Page 81 of Better Than the Movies
This was very, very wrong.
Because (A) Wes was the wrong guy, (B) my mother had warned me about falling for guys like him, and (C) he had no interest in me at all, hence theThere’s really nothing here for mecomment the night before. What on earth was I doing with my emotions?
“Oh my God, you beat me.”
“What?” I looked around, unsure of what he was talking about.
He swallowed and grabbed a napkin. “You finished your food already.”
He was right. I looked from my plate—completely clean save for some small grease puddles, ketchup smears, and tiny grains of salt—to his, which still held three bites of burger and a small grouping of fries. “So?”
“So holy shit, you eat fast.”
“Or holy shit,youeat like an octogenarian.”
That made his eyes squint. “Want the rest of my fries?”
I looked at the greasy, hand-cut fries. “You’re not going to eat them?”
He shoved the plastic bowl of fries toward me. “This little old man is full.”
I grabbed four fries and dunked them into his ketchup. “Well, then, thank you, grandpa.”
As I wolfed down those fries, it was impossible for me to ignorethe fact that I was in no hurry for dinner to end. I’d been having fun with Wes. I’d been smiling the entire time (when I wasn’t rolling my eyes)—and even knowing Michael was waiting, I wasn’t ready to go.
But it was just because things were so easy between us—thatwas what had confused me. Our friendship was so comfortable that it muddied the waters.
Boom.
It made me think ofWhen Harry Met Sally. Minus the ending-up-together part.
“Do you think men and women can be friends, Bennett?”
He picked up his water. “Sure. I mean,weare, aren’t we?”
“I guess we kind of are.” I was playing it cool—he had no idea what his friendship over the past week meant to me. I hadn’t realized it either, to be honest, but the fact that we’d had some seriously incredible conversations that centered on my mother made it different from every other relationship in my life.
“Weird, right?” He took a drink, his eyes never leaving me as he swallowed. “You never thought that shit would happen, did you?”
“For sure no.” I swallowed the bite of fries and reached for more. “But a lot of people say it doesn’t work. That—”
“Is this the Harry-Sally thing?”
“How doyouknow about that?”
“My mom loves that movie. I’ve seen it a few times.”
“Afewtimes? See? Iknewyou liked rom-coms!”
“Oh, for the love of God, no.” He shook his head like I wasridiculous. “I just like Billy Crystal. If he can be Mike Wazowski, he can be anybody. It’s a funny movie and that is all.”
“And you don’t think he’s right? The fact that they get together in the end pretty much proves his theory, yeah?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” He did a little shrug thing that made me notice his shoulders.Damn you, Helena.He said, “I think he has some valid points, but it’s irrelevant for us.”
“It is?”
“Sure.” He scratched his cheek and said super matter-of-factly, “We’re the exception because I’m not your friend—I’m your little love fairy godfather.”
