13. Chapter 13
Sadie
“How do I look?” Alyssa asked, spinning in a circle.
“Perfect,” I said. Her long auburn hair fell in curls over her shoulders, and her makeup was perfect thanks to an online tutorial.
“Should I come chaperone?” Cole asked.
Alyssa smiled. “No way. I don’t need that reputation.”
He grinned. “You really do look great.”
She looked cautiously at me. “I’m going to meet him outside so we don’t have to have any awkward moments in here.”
I frowned. “Don’t you want me to take pictures?”
“Nope. Hunter said he’s going to buy them at the dance.”
I hugged her softly so I wouldn’t crush her dress. “Have fun.”
“I will. Don’t wait up.”
“Home by twelve,” I said.
“I know.” She did one last spin, then went out the door.
I hurried over and spied out the corner of the curtain. Hunter put a corsage around her wrist, and they got into a car.
“You’re a good sister,” Cole said.
My mouth turned down. “I try, but it’s not easy.” I stepped away from the window. “Should we load the moving truck?”
He nodded. “Might as well. Then we can leave first thing.”
We’d decided not to take most of our furniture because mine was worn and Cole didn’t have a lot that matched. I kept Grandma’s rocker. That was all I really cared about. Cole and Van had taken a load to Goodwill and another load to the dump earlier in the day. That meant sleeping bags tonight.
We never would have packed so fast without Van and Nayvee. They’d left a few hours ago as I didn’t want Nayvee to move heavy boxes, and Van had agreed.
By the time we had everything loaded, it was almost ten.
We stood in the middle of my empty apartment.
Cole glanced at me. “I would say let’s watch a movie, but no TV. Or couch.” His eyes narrowed. “You don’t have a ring.”
“Lots of people don’t get rings,” I said, not admitting how much I wanted one. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Believe me, to my mom it will be.”
“I doubt anything is open at this time.”
“We can stop on our drive tomorrow.”
“Rings usually need to be sized.”
“We’ll see what we can find. For tonight, you want to go somewhere? A movie? Dessert?”
I hadn’t been to a movie in over a year. Maybe two. “A movie might be fun,” I said, trying not to look too excited.
“Great, let’s go.”
When we got to the movie theater, the smell of popcorn made me smile. Cole paid for the tickets and got a big bucket of popcorn and a couple of drinks.
I was counting this as a date. Now, if anyone asked, I had something to tell them.
“I hope you eat fast,” I said, grabbing a handful of popcorn. “Popcorn and root beer are my go-to at the movies, and it’s been a long time.” I shoved way too much into my mouth.
He laughed. “Noted. Just try not to bite me when I’m grabbing some.”
“No promises.”
He grinned and took a handful.
“Somehow, the theater is the only place root beer tastes good. It must be the popcorn/root beer combination.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” He sipped his water. I wondered if being a trainer made him eat healthily, or if he just wanted water.
The lights were dim, but not dim enough to block Mack Donaldson when he walked in with a date. I sank down in the seat. Of course he would be here.
“Is that the guy from your data entry job?” Cole asked.
“Yeah. He’s impossible to avoid. I hope he doesn’t see me.”
I knew it was a desperate wish. His eyes locked on me almost immediately. Mack grabbed his date’s hand and practically pulled her up the steps to our aisle.
“Hey, Sadie,” he said, sitting next to me. “What’s new?”
I gave a tight smile. “Not much.” That was a lie.
“This is Allie. Allie, this is Sadie. We used to work together. And that’s her boyfriend,” he said, dismissing Cole. “What brings you here?”
“A movie,” I said, wondering what other answer I could give.
“Cool. Us as well.”
“No kidding,” Cole muttered, reclining his seat.
“I’ve missed you at work. We should hang out sometime.”
Was Mack serious?
“I’m moving. Tomorrow.”
He frowned. “That’s too bad.”
I reclined my chair to be the same as Cole’s. I pushed up the armrest and slid into Cole’s seat without asking. His arm went around me automatically, and I hoped Mack took a hint.
I rested my hand on Cole’s chest and told myself it was for Mack’s benefit.
I also told myself I was a dirty liar and wondered what Cole would think if I spent the entire movie like this.
We were reclined enough that I might choke if I attempted to eat popcorn.
I tried to decide what was better. Popcorn…
or the way Cole’s thumb was rubbing against my shoulder.
Cole
Wow, was I glad Mack had come to the same movie as we had. I’d been annoyed at first, but the movie was almost over, and Sadie had stayed glued to me the entire time. I knew it was for Mack, and I figured I owed him.
When we left, Sadie grabbed the almost full popcorn and took it with us.
“We better hurry,” she said. “Alyssa might be back.”
We got to her apartment and found it empty and quiet.
“Not having any furniture is annoying,” she said, walking to the kitchen and putting the popcorn on the counter. “You don’t have to stay and entertain me. I think I’ll pull out my sleeping bag and go to sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”
“True.” Man, I wanted to pull her into my arms. Ten years of a fake marriage might kill me. If I’d had time, I probably would have fallen for Sadie in a normal way. At least if I’d ever gotten around to asking her out.
I gave myself a month. That was generous.
I was already halfway there. By then I’d probably be ridiculously in love with her, and she would be tolerating me for the sake of her sister.
I thought of the kisses we shared. She’d more than tolerated me then.
Of course, that might have been her proving to me she could trick people… or she might have liked it.
She tilted her head. “What are you thinking?”
“If I’d asked you out. Back when we worked together. What would you have said?”
Her eyes didn’t leave mine. “No.”
I nodded. There I had it. It stung more than I’d expected.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t date until Alyssa graduated from college and got a job.”
That wasn’t as bad as it could be. “What if I’d asked you after she graduated and had a job?”
She took two steps toward me, then stopped. “I would have said yes.”
The air shifted.
She wanted me to kiss her. I could see it in her gaze… or maybe I just wanted her to want me to? I confused myself with that thought.
The door opened and Alyssa floated in. “You guys! It was so perfect!”
“Did he kiss you?” I asked, wishing she’d been five minutes slower.
She laughed. “Like I’d tell you.”
“He did,” I said. “I have sisters. I see the giddiness.”
“Giddiness?” she said, with a small giggle. “How old are you? A hundred?”
I laughed. “I’m glad you had fun. I’ll leave you two alone.”
“You two can kiss goodnight,” Alyssa said. “I won’t watch.”
Sadie glared at her sister, then at me, then gave me a small peck on the lips. “Good night, Cole.”
Why did my name sound so much better when she said it?
Sadie
As soon as Cole left, Alyssa smiled and clasped her hands together. “Hunter kissed me.” She squealed.
“And it was squeal-worthy?” I asked. I really didn’t want my sister kissing anyone, but I knew protesting would only make her push back. Alyssa and I had that in common.
“Maybe not, but do you know how long I’ve been waiting to get kissed? Now I don’t have to say I’ve never done it if anyone asks.”
“That’s a terrible reason to kiss someone.”
She raised one eyebrow. “I’ve heard worse.”
I wondered what that meant.
“He was so nervous,” she said. “I thought he might pass out or something, and then I might have to do CPR, and that would probably be a lot more involved than a small kiss.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re so weird.”
“And you’re related to me.”
We both laughed.
“We have a long drive tomorrow and should probably go to bed.”
“What did you and Cole do while I was gone?”
“Went to the movie. There’s leftover popcorn.”
She gave me a funny look. “Leftover popcorn? And you were there? Are you sick?”
I glared. “Not funny.”
We went into the kitchen, and she looked into the popcorn bag. “You hardly ate any. That’s not like you. Were you trying to impress him?”
My face felt a little warm, but I just shrugged. “We were busy cuddling. Don’t judge me.”
She giggled. “No one would. Cole is hot. Like, could be on a calendar hot.”
I gave her a look. “Stop checking out my fiancé.”
She grinned. “You marry that guy, and you better get used to it. Everyone’s going to check him out.”
My stomach dropped. She was probably right. I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of other people noticing him.
“Ready to sleep on the floor?” I asked.
“Yep. It’s kind of strange, knowing it’s the last time we’ll sleep here.”
“Are you going to miss the apartment?”
She scanned the room. “I don’t think so. Will you?”
“No. We do have some good memories here, though.”
Her mouth turned down. “And some bad ones.”
She wasn’t wrong. Sometimes the bad memories were loud enough to block out the happy ones.