Page 25 of Ten Rules for Faking It
They stared at each other a beat, and Chris fought the urge to look away before his friend saw too much.
“Man. Why don’t you just ask her out?” Rob said, his smile shifting to something different. Something knowing.
Too late.“I’m not staying. You know that.”
Rob shook his head and picked up his beer again. “Not sure if you know this, but you can go out with a woman without marrying her or turning it into a long-term commitment. You like this chick. Take her out. Have some fun.”
Chris stalked to the cupboard and pulled out a bag of chips. “Everly isn’t a fun kind of girl.”
Rob snorted. “Then definitely don’t ask her out.”
Chris shot him a glare over his shoulder, then dumped the chips into a bowl. “Shut up. You know what I mean.”
“So, you have no problem with her dating a bunch of guys who have to find their dates online?”
The bowl almost bounced against the countertop when Chris set it in front of his friend. “Online is wheremostpeople meet their significant others. Why are you being a jackass about this?”
Rob picked up a handful of chips. “I’m not trying to be. But you like this girl. You’ve liked her since you got here. Seems stupid not to ask her out. Especially if you’re going to be jealous of her choices.”
Chris picked up his beer but didn’t drink. Nope. He just needed something to clench his fist around. “It’s going to boost the ratings.”What a freaking cop-out.
“Sure, man,” Rob said around a mouthful of chips. “That’s what matters here. Keep telling yourself that.”
I will. There are no other options.
[9]
“I genuinely want to know,” Stacey said into the mic. “What is the huge fascination with avocados? They’re mushy. I just don’t trust anything green, you know?”
Everly rolled her eyes and pressed the button that let her speak through the booths without interrupting the show. “Get people to interact. Ask them what they hate that other people love.”
Stacey gave her a thumbs-up. “This is why Everly is the Watson to my Sherlock. She wants to know what popular foods you dislike that other people rave about. Phone in, tweet us, or post a picture on Instagram and tag us.”
It had to be her voice, the infectious way she put life into everything she said. The phone started ringing immediately. Stacey winked at her through the booth window.
Everly hung up the phone, wrote down the caller’s name and request, and then turned up her mic to hear Stacey.
“I love that song. It’s one of my favorites. I saw them last year, and it was the best concert, hands down, that I’ve ever been to,” Stacey shared. Her eyes connected with Everly’s, making Everly’s stomach do a nervous jump. The routine didn’t settle her heart, because she knew what was coming. They were ready to launch the contest. They’d all been working overtimethis week to get things in place. When she was busy, she was able to put it out of her head, even if what she was busy with was organizing her own version ofThe Dating Game.
Here we go.She tilted her chin down, then up, in slow motion. A nearly imperceptible nod, but Stacey saw it. Understood it.
“Concerts make for a great date night. We’ve been thinking a lot about dating here at 96.2 SUN. Many of you heard my girl Everly’s dating woes last week. On her birthday, no less. What you might not know is, after she accidentally shared on-air, and after I convinced her not to kill me and hide the body for doing that to her, thousands of you called, emailed, and tweeted. She was blown away by your support. We all were. And it’s still coming in! Sometimes the best ideas come from the worst moments in your life.”
Everly rolled her eyes. She’d written out an introduction to the dating series, but as usual, Stacey was doing her own thing. She saw Chris outside the booth, their eyes locked, and her stomach did another strange tumble. Different from the last one but no less unnerving.
“We have some exciting news, and you guys are the reason—96.2 SUN is going to host its own version ofThe Bachelorettefeaturing my wonderful producer, Everly, andyou,our worthy listeners.”
Everly rubbed her palm against her jeans, up and down, applying pressure as Stacey continued to explain.
“Let’s be clear, folks—we’re looking for agoodman. Not some fairy-tale version of Prince Charming where he’s all perfect and dashing—though there’s nothing wrong with dashing. Am I right, Ev?” Stacey looked her way.
Everly arched her brows and frowned. Stacey knew the look and got back to it. “Right. As I was saying, a real-life prince for my girl is one who has a steady job, a sense of humor, isn’t hard on the eyes. Someone who is nice to their family and has a cool group of friends.”
She paused, looked at Everly. “Did I miss anything?”
Everly didn’t pipe in often, but she’d been known to now and again in an organized, scripted, and planned way. “Not that I can think of, Stace. Though all contestants will need to go through the screening process.”
“Right,” Stacey said as she jotted something down in front of her. “We’re taking your thoughts on Everly finding her happily ever after seriously.”
