Page 85 of The Dating Game

I nod. I do know this.

“Right, well, because of that I was pretty nervous for my first date with Sydney, but then it went really well. Like really well. So much so that I asked her to go out again.” He coughs again, clearly uncomfortable. “We went salsa dancing. Got the idea from you and Brooke.” His eyes dart nervously to mine.

“Okay.” I nod, indicating I’m still listening. A strange sense of foreboding is settling over me.

“Anyway, as soon as we got there I panicked. I haven’t danced with a woman since Amy died. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was cheating on her. So instead of asking Sydney to dance we just sat awkwardly at the table. I was back to being nervous and not knowing how to act. My mind kind of short-circuited. I completely forgot about how Sydney knows Brooke. I just needed something to say to alleviate the awkwardness.” He drags in a breath. “Next thing I knew I was rambling about the last time I’d been at this club, and how I’d come with my brother-in-law to help scare off a woman who was only dating him as a bet. As you can guess, Sydney immediately figured out I was talking about you and Brooke.”

The sense of foreboding is now full on nausea. No. This can’t be happening. Sydney knows about Operation Dating Game? Is she going to tell Brooke? I have to find her and tell her first. Explain that I haven’t been playing that game—or any game for that matter—for some time now.

“I’m really sorry,” he rushes on. “But don’t worry, Sydney promised she’d give you a chance to talk to Brooke first. She was really sweet about it actually. About everything really. She’s just so amazing. But anyway,” he moves on hastily in response to my stony faced silence, “that’s not important right now. What is important is that I’m sorry. I mean, it shouldn’t be too big a deal though, right? Now she’ll definitely end things with you, which was the whole point right?” He looks imploringly at me, but I can’t speak. I’m too overcome with panic and fear and…love.

My limbs start to tremble as this last emotion hits me.Love. I love Brooke. I love her, and even if this is still just a bet for her I want to fight for her, to show her that the two of us— we fit.

Corbin is still talking, I don’t hear anything else he says. I have to find Brooke. Now. I turn to search the crowd once again.

“Corbin!” The frantic voice of Sydney as she comes running toward us makes my blood run cold. Instinctively I know what she’s going to say before she even opens her mouth.

“You told her,” I rasp. It’s not a question. It’s not even an accusation. It’s a death sentence.

My life is over.

“I’m so sorry!” she cries, but she’s not looking at me. Her eyes are on Corbin. I knew she was upset at me. And she has every right to be, since she believes that I’ve just been playing games with her friend, that I’m indifferent to Brooke. “Brooke and I have never been able to keep anything from each other, and I was so angry at Will. I mean here Brooke is continuing to date him after we called off the bet and the whole time he’s playing her! So then when she knew something was up I just burst! The truth spilled out before I could stop it.”

“Wait—you called off the bet?” For the first time I feel a spurt of hope.

Sydney finally looks at me. “Not that it’s any of your business,” she huffs, “but yes. The whole point of the bet was to get me to try dating again after the death of my husband. Once I started dating Corbin, Brooke had nothing to gain from dating you. Only something to lose.” She sniffs disapprovingly before clarifying, “That thing being her heart.”

“Where is she?” I demand.

“I don’t know. She took off running.” Sydney peers at me, scanning my anxious face. “Wait. Did I get this wrong? Do you like her for real?” Her hands fly to her mouth. “Oh my goodness. You do! You like her!”

I shake my head. “Wrong again, Sydney. I don’t just like Brooke. I love her.”

She gasps, but I don’t wait around to hear more. I take off running. I have to find Brooke. She could be anywhere in this zoo, but I’m hoping I know enough about the woman I love to know exactly which exhibit she’d go to.

But if I’m wrong it doesn’t matter because I’ll search the whole zoo to find her.

I just have one thing I need to grab first.

Chapter 32

Brooke

Forthesecondtimesince this thing with Will started, I find myself in a situation that lends itself to dehydration without my usual water bottle to save me. I just ran half a mile and now I’m crying—a known cause of headaches due to water loss.

I know this, and yet I can’t seem to stop the tears. It’s ironic, really, how just a few weeks ago I was weirdly jealous of Hannah for having a man in her life worth crying over. I can now attest that it’s nothing to be jealous about. Crying over a man is awful. It’s emotional pain which in some ways is worse than physical pain.

You can’t just pop a Tylenol or grab a bag of ice to alleviate emotional pain. Sure there’s chocolate, but I don’t have any of that. Anyway, chocolate could never fix this.

Another sob stacks through my body, and now I’m also lamenting the absence of tissues in my life. I’m seriously considering wiping my nose on the hem of my shirt—there’s no one but the otters to judge me anyway—when I hear my name uttered breathlessly from behind me.

“Brooke.”

I freeze, certain I must have hallucinated the sound. Can you have a purely auditory hallucination? I don’t know, but I think I just did. Maybe I really am on the brink of complete dehydration.

“Brooke.” There it is again, and…Oh! I look up to see Will standing in front of me, his breathing labored, a sheen of sweat on his forehead.

Did he decide to go for a run this morning then happen upon me? How lovely for him. Now he gets to enjoy his victory over me in this dating game we’ve been playing. Complete with me ugly crying all over the place.

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