The County Fair Queen

Chapter Twelve

THEY'RE NOT FOOD, THEY'RE FAMILY

The next day, Rivers and I spent the day at his home yet again. When I arrived, Brenda/Carole sat us down and told us there’d been an issue with the audio, and to my horror, she advised us we'd need to reshoot everything. The game of twenty questions. The non-kiss. All of it. For the second time that week, Rivers pretended to kiss me, and I pretended not to be devastated at the lack of physical contact. When it was done, the crew headed out, wanting to film a few scenes with Jordan and my father. I wasn't sure what the hell they wanted to capture, but their absence left me all alone with Rivers, so I didn't object.

We spent the afternoon cuddled up in front of the television. I couldn't explain why I stayed tangled up in his arms. The repetitive non-kiss had been like a sucker-punch to the heart, but try as I might, I couldn't tear myself away from him.