Page 65 of Play Along With Me
It's not a lie. During the game, I'd found my attention repeatedly drawn to Jake on the bench—his intensity, his complete absorption in what was happening on the ice.
"That's my boy," Robert says proudly. "Always studying, always preparing. Been that way since peewee league."
"Remember when he used to make us videotape his practices?" Patricia laughs. "Eight years old and already reviewing his technique!"
"Mom," Jake groans, but there's affection in it.
Our food arrives, momentarily halting the conversation. I stare down at my pasta, which looks delicious.
"So," Patricia continues once everyone has started eating, "tell me how your first date went. Jake's been so secretive about details!"
Jake nearly chokes on his steak. Clearly, we had not prepared enough fake backstory.
"It was..." he begins uncertainly.
"Disastrous," I supply with a grin. "Absolutely, spectacularly terrible."
Jake raises an eyebrow but doesn't contradict me.
"Do tell," Jessica says, suddenly much more interested in the conversation.
"Well," I continue, warming to my improvisation, "Jake had planned this very nice dinner at an upscale restaurant—"
"Deuxave," Jake interjects, apparently deciding to join the fiction. "On Commonwealth Avenue."
"Right," I nod, impressed with his quick thinking. "Very fancy. But I got caught in a downpour on the way there and arrived looking like I'd just competed in a wet t-shirt contest. Then I knocked over an entire bottle of red wine. All over Jake."
"It was a bold fashion choice," Jake adds. "White shirt, burgundy tie, burgundy... everything else."
"The waiter thought we were having a domestic dispute," I continue. "Especially after I tried to help clean up and somehow made it worse by knocking over the water glasses too."
"We got asked to leave," Jake says, shaking his head with a convincing mix of embarrassment and fondness. "Ended up getting hot dogs from a street vendor and eating them on a bench in the Public Garden."
"In the rain," I add. "While Jake wore my pink umbrella hat because it was the only dry thing I had with me."
"Umbrella hat?" Robert repeats, looking amused.
"It was a gag gift from Leila," I explain, marveling at how easily Jake and I are building this fictional date together. "Has little rainbow umbrellas that stick out from a headband. Very fashion-forward."
"It was actually the best first date I've ever had," Jake says, his eyes meeting mine with surprising warmth. "Once we stopped trying to make it perfect and just enjoyed each other's company."
For a brief, disorienting moment, I almost believe him—almost wish the ridiculous scenario we're describing had actually happened.
Patricia looks absolutely enchanted. "That's how you know it's right! When even disasters turn into adventures!"
Jessica, on the other hand, has gone very quiet, pushing pasta around her plate with studied focus.
"Jake never took me on adventures," she finally says, her tone light but with an unmistakable edge. "Everything was always very... planned. Predictable."
"People change," Jake says simply. "Sometimes it takes the right person to bring out different sides of you."
The look Jessica gives me is so nakedly envious that I nearly apologize on the spot for our entire charade. I know that look—I've worn it myself, watching Daniel with Janine on Instagram.
"I've been lucky," I say, feeling suddenly uncomfortable with the deception. "Jake's been very patient with my chaos field. Most people find it overwhelming."
"Chaos field?" Patricia asks.
"Audrey attracts unlikely events," Jake explains. "Like the time she—" He pauses, clearly realizing he doesn't actually know any real examples.
