouth. “Yeah, Emmett, it’s like I’m a total stranger to you.”

I raised my eyebrows at her in challenge. Did she forget how easy it was to embarrass her? I did it earlier with that stupid surfing story, and I’d do it again. And I’d enjoy every second of it as she got embarrassed and tried to disappear into the floor.

“Quick,” Miri clapped her hands. “Let’s play a game.”

Our heads whipped towards her. “What game?” Avery and I asked in unison, both with a heavy dose of suspicion.

“The newlyweds game. It’s easy andso fun. I’ll ask you questions about each other, and you write down the answers.” She flagged down a server for some paper and a couple pens.

I had a bad feeling about this. We didn’t think there was going to be atest, for Christ’s sake.

Avery exhaled slowly out of her nose. “Sounds super fun.”

“Okay,” Miri said once Avery and I had the paper in front of us, wiggling her eyebrows. “Name each other’s birthday.”

Avery and I sat there in silence, staring at our papers.

“February…” I winced. “…fourteenth?”

She snorted. “That’s Valentine’s Day.”

“You’re supposed to write it down,” Miri reminded us.

“It can be both,” I said defensively. “People are born on Valentine’s day. And you don’t know my birthday. It’s January 27th.”

“I was just about to say that.”

“Right. And when is yours?”

Miri cleared her throat. “You don’t need to say it, you write it down, and I’ll read the answers.”

“September 12th.”

I pointed at her. “That was my second choice.”

We turned back to Miri and Scott, who were watching us with hesitation.

“Next question,” Avery demanded, her voice heavy with competition.

“This is just supposed to be a silly, fun game,” Miri said, laughing. “We don’t need to—”

“Next question, Miri,” I told her.

Her eyes widened a fraction. “Favorite movie.”

I narrowed my eyes at Avery, sizing her up. “Something with Audrey Hepburn. What’s that one where she goes to France?”

Her head whipped toward me, and she regarded me with suspicion. “Funny Face. How did you know that?”

I shrugged. “You kind of look like Audrey Hepburn, and I took a wild guess.”

Miri squealed and clapped, and a smug smile settled on my face. I gave Avery an arch look. “Too easy. What’s mine?”

Her mouth twisted briefly as she thought. “Top Gun.”

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