20. Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
Nick
“So … you’re going to Eliza’s this evening for their Thanksgiving?” Mom questions me as I carry an empty plate to the sink. I usually stuff myself, but this year, I could barely stomach most of the food.
I’m a freaking ball of nerves.
“Yeah, just to meet her parents,” I manage to mutter as I rinse my plate off.
“Ooh,” Mara joins in, holding her own plate in her hand. “That sounds serious. Are you two finally a thing?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“But you’re meeting her parents,” Mara reasons, giving me a funny look. “I mean, I know that some people take their friends home for the holidays, but—”
“We’re just good friends,” I emphasize, just as much for me as for Mara. “She wants me to meet her parents, and yeah, I’m gonna go.”
“Eventually—”
“Not today,” I stop my mom from going there. “I know you mean well, but just … Just not today.”
Mom gives me a sympathetic look that registers with Mara.
“Well, I think she’s crazy for not seeing how amazing you are,” my sister encourages, putting her hand on my shoulder. “You’re a catch.”
“Thanks,” I reply, reaching for my glass of sweet tea sitting on the counter.
“Well, you know what I think,” Mom begins, folding her arms across her chest. “I think that you should just tell Eliza how you feel about her. I don’t think hiding your feelings and just being okay with being friends does anyone any good.”
Mara’s plate clatters in the sink as her eyes bounce between the two of us. “You mean, she doesn’t know you have feelings for her? I think it’s pretty obvious…”
“It is from the outside,” Mom answers before I can say anything. “But you know how it is when you’re the one caught up in it. It can be hard to decipher. Besides, Eliza was in a long, bad relationship. She might be extra leery about making assumptions.”
Or just dating anyone in general .
The sigh that escapes my lips catches their attention, and they both turn to me. I shrug, my head still swimming with how to make the best impression at the dinner tonight. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship. Things can get weird after someone admits to feeling something beyond just friendship,” I finally say, my eyes dropping to my boots.
Mara nods, her face shifting to an expression I can’t read. “Well, I get what you’re saying, but don’t wait too long … Then you might be too late.”
“I don’t know. I’d rather only ever be friends than lose her entirely.”
But hopefully this fake relationship will help her see me in a new light.
“Aw.” Mom’s lips stick out in a pouty, sweet face. “You’re such a good man, Nick. I know I’m biased, but you’re still something special.”
“Okay, that’s enough.” I laugh, shaking my head. “I don’t wanna talk about it anymore. You two are too much.” I take a long sip of my sweet tea and eye the pumpkin pie sitting on the bar with the rest of the deserts. “I think I might have some pie before I go, though.”
“I’ll get you some.” Mom beams, sauntering off.
I’m left standing here with Mara, who suddenly clamps down on my arm and drags me to the living room.
“What the heck?” I snap, pulling my arm from her. “What’s wrong? ”
“ Listen .” She leans in, her voice low. “I know you’re going over there for Thanksgiving for something more than just friends. Why are you hiding it from us? I saw the pictures on the internet. Mom said they were just for fun, but I don’t believe you.”
I hesitate. “Well … the pictures were just for fun. But she needed some couple photos for her portfolio.”
She leans away, placing her hands on her thin hips. “Okay, but why’re you acting so nervous about going to the Willis Thanksgiving? You’re around them all the time, and if you’re really just friends, why would it matter about meeting her parents? Are you two sleeping—”
“ No, ” I cut her off before she can finish that thought. “There’s nothing like that going on. I’m just … I’m just…” My voice trails off as I hold my sister’s unenthused gaze, feeling guiltier than ever.
Jeez, I can’t lie to her.
I was originally hoping I could just skirt around the truth, but now that my sister’s right here in front of me, demanding for it, what am I supposed to do? I clench my jaw, wondering if she’d spill it to Mom, or if she’d keep it to herself.
“What is going on, Nick?” Mara presses. “If something about your relationship has to be a secret, it’s not a good relationship, trust me. ”
I nod, and then let out a heavy sigh. “Well…” I peer around her into the kitchen, relieved to see that Mom got distracted with my niece and nephew. “It’s … weird.”
Mara’s dark brows shoot up. “Oh? Do tell. ”
“I’m … I’m going to her Thanksgiving dinner to pretend to be her boyfriend—for her parents.”
Mara blinks a couple of times. “What? Why?”
“Because her mom apparently thought that we were a couple, and I guess they’ve been worried about her ever since her breakup. And yeah, I agreed to do it for her. She says that she’s going to tell them that we broke up afterward.” Saying it all out loud reminds me just how deceitful this whole idea sounds, but it is what it is.
Mara shakes her head. “You’re too nice.”
“I know … I just—”
“You gave in because you love her,” Mara finishes, her voice thick with disapproval. “What do you think will come from being a pushover?”
My eyes widen. “A pushover? Is that seriously what you think I am?” My tone stays at a near whisper, but the sharpness is there. “There’s more than one reason I’m doing this,” I add, my shoulders losing some of their tension.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
I’m silent for a few moments, not sure if I should actually admit my dreamy—and a little far reached—plan. “I … I was thinking that I might … If I’m a really good boyfriend…”
“Oh. My. Gosh,” she groans, facepalming herself. “You think that you can pretend your way right to her heart? Ugh. Nick, how old are you?”
I give her a questioning look. “Thirty-two? ”
She laughs. “Right, so you should know that your plan is terrible.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s a grown woman. But…” her voice trails off for a moment, and I can almost visibly see the wheels turning in her head. Mara’s blue eyes snap back up to mine. “If you want to give your plan a real shot, you’re gonna have to kiss her.”
“No, she made it clear that—”
“I don’t care what she said,” Mara cuts me off. “You said there’s real tension between the two of you, and I’ve seen those pictures. I bet in the moment, you could’ve kissed her. That’s what you have to do. You have to create a moment, kiss her, and then leave her to wonder.”
“Leave her to wonder?” I feel stupid for questioning the plan that my mastermind-of-a-sister is scheming right in the middle of my mom’s living room. “Don’t you think that’s a bit … much?”
She shakes her head. “No, I think that pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend just to keep her parents from worrying is too much. But , if you want to make it clear that you can be the guy, then you’re going to have to make her realize that she has feelings for you. You’re just going to give her the full experience of what it could be like—and you gotta kiss her. It’s the icing on the cake.”
I nod, but I still don’t know that I agree.
My mom’s voice keeps either of us from carrying the conversation forward. “You ready for pie? ”
Mara gives me a knowing look, and I just shrug, the two of us heading back for the kitchen.
Mom’s eyes bounce between us suspiciously. “What were you two doing in there? Planning some kind of world takeover?”
Mara giggles. “Kind of. You could call it Nick’s World Takeover.”
“I don’t think I even want to know,” Mom makes a funny face as she hands me the plate with a large slice of pie on it. To make it even more appealing, there’s a towering mound of whipped cream, too.
And it’s got my mouth watering.
“I think Nick should just take the bull by the horns,” Mara says as I stab my fork into the slice, not even bothering to take a seat. “He’s just too nice, sometimes.”
I shoot her a glare, and she shrugs, slipping past Mom and me and heading for the living room. Her husband’s voice and the kids’ laughter echoes through the house, and I can’t help but smile. No matter how annoying and scheming my sister is, it’s nice when she’s home.
“I don’t know what you two were doing, but I think you should be true to you ,” Mom says, her voice quiet. “Mara has always been the kind to take something by storm. You’ve been the kind that thinks it through. You don’t want to do anything rash—whatever it is you were talking about.”
“Well, maybe I am too hesitant,” I admit, thinking of the moment Eliza and I were taking those pictures. I wanted to kiss her with every fiber of my being. I also wanted to kiss her when we danced at the Pumpkin Festival .
Maybe I need to stop overthinking it so much. What’s the worst thing that could happen?
Ruining our friendship and never talking again.
I shudder at my own thought and brush it off. I’ll just have to play the evening by ear. I can be a great boyfriend—and prove that to Eliza—without pushing the physical boundaries. I’m a respectful guy.
“You look perplexed,” Mom says, taking a bite of pie. “And that’s never a good thing.”
“I’m just a little nervous about meeting Eliza’s parents,” I say, which is a partial truth. I am nervous about it.
She nods. “You should take some flowers for her mom—like in the old days. People don’t do things like that enough.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Don’t you think that’s kind of … trying too hard?”
She shakes her head. “I’ll tell you what I think, Nick.” She sets her fork down and I know it’s about to get serious. “There’re not enough people in the world who try at all. Simple, sweet gestures go a long way with people, and showing kindness is a good, honorable thing. Your generation seems to have no sense of that these days. Take the woman some flowers.”
I raise my brows but don’t argue at the unsolicited advice—which I’ve gotten a lot of this evening. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
I finish my pie, my mind roaming with thoughts of what it would be like to actually be with Eliza…
And the idea only makes me more determined to make this plan work.