Page 14 of Acting Merry
“Really good,” I admit. “Hannah’s mom is an amazing baker.”
Cole shuts his eyes like he’s imagining the treats in store. “Plus, Bree’s been asking questions about you in my DMs like she’s not sure she believes our story. If you throw in an Instagram post of us at the party, I’ll consider myself more than repaid.”
I stare at Cole, saying nothing for a minute. Am I really considering this? Is this what Laney meant by having fun and making poor choices? I kind of feel like it’s exactly what she meant.
“What if we just went for the evening?” I suggest. “Drove back home late that night?”
That feels a lot less crazy.
Cole shakes his head in disappointment. “You’re sucking all the fun out of it.”
“You say fun, I say risk.”
“Same thing. But fine. Your party, your call. Just tell me where I need to be. I’m all yours.”
My heart stutters.
Are we really doing this?
And why in the world is the answer in my mind a resoundingyes?
The next day at work,sanity catches up with me and tackles me mercilessly to the sanitized floor of the offices of Matt Harmon, D.D.S. Something about the familiar monotony of cleaning teeth highlights the lunacy of what Cole and I agreed to.
Does it still sound just a tiny little bit fun?
Sure, in the same way that sledding down the icy interstate on a baking sheet sounds fun.
When I get home, I lay on the floor of my bedroom, staring at my ceiling, trying to decide what to do. Do I go alone and suck it up? Four days with Brady and Megan isn’t that long.
Oh, gosh, it totally is. Four days is an eternity. Celebrity marriages have lasted less time than that.
Do I go with my plan of falling down the mountain, then? Sure, they’ll know I was too big of a pansy to showup alone, but isn’t that preferable to, you know,actuallyshowing up?
I grab my phone and pull up my text thread with Cole.
Reese
I know I’m giving you whiplash, but I don’t think we should go through with things tomorrow after all
Cole
Are you breaking up with me again? And over text? That’s cold, Reese.
PS I politely decline your breakup request. What time should I pick you up?
I let my phone drop to my side and shut my eyes. Why can’t he just go along with things like a normal human? He makes the plan sound so easy. So fun.
And part of me thinks it would be. I’ve spent less than an hour with Cole, but if I had to label that time with one word,funwould be it. Laney would absolutely approve. She’d be waggling her penciled eyebrows at me right now.
I let out a sigh and turn on my side, resting my weight on my elbow as I mindlessly scroll social media to delay responding to Cole. My feed is one long string of company Christmas parties, tree cutting expeditions, tropical vacations, and?—
My thumb stops my scroll, and I swipe back up.
My heart slips at the sight of Brady and Megan, their smiling cheeks pressed together as they hold containers of steaming cocoa.
It’s Brady’s post.
Not once in our time dating did he post any of the pictures we took. He and Megan have been dating even less time than we did, but apparently, they’re Instagram official now.
