Page 43 of Acting Merry
Is reverse altitude sickness a thing?
I was up in the clouds a minute ago, but my feet have hit the ground, and I’m trying to figure out where I am.WhoI am.
Before the kiss, I was Reese, co-conspirator in a game of fake dating.
Now?
My heart is on its merry way to the dumpster fire in Cole’s backyard.
He, on the other hand, is making jokes and excited to put on the world’s most hideous sweater.
Heartbreaker indeed.
I know we had to sell the kiss. That’s not the problem.
The problem is that I’m the one who bought it. Hook,line, and sinker.
I force a laugh for Cole’s next joke even though I have no clue what he said.
“The timing of this thing between you two is too perfect,” Tess says, leading the way out of the bedroom.
I try to keep my voice casual as I follow her. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on,” she says. “You get Cole for Christmas?”
“Guess you were on the naughty list,” Dylan teases.
The way I reacted to that kiss, I definitelyfeela little bit naughty. It seems wrong to enjoy something fake as much as I enjoyed that.
But it’s not just the kiss. I like all of it.
I like being with Cole. I like playing off each other. I like the conversation we had last night before we fell asleep. I like the way he makes me feel normal—no, better than normal.
I just like…him.
But it’s all staged, just like Cole’s house before I bought it. And staged homes are meant to be sold, not lived in. They’re meant to be so appealing, you can’t help but want to make them yours. To settle in and get comfortable.
But the moment you actually start living life in that home, it gets messy. The illusion is ruined.
Cole and I don our punishment sweaters—mine comes down past my knees—and the group heads onto the back deck for a group photo. It’s absolutely frigid outside, and only Tyler’s forethought to salt the deckprevents the group from ending in a mass of hurting bodies.
We’ve done a photo like this every year since we started, but our group has doubled in size since last time.
Hannah gets the tripod, her phone, and the timer ready to go, while we all get situated.
Cole and I are on the end, and he puts his arm around my shoulders.
Feeling a flutter of nerves that annoys the crap out of me, I slip an arm around his waist.
Hannah scans the group and laughs. “Stop breathing so hard, everyone, or we’ll be nothing but a cloud. Okay, here we go! Hold your breath!” She taps the shutter button, then runs to take her place with Tyler.
I smile for the camera, and Cole wraps his other arm around me and leans his head against mine just before the shutter clicks.
I wait to see if Megan suggests taking at least one picture without Cole and Brady.
She doesn’t, though, and I won’t be the one to suggest it.
I have no clue how I’ll feel in five years when we look back on these pictures and see Brady and Cole in them. Maybe Megan and Brady will be married by then.
