“You’re definitely coming, right?”
Funny enough, Jill, I was planning to be literally anywhere else that weekend!
“I…” I trail off, sensing a rebuttal on her tongue. I can’t say no, and sheknowsit. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Yay!” Jill squeals. “I’ll add a plus-one to the invitation for your boyfriend.” She turns to Alex, going in for a hug. “What’s your name?”
Well, crap. Jill assuming Alex is my boyfriend was the whole point of kissing, but still, she really just called him that.
Alex blanches as Jill throws her arms around him, but it’s subtle enough that someone who doesn’t know him might miss it. Cordial as ever, he puts one awkward hand on her back and pats twice. “Alex Harrison. Nice to meet you.”
When Jill steps back, Alex turns to Jack and sticks out a hand. Jack eyes it like it’s going to bite him, but he shakes.
“Alex isn’t my boyfriend,” I correct, wincing, while I simultaneously consider that if I can’t even let this impromptu deception fly for longer than forty-five seconds, how am I supposed to be purposely deceptive toward Alex? “We’re just, um…”
We’re just coworkers you might see together on YouTube soon?
How did I not take that into consideration before I asked him to kiss me?! Now Jack and Jill are going to think I’m casually screwing my coworker. That is literally so cliché.
Maybe they’re not YouTube people. I’mprayingthey’re not YouTube people.
I catch Freddy’s eye, conveying aWhat now, Director?look of helplessness. He was so quick to jump in with a suggestion before, but now he just raises a single brow at me. He’s leaning on the bar top, clearly enraptured by these proceedings as they continue to unfold.
“No matter,” Jill says. “The plus-one is still yours if you want it.”
“Thank you,” I say, then try to curtsy before realizing I’m sitting down, and also this isn’tDownton Abbey.
Jill sighs, twisting back and forth. Her fluffy pink skirt twirls around her knees as she glances around. “Well, this was great, but I think we better go. No room at the inn!” She belts out a slightly deranged laugh.
“Oh, do you want my—” Alex starts to stand up.
“No, no!” Jill says, backing away. “You stay, we’ll go.”
Jack has yet to utter a word, but he couldn’t look more in love with his fiancée than he does when she says they’re going. Alex tries to sit back down, but he stumbles slightly, his butt missing the bar stool, and he nearly busts it seconds before he catches himself on the countertop. I do my best to ignore him, focusing on waving goodbye to my college ex-buddies. “Have a great time at the game on Sunday, and good luck with wedding planning!”
“Thanks! Good luck with… Um.” Jill gestures vaguely at Alex, who is engaged in an intense, nonverbal conversation with Freddy. “Everything.”
I shift forward again when they turn toward the door. My eyes flutter closed.
“Going,” Freddy says. “Go-iiiiing.” I count off one second. Two. Three. “Gone.”
My breath finally spills out, for the first time since they walked in, just as two shot glasses hit the counter with aclink.
“That was more stressful than a third-round interview,” Alex huffs.
I laugh. It starts off awkward, almost like a coping mechanism, but a few seconds later I’m really laughing, clutching my stomach, heaving breaths of air that aren’t nearly enough. I snort, covering my mouth with my hands. Then Alex is laughing, too, the sound deep and amused, and when I meet his eyes, there’s no regret in them. He shakes his head at me, and I think,Yeah, we’re friends now. Kissing for cover makes us friends now.
“I never even got their names.” Laugh lines crinkle the corners of his eyes.
“Jack and Jill.”
There’s a beat of silence. “You’re kidding.”
“I’m not.”
Freddy pours Patrón into our shot glasses, then dresses them up with salt and a lime wedge. “This one’s on me.” He sets them in front of us. “Because that was immaculate entertainment. I love my job.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
