Page 15 of Fake it 'Til Christmas
Honestly?I look forward to her pivots.
I might complain about her—often—but I also haven’t been bored around her in all these years.
I don’t say anything yet.
But she feels me.
Her spine straightens, fingers freezing mid-rant.She doesn’t look at me, but the shift in energy is unmistakable.She’s waiting for it.The gloating.The lecture.The I told you so, but I say nothing.
I lean against the railing of my deck, sip from my glass, and let her flail in peace.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she mutters eventually, not looking up.
“Do you?”I raise an eyebrow she can’t see.
“You’re going to say this is exactly what you warned me about.”
I shrug.“Nope.”
“No?”She peeks over, suspicious.“You’re not going to gloat?”
“I don’t need to.Chad did that all on his own.”
Her mouth twitches.She’s trying not to laugh, but she knows I’m right.
“He worechainmail, Soren.”
“I saw.”
“He called me his tavern wench.”
I nod solemnly.“That’s hard to recover from.”
She lets out a breathy half-laugh, half-sigh.“I really thought I was winning this time.I hadtherobe.The Napa fantasy.The whole weekend was plotted in my calendar as a vision board comes to life.”
“And instead?”I ask, though I already know the answer.
“He offered me a turkey leg, and since I refused, all I have is an emotional breakdown.”
“Sounds ...rustic.”
She groans and drops her head into her hands.“This is so humiliating.”
I lean a little farther over the railing.I could easily cross the space between us.It’s just a few feet.One step.But that would mean entering her territory—and I’ve seen what happens to people who do that uninvited.She’ll absorb me and make me one of hers.
“So, you gonna post about it?”I ask.
She pauses.“I could ...but it’d have to be cryptic.Maybe a blurry sunset photo with an emo song playing in the background.”
“Do people still use the word emo?”
She shakes her head.“Probably not.But I want to bring it back.Let’s make it retro.”
“You’re unraveling.”
“Let me focus,” she says, waving her phone like a wand.“This post might be the emotional collapse that launches my personal brand.”
“Bold strategy.”I sip my wine.“Want an ‘I told you so’ in the comments or just a passive-aggressive emoji?”
