She stops writing whatever she’s adding to her checklist. She glances up at me, and her gaze narrows the way it always does when she looks at me.
I smirk.
I've got her. Now she has to tell me. Not that I really want to know that badly. But the fact that she's trying to get out of it does actually make me want to know more.
“If you must know, it is notifications from an app.”
“What app?”
“A social app.”
“Like your Instagram or Facebook? Do you have a huge following that I'm unaware of?”
“Do you follow me on Instagram or Facebook?”
“No.”
“Okay, then sure.”
“So, it is a social media app.”
She groans loudly and flops back on the couch, letting her notebook drop to her lap.
“No, okay, it's not a social media app, but quit asking questions. These are things you don't need to know.”
“I don't know. Friends sure seem to know a lot about each other.”
I swear, if looks could kill, I'd be dead on this couch in a heartbeat.
“It's a dating app.”
Normally, I would chuckle, but something about this is unsettling. I've heard and read too many horror stories about women on dating apps. Add in the number of documentaries on TV these days and dating apps should be banned, or require intense background checks. Not to mention that I caught her crying the other day. Seems like a friend would be concerned and ask more.
“Why are you on a dating app? To date? Have you ever been in a relationship?”
“Oh my gosh, you're just going to jump right in with questions about relationships, are you?”
If Brooke was dating anyone, this town would know about it.Which means she’s kept whatever she’s up to on the down-low, and that’s sketchy as fuck.
I’m not a fan of secrets, as anyone who actually knows me would know, but also, what if she dates someone and no one knows about it and she disappears?
“Well, we are supposed to be getting to know each other, and apparently, we're doing it by a fucking checklist instead of actually going out and interacting in the everyday world. Which I feel would be the best and surest way to get to know one another. And it would let the town see us together—you know, for my sake.”
“Oh, so you think we should just jump right out in public together. What are we going to tell them, huh? What is your excuse when people ask,oh, what are you two doing together?Are you going to make up some crazy lie, or are you just going to be like,we're hanging outand make it sound believable?”
“I could make it sound believable.”
“Could you?”
“Yes, and you shouldn't be on a dating app, Brooke.”
“Okay, so you're a conversation bouncer. That’s something new for me to know.”
“What the hell is a conversation bouncer?”
“You, it seems.”
And like before, we find ourselves in a stare-off.
