Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
SPENCER
W ith a sigh, I zipped up the fourth hoodie I’d tried on before I wrinkled my nose and ripped it off. I sank onto the edge of my bed, running a shaky hand through my hair.
My heart hammered against my ribs as sweat beaded on my brow as I considered what I faced.
During the weeks Eve had spent recovering from her broken ankle at my house, Louise had spent it dating. This time, it looked like we’d found a winner.
Theo Dubois had been a new entry on the roster of matches for Louise, and Eve and I had agreed that he could be a decent match for her. Much to our surprise, he and Louise had hit it off, going on several dates as their relationship grew.
I’d managed to escape the dating scene, pretending to have all those romantic nights with Eve every time Louise went out with Theo.
We’d made it look like we were having a wonderful time all the while we’d merely spent time playing Mystic Realms or watching movies–not the romantic kind.
But this twist, I hadn’t seen coming. I grabbed a fistful of hoodie and trudged into my closet to find another.
I stared at the rows of them hanging in front of me as a memory flashed through my mind of easy laughter with Eve. Today’s amusement park date wasn’t just another event to endure, but a precipice I was terrified to approach.
“Which one of you says, ‘Hey, I’m a super cool guy who is enjoying the amusement park’?”
“None of them,” I answered myself. “Because I’m not a super cool guy.”
With a sigh, I slid my eyes closed and smacked my palm against my forehead. Why had I let Louise talk me into a double date at an amusement park of all places?
I hated amusement parks. I hated everything about amusement parks.
I detested the rides, loathed the fixed games, despised the food, and abhorred the noise. And now I had to experience all of this with Louise at my side, monitoring my date with Eve.
The dates with Eve were nerve-wracking enough, but with Louise physically there, monitoring everything, it would be one thousand times worse.
My heart started to beat faster and my skin turned clammy. I wondered if I could feign illness and cancel. Eve could still go with Louise and Theo for a fun night out.
The suave, debonaire man with his perfectly trimmed facial hair and award-winning grin could probably win her one of those giant stuffed animals with one hand tied behind his well-muscled back.
I, on the other hand, would fail miserably at the task, and thus, expose how much of a loser I was to Eve.
Not that it mattered because we weren’t really dating.
Eve had mentioned it again during one of our fake dates. “Things seem to be going really well between Louise and Theo. Do you think he could be the one?”
“Uh, I’m not sure,” I said, a pang of sorrow piercing my heart as I realized if Theo and Louise were meant to be, Eve and I were over.
“Well, has she said anything to you? She seems pretty enamored with him when she talks to me.”
“Yeah, I’ve gotten the same impression. It seems like they’ve really hit it off. I guess time will tell.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Well, I hope he is. She deserves to be happy.”
I bobbed my head. “She does.”
“How do you think she’ll take it once our relationship ends?”
“I’m hoping she’s happy enough that she doesn’t notice.”
Her comment in that moment reminded me about our arrangement. Eve probably prayed this man was the one for Louise so that we could stop our sham of a relationship, and I couldn’t blame her.
I wondered if she was feeling the same way I was at this moment. Our date would be under a microscope, and Louise would probably have a conversation with each of us after it to encourage us to take things to a new level.
With every development, I wondered if Eve would finally spill the beans and tell Louise that we weren’t really dating. When would it finally become too much for her?
A knock startled me. I jumped, snapping my gaze to the doorway and finding Louise there. With a hand pressed against my chest, I blew out a sigh. “Louise, please stop doing that. Also, please stop coming into my closet without asking. I could be undressed, you know?”
“Spencer, stop worrying about ridiculous things and worry about the important ones.” She sauntered across the room and pulled the hoodie from my hands before she chose another and shoved it toward me. “Are you excited about tonight?”
“Thrilled,” I said, sarcasm thick in my voice as I tugged on the new hoodie and zipped it.
“Oh, Spencer,” she said with a wave of her hand at me, “try a little, huh? It’ll be fun. I can’t wait to double with you two. It’ll be just like what’s going to happen for the rest of our lives. It’ll be you and Eve, me and Theo.”
I forced a smile onto my face as I nodded.
“And we’ll hang out all the time. We’ll go to dinner together. We’ll both be so happy!” She raised her fists in the air as she squealed.
“So, you think Theo is the one, huh?”
“I think he just might be, darlin’. And I know you think the same about Eve.”
“Welllll…” I said, hesitance in my voice.
Her eyebrows shot up, her eyes going wide. Confusion and disbelief danced inside of them as her lips formed an O. “What? What happened? Oh, my word. Spencer! What happened?”
“Nothing happened,” I answered. “I just…”
Her mouth never closed, and she fanned herself. “Spencer Whitaker, you told me things were going well. Now, what happened? Did you have fight? Did you disagree about something? You said you kissed her and that went well, right?”
I stopped myself from wincing when she brought up the white lie I’d told. After one of our movie nights, I’d told Louise that we’d kissed and just as she’d said, it was pleasant and not at all the big deal I’d made it.
In reality, we hadn’t kissed at all, and I still panicked about it happening. I’d raced to speak with Eve the following morning before Louise could, informing her of the lie. She agreed to play along again. So, as far as Louise was concerned, we’d already shared a kiss.
A hand smacked my chest. “Spencer, snap out of it. What happened?”
“Nothing,” I said with a shake of my head. “Nothing happened. I just…”
“Are having second thoughts? What?”
“No. I’m…maybe Eve is having second thoughts.”
Louise shook her head. “I don’t get that impression.”
“Well,” I said with a shrug, “what if she was? I mean, for that matter, what if I was? Would it be that big of a deal if we didn’t work out?”
The sheer look of panic and shock on my current wife’s features suggested it would be. The shrieking “yes” that came from her lips a second later confirmed it. “Spencer, as I live and breathe, you are just determined to kill me.”
“I’m not, Lou. I just…I’m happy things are working out with you and Theo, and I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a big deal if you found happiness and I didn’t.”
Her features pinched, and her nostrils flared. “You know the answer to that question. And if you are going to break poor Eve’s heart–”
“I’m not,” I said confidently. I couldn’t break someone’s heart who didn’t love me.”
“Then what is all this nonsense talk about things not working out?”
“You know me, Lou,” I said with a shrug, “I’m always preparing for the worst.”
“Well, you don’t need to do that here. You and Eve are perfect for each other. Now, are you ready?”
“I guess I can’t escape it. You know, I don’t like amusement parks. Like at all.”
She rolled her eyes as she slipped her hand into mine and dragged me along. “Come on, Spence, it’ll be fine.”
We met Eve in the foyer. With her hair tugged into a ponytail, she looked beautiful and ready to enjoy the park.
That only made me more nervous. Visions of vomiting all over her when Louise forced me to ride a rollercoaster with her danced in my mind.
My stomach twisted into a knot as I once again entertained the idea of feigning illness.
A horn sounded outside, and Louise bounced with excitement on her designer wedges. “That’s Theo. Let’s go!”
We piled into his luxury SUV with me in the passenger seat and the ladies in the back to make the short drive to the park. After paying admission for myself and Eve, we strolled down the cobblestone path meandering into the heart of the park.
It was a riot of sounds and colors, an assault on the senses that mirrored the chaos brewing within me. Laughter, the click of games, and the sweet smell of caramel popcorn filled the air. But all of it tightened the knot in my stomach.
As we approached the teacups, the whir of gears and the squeals of delight made my heart race in anticipation and dread.
“Teacups!” Louise exclaimed as she and Theo strolled along hand in hand. “Let’s go!”
“Nah,” I answered. “The line’s too long.”
“It’s not! We’ll be on the next ride,” Louise argued as she grabbed a fistful of my hoodie and tugged me along.
Eve hurried to hop into the line with us. Louise cocked her head, her eyebrows furrowing as she stared down at our unclasped hands before she raised her eyes to mine.
I cleared my throat as the ride slowed, trying to ignore her attention as Theo wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back into him.
They seemed to be a good fit, enjoying each other’s company easily unlike me with practically any other person in the world.
I glanced at Eve who smiled up at me as we waited in the line before she scanned the rest of the park, watching other guests wander by on their way to more rides or eating ice cream and funnel cake.
“Spencer,” Louise hissed as she leaned closer to me. “Take her hand.”
“Huh?”
“Hold her hand,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Oh, uh, well, she’s…okay.”
The smack on my chest made me wince. I really didn’t want to slip my sweaty palm into Eve’s. I doubted she’d want to feel my clammy hand around hers, and I wouldn’t recover until after this stupid ride was over.
But given the glare that Louise gave me, I quickly and discreetly wiped my palm against my jeans before I gently wrapped my hand around hers.
She twisted toward me, her features pinched as she glanced at our now-clasped hands before she raised her gaze to me and offered a soft smile.
It meant the world to me that she didn’t pull away, but I knew that was likely because Louise was inches away from us, now babbling on about getting cotton candy the moment we were done riding.
“I’m going to win you a giant teddy bear, sweetheart,” Theo said, his arm tightly around her shoulders as he kissed her cheek.
“You’d better,” she said with a giggle before she kissed him.
I shifted my weight from side to side as the outpouring of affection continued. While I was glad Louise had found happiness, I knew she’d soon expect me to exhibit this same behavior toward Eve, and I worried that Eve wouldn’t take very well to it.
With Louise and Theo distracted by each other, I leaned closer to Eve, lifting our clasped hands. “Sorry, Lou insisted,” I whispered.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind. She seems happy.”
I nodded as I glanced at them sharing another smooch. “Yeah, and–”
Before I could finish, the attendant waved us forward. Louise clapped with excitement as she told us we’d all ride together.
“Cup four,” he said unenthusiastically.
Louise hurried over to the pink and blue teacup and climbed inside. I allowed Eve to head in next, and she slid around to sit next to Louise. After an awkward dance between Theo and me over who would go next, I finally gave in and climbed into the teacup, squeezing close to Eve–way too close.
We were so close, I had to slide my arm around her to fit comfortably. She shifted closer to me, our sides pressed together. It didn’t feel uncomfortable being this close with her, but the constant worry that I’d throw up on her kept me tense and stiff.
The gate on our cup swung shut, locking in place and twisting my stomach into a tight knot.
Eve placed her hands on the grab bar in the center before she glanced up at me. “Are you okay?”
“Uh…”
Before I could finish my answer, the ride jerked into motion. My head spun as we started a slow rotation.
“Spencer?” Eve’s voice called as air whipped past me as we slid backward.
“I’m sorry, I don’t like rides much.”
“Oh,” she said, the concern in her voice obvious as the ride reversed, and we glided forward. “Just…focus on one spot. Here, hold my hand. It’ll be okay.”
She reached out to grip my hand as I clung to her shoulder with my other one. I stared down at her fingers, wrapped tightly around mine.
My stomach flopped as we whirled backward again, my hood blowing over my shoulder from the movement.
“You okay?” she asked as we continued to swirl around faster and faster.
I bobbed my head, terrified to open my mouth.
“It’s okay,” she soothed. “It’ll only last a few minutes at most.”
I leaned closer to her, surprised that–outside of my jumpy stomach from the whirling motion–I wasn’t feeling sick.
The ride continued, and I relaxed a little, not enjoying the quivers each change of direction gave me, but not hating it entirely. Finally, it began to slow down, and we skittered to a stop, the doors releasing.
Louise giggled. “Oh, that was so much fun! Let’s go to the next one.”
As the pressure on my side released when Theo and Louise left the car, I twisted to find Eve’s dark eyes, filled with concern, studying me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Surprisingly, yes. It wasn’t that bad.”
She smiled as I slid from the car on wobbly knees, grateful that I hadn’t vomited on Eve. I helped her from the teacup, and we trailed behind Louise and Theo.
“You know, we don’t have to ride any more rides,” she said. “I’ll tell Louise I don’t like them.”
I glanced down at her, my forehead creasing. Sweet Eve was willing to take the heat for me. “Umm, it’s okay. I’ll try a few more. That one wasn’t as bad as I expected. I think the anticipation was the worst part.”
“Well, anything you don’t want to ride, just squeeze my hand, and I’ll make an excuse.”
I really hated being such a wimp. I vowed to do my best to stomach every one of them, so she didn’t have to make excuses for me.
Thankfully, the next one was a tame boat ride through a haunted mansion. Louise and Theo scrambled into the front seats of the boat, their arms wrapped around each other as they settled in and shared a kiss.
Eve and I took the back seat, squashed together again. As Louise and Theo continued their smooching, I cleared my throat again, pretending to study the vampires at the dining table.
We made it through the ride, and continued on to several others before Theo insisted he win that massive stuffed teddy bear for Louise.
I stood by as he handed his money over and the attendant passed him three balls. He nailed every shot before he proudly held the giant pink bear out toward Louise.
“Aw, my hero,” she said, grabbing the oversized thing before she planted another kiss on his lips.
“Spencer, don’t you want to win one for Eve?”
“Please,” Eve said quickly, “that’s bigger than my apartment. Let’s just grab some funnel cake instead.”
“No, wait,” I said with a shake of my head as the sudden urge to showcase my skills came over me. “I want to try.”
I dug into my pocket for my wallet and passed over my bills. I wasn’t very good at sports, but this wasn’t anything more than a video game in real life. I could do it.
I lined up my first shot, a moment of doubt snaking across my mind. With a deep breath, I tossed the first ball and nailed the target.
With a grin, born of the shock that I’d do it, I tried the second and hit it too. I moved on to the third one, my chest tightening as I figured I’d blow it all on this, but miraculously, my aim held out. I knocked down all of the milk jugs.
“Winner!” the man declared. “Which color do you want?”
Eve clapped her hands as she hopped. “Yay! You nailed that!”
“I did!” I said, excitement still coursing through me as I picked her up and whirled her around, suddenly feeling awkward as our faces came within inches of each other.
I stepped back, pretending to eye the bears. “Uh, which color?”
“Brown,” she answered. “Traditional.”
The man fished one of the large bears down from where it hung and passed it to Eve. “Thank you,” she said with a grin. “I love it.”
I beamed at her, brimming with pride at having won it for her.
We spent the rest of the night eating, riding, and enjoying each other’s company. As we walked through the park under the moonlight, we stopped at a cotton candy stall to buy a few bags before we left.
As we waited in line, Louise smacked my hand. “Spencer,” she hissed, “kiss her.”
I screwed up my face at the suggestion, surprised she’d brought it up.
“Go on. You haven’t kissed her all day. Kiss her. Show her you’re trying.”
I swallowed hard as I glanced at Eve who fiddled with the bowtie on her new bear. I felt awkward. I’d lied about that fact that we’d kissed before. What seemed like a simple request from Louise was actually sending panic swirling through every fiber of my being.
I shifted my gaze to Louise who gave me an encouraging nod.
I turned back to Eve, licking my lips. “Hey, uh,” I whispered as I leaned closer to her, “Louise wants me to kiss you.”
“Oh,” she said, her voice sounding surprised, “uh, well…”
Eve shifted her gaze to Louise who pretended not to look at us. “Doesn’t look like she’s going to let us off the hook.”
I shook my head, wrinkling my nose. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she answered. “It will be fine.”
I felt even more awkward after having talked about it. I would have been better off just kissing her out of the blue and risking a slap than this.
She leaned closer, rising to her tiptoes, and I pressed my lips against hers. To my surprise, a mix of emotions washed through me. When I pulled back, they still coursed through me.
My heart soared as I stared down at Eve, unable to take my eyes off her. I’d just experienced the most pleasant kiss I’d ever had in my life. The only downside was that Eve wasn’t mine to keep.