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“Gross.”
“Even more gross than you sucking face with JAY?!”
She hit her with a pillow, causing some of the coffee in her mug to splash onto the rug as they fell into a fit of giggles.
“Consider a night out at the movies your extended education of Haverport,” she said when they settled into the couch. “Tickets on me.”
* * *
They stood in line at the cinema, purses stuffed with the snacks and candy they were sneaking in, waiting to buy tickets for Happy As a Clam. It was a new animation film that Rory was dying to see, and thankfully, Melanie didn’t make fun of her when she suggested it.
“So, are you going to be alone for Thanksgiving?” Melanie asked her.
She smiled at the thought of the holiday season around the corner. “No, believe it or not. Gabi always takes the day off.”
Even if she was pissed at her mother, Thanksgiving was the one day a year she knew she could look forward to. They never made a traditional meal—just rotisserie chicken, mac and cheese, and ready-to-eat biscuits from Post Road Market that they ate on the couch while binge-watching an entire show. Last year was the entire The Summer I Turned Pretty series. They hadn’t discussed this year’s show yet.
“Do your grandparents fly up?”
“Only for Christmas,” she answered. “Gabi really leans into the whole single-parent, have-to-do-this-on-my-own thing.”
“Sounds familiar,” Melanie quipped.
Rory groaned, thinking about how much their lives mirrored fiction, no matter how much she tried avoiding it. “It’s ’cause she’s embarrassed, I think. About whatever went down between them.”
About how Fred Barry broke her heart.
Or…she assumed so. She wondered what Fred Barry was doing for the holidays. Was he still living in Florida? Probably not, given how Gabi’s letter had bounced back. Did he have a new family, kids that he actually wanted? Or was he alone, just like them?
“Okay, don’t mean to startle you, but the king and queen are here,” Melanie whispered.
She whipped her head around right as Tyler and Zoe entered the cinema and approached the line. Tyler’s eyes fixed on her, and he frowned.
Good to see you too, bestie.
Zoe greeted them, putting on her best smile. But she could tell it was forced.
“What, um, what movie are you guys seeing?” Zoe asked.
“Happy As a Clam,” Melanie answered. “Rory loves her animation.”
Rory’s face flushed. “I mean, come on, think about the art that’s used in these films,” she blabbered. “It takes so much thought and patience and creativity to make something like that. How could you not love it?”
She only rambled like that when she was nervous, and right now, between the intense way Tyler was looking at her and Zoe’s anxious energy, her heart rate was spiking.
“I think that’s what we—” Tyler started.
“No, silly, we’re seeing J’adore,” Zoe interrupted him. “That new French rom-com?”
Tyler looked like it was news to him. But Zoe didn’t back down, staring straight at him, looking flustered.
“Two tickets to Happy As a Clam,” said the cashier. Melanie reached for the tickets, thanking him politely.
Instead of reacting, Rory shined her most dazzling smile in their direction, then took her ticket from Melanie’s hand. “Enjoy your rom-com.”
They walked away from the couple. She could feel Tyler’s eyes on her as they stopped at the concession stand to get sodas, but she didn’t give him the satisfaction of looking back.
* * *
