Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
AUDREY
It had been two days since she had last seen Brianna, and Audrey couldn’t get Brianna out of her head, but she wasn’t sure what to do with that information.
She was almost positive they had been on a date, but almost positive was not certain.
It was not usual for Audrey to be so twisted over someone else, but this was Brianna Robinson.
She had never been calm about the woman, and it was as if all the flutters and nervousness from her teens had followed her full force into adulthood.
She was starting to feel almost embarrassed, if she let herself think about it for too long.
Unfortunately, her typical method of distraction was more work, and she was blessedly off on vacation for the next two weeks.
Even though the makeup brand she was running social media for was chronically online, she had done a whole bit a few days ago: everything she posted about during her time off was pre-scheduled, and no one should bother ‘the interns’ if they messed up a post while she was off.
There were no interns, of course, but the bit achieved the metrics she wanted, and Audrey was told by her bosses she should actually be offline for her vacation.
With nothing else to do, she had joined her parents in the living room for her mother’s annual marathon of Hallmark movies.
There was something calming about them. The plots may have been predictable, and the endings were expected, but it was relaxing to watch.
Audrey could tell exactly how each movie was going to go, and while she and her mom could rank and compare the different actors and plots, it was at least always guaranteed the story would have a happy ending.
In the middle of their third movie, Nathan joined them, plopping into the empty spot next to Audrey on the couch.
He reached into her giant bowl of popcorn and grabbed way too much for one handful.
“Gross. Knock much?” Audrey scoffed and moved the bowl away from him.
“Why do I need to knock when this is my house?”
“It’s Mom’s house, and you’re just a guest now.”
Their mother rolled her eyes. “Nice to see you, Nathan. I’m glad you can come by.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Nathan said sweetly, though he made a mean face at Audrey when their mother turned back to the movie.
“Ugh. Don’t you have something better to do than harass me on my day off? Maybe dinner with a special brunette…” Audrey trailed off when Nathan grabbed a pillow and whacked her with it.
“Enough. I’m trying to enjoy my movie,” their mother said, turning up the volume.
“Great. You’ve made Mom mad,” Nathan said and left the room, likely heading straight for the fridge.
Audrey followed him, still nosy about why he had shown up. Seeing him raid the full fridge for leftovers and containers, though, she realized she didn’t even need to ask.
As he rifled through the drawers for a reusable bag to take his leftovers in, Nathan turned back to Audrey.
“I didn’t feel like cooking today,” he said.
“I get it,” Audrey said, and she did. At least they agreed on something.
Once he had packed his bag, Nathan leaned against the counter, appraising his sister.
“When did you become friends with Brianna, by the way?” he asked.
Audrey couldn’t tell what he meant by the question.
It didn’t sound accusatory, but it also wasn’t friendly.
To be fair, the siblings had a relationship one could describe as cordial; yes, they got along, and there was no doubt they loved each other, but to say they were friendly enough to spend their free time together would be an exaggeration.
They weren’t the kind of siblings who hung out together, but there was no animosity between them, despite all the quipping they did at each other’s expense.
“We hung out a bit because of the driving lesson and realized we had a lot in common. We like the same books,” Audrey said, hoping it didn’t sound defensive.
“Since when do you like to read?” Nathan asked.
“I’m trying not to have my whole world revolve around my phone,” she responded.
“Wow, that’s surprisingly smart.”
“I am smart.” Audrey rolled her eyes.
“If you say so, champ.” Nathan ruffled her hair as he walked back to the living room. There, he gave their mother a kiss on the cheek and a hug. “Thanks for the food, Mom. See you for New Year’s Eve.”
“Oh, that’s right. Are you coming to celebrate with us?” their mother asked.
“Of course. Where else would I be?” Nathan responded.
“What about you, dear? Any plans?” Mom asked Audrey, who had now successfully smoothed down her hair and took up her spot on the couch.
“Not yet,” she responded.
“Yet? You planning on something?” Nathan asked.
“We’ll see. What’s it to you?” Audrey said. She turned back to their mother. “Let’s continue the movie?”
Mom nodded, and Nathan took that as his cue to leave.
Phew.
Audrey still wasn’t quite confident about what to do to progress her relationship, if it even was one, with Brianna, but she knew she couldn’t be the type of person who let things happen to her.
Her younger self would be kicking her right now for not even reaching out.
Was she really going to be the kind of person who squandered an opportunity for something because of fear?
Ew. That didn’t sound like Audrey at all.
She took out her phone and decided to say what she really meant.
Hey beautiful, what are you doing on new year’s eve?
Audrey was unbelievably nervous waiting for a reaction, and she may have stared at her phone for an unhealthy amount of time. A few minutes later, she could see Brianna begin to type back. She just hoped the librarian wouldn’t reject her compliment.
Hey cutie, nothing too hectic
Audrey was going to respond when she saw the typing continue, and she held her breath as the next message came through.
Want to come over and help me organize my books?
Audrey squealed, causing her mom to look at her incredulously.
“Wow, you really like this movie,” her mother said.
Audrey looked at the screen, where the lead actors of the movie were now kissing in that awkward, PG-13 way.
“Yes, the movie,” she said.