Page 29 of I Knew He Was Trouble
I throw my arms into the air and cheer. All my friends shout with me and pull me into a group hug.
One of the farm employees walks over, letting out a low whistle. “It’s not often we see a bullseye.” He hands me a voucher for a free bag of apples or pumpkins of equal value. “Great job.”
I thank him, and we walk to the main store. We each select a pumpkin for our front porch steps and then head to check out. Thanks to my sharp slinging skills, we only have to pay for one pumpkin.
We stop at the grocery store to get the ingredients we don’t have for the cookies. Once we’re home, we stagger the pumpkins along our front porch steps.
“Hold on, I know just what we need.” Alyssa goes inside for a minute and comes back out with a pampas grass wreath. She replaces our usual eucalyptus wreath with the fall one, completing the whole look. After she joins us on the sidewalk, Alyssa gives her nod of approval. “It’s officially fall.”
“I don’t know about y’all, but I’m ready to bake and sing my heart out.” Shayna heads through our front door and waves for us to follow.
Once we’re all in the kitchen, I move our turntable from the living room to our kitchen table and gently place the vinyl first disc ofRed (Taylor’s Version)on it. Anyone who saysRedisn’t an autumn album is sorely mistaken. I carefully lower the tonearm onto the record, and Taylor’s beautiful voice fills our kitchen.
Alyssa holds a spatula like a microphone, mouthing the words to the first track while wiggling her hips. She tosses it to Mallory, who easily catches it and jumps right into lip-syncing the next verse, her muted pink cardigan swaying as she moves to the beat.
While they sing and dance around the kitchen, I preheat the oven. Shayna gets out the mixing bowls, all the measuring cups and spoons we need, and the handwritten version of the recipe we printed from Taylor’s Tumblr account years ago.
As our other friends continue to dance, Shayna and I fall into a rhythm of our own. She reads me the recipe ingredients while I measure and pour them into the bowl. Once the cookie dough comes together, I put it in the fridge to chill for an hour.
I move to the sink and clean the dishes we’ve accumulated. I’m washing the beaters for the hand mixer as the opening music of “I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor’s Version)” starts playing. The song takes on a whole new meaning when I think about how it correlates to my situation with Tyler.
I’ve known he was trouble since the first day I met him. Okay, if I’m being honest, my first impression might’ve been that he was one of the most attractive men I’d ever seen…but that quickly faded when he didn’t give me the time of day. Tyler equals trouble. Both words are synonymous in my mind, and I refuse to let anything he says let me think otherwise.
“I don’t like that look in your eye.” Shayna pulls the beaters from my hands and ushers me to the kitchen table.
“What look?” I take a seat, and everyone else sits in their usual spot.
“Like you’re thinking of all the creative ways you can hurt Tyler with a hand mixer.”
I tap my bottom lip. “I was thinking about how this song seems very fitting for him, but thanks for the idea.” Shayna’s eyes go wide, and I laugh. “I’m just messing with you, Shay.”
“Good, because I totally wouldn’t be able to lie to an officer if they asked me if I knew why you came at our neighbor with a hand mixer.”
Everyone laughs.
“Oh, I know. I’d never trust you with a secret like that. I know you’re too sweet to lie.” I motion to Mallory. “I’d totally call Mal.”
Mallory holds a hand to her chest. “I’m honored.”
“Okay, but what’s going on with you and Tyler? It can’t be that bad when you only see him for a minute when he gets home from work, right?”
“For the most part, yes.” I anxiously pick off my nail polish, knowing my friends are going to keep digging until they get answers.
“And for the other part?” Alyssa prods.
I sigh, knowing I should tell them about what happened at the dance studio, even if I’m not fully sure what went down yet. “When I accepted the nanny position, Tyler and I exchanged phone numbers just in case I ever had an emergency with Evie.”
Mallory shrugs. “That’s normal, like my emergency contacts for students at school.”
“Right. I never heard from him…until yesterday.”
My friends are quiet for a moment until realization dawns on Mallory’s face. “But you had your work event yesterday. Evie hung out in my classroom while I tutored until I dropped her off at dance class. She said he would leave work early to pick her up.”
Alyssa squeals like I’m about to tell them Tyler professed his love for me. “The suspense is killing me. What did he say?”
“He was hiding out in the bathroom at the dance studio because a bunch of the single moms were coming onto him.”
“Was he trying to make you jealous?” Shay leans forward on her elbows, clearly invested.
