“Call him?! I might have had an epiphany tonight, but I’m not ready to place my heart on the chopping block completely yet. I’m going to lay it on thick under the protection of our fake relationship and see how he responds first. I’ll hope privately in my heart.”
Lily looks horrified. “What does ‘lay it on thick’ mean?”
I gawk at her. “You know, flirting! Being sexy.” I shimmy my shoulders on sexy.
“I’m concerned that you don’t know how to do either of those based on the phrase you just used and the thing you just did with your shoulders.”
“Oh stop. It’s so sexy. Hey, Bob! Does Miriam ever lay it on thick?!” My new BFF will back me up.
He rolls down his window with a beaming smile. “Oh yeah! She never skimps on the mayo for my ham sandwiches.”
I grimace, and Lily gloats. Fine. My sensual phrases need some work.
Just before I stand to leave, I remember something. “Oh! Wait, I have something for you!” I tell Lily while digging in my purse.
“Is it a Breenket?! Please say it is. Nathan is starting to collect more than me and I want to squash him next time we compare.”
I pull out a tiny little Barbie. It’s wearing a—
“Pink robe!” Lily says with a huge smile as she runs her fingers over the tiny little plush garment.
“I saw it in the grocery store the other day when I got distracted on the knickknacks aisle, and I was missing you so much I had to buy it.”
Lily’s arms wrap around my shoulders and squeeze. “Thank you, I love it. And now I’m going to own your man.”
“Not my man yet.”
She laughs. “Bree, darling, he’s been your man for years.”
“Food fight? You actually did it?” Jamal asks, looking up from a sheet of paper I printed off with all of our line items on it. I’ve crossed out the things I’ve already tried. I put a check mark next to things that went well and an X by the ones that were a no-go. “How was it?”
I nod toward the sheet. “What do you think that X means?”
Derek slaps Jamal in the chest with the back of his hand. “Told you it wouldn’t work.”
“You have nothing to gloat about,” I say, sitting forward so I can see Derek. “Your wink tanked big time.”
Lawrence leans around Derek so he can snatch the paper out of Jamal’s hands. “Let me see this.” He runs his finger down the list, and I know what he’s hunting for. His face splits into a victorious smile when he finds it. “I knew randomly slow dancing would work. You can trust everything that happens in The Notebook to be romantic as shit. You guys need to listen to me more often.”
“I liked you better when you were the quiet, sullen one,” Jamal says to Lawrence, tapping his fingers on the armrest primly.
Price chimes in from my left. “Why? Because he’s stealing your thunder?”
Jamal narrows his eyes with a mocking smile. “Keep it up and I’ll come over there and smudge your toenail polish.”
“Definitely not a threat I ever expected to hear in my lifetime.”
I look down at my own feet, propped up on a folded towel so my black and silver toenails can dry. Yeah, we came to a nail salon today because after Bree painted our nails for the first playoff game and we won, we got pretty superstitious about it. As long as we continue winning, we’ll continue painting. I would have asked her to paint them again today, but I also needed to brainstorm with the guys. So here we are, just five big dudes destroying stereotypes, getting our toenails painted in our team’s colors, and enjoying the hell out of ourselves. Did you know they serve champagne at these places? I’m honestly hooked. I need to bring Bree back here.
Jamal somehow wrestles the list back from Lawrence. He wants to reclaim his thunder. “Okay, so judging by this list, it’s time to step up the physical touch a notch. You’ve held hands. Touched her arm while talking.” He’s ticking these off on his fingers. “Brushed a strand of hair back from her face. Rubbed her feet…yeah, I’d say it’s time to make out a little if she seems up for it.”
Item number 20. Yes, I have them memorized. And yes, I’ve been looking forward to this one more than the rest. Mainly I’ve just been hoping I’d make it to this one without Bree shutting down on me and having to abort the whole plan. So far, all signs have pointed toward: Yeah, she’s feeling it too. I’ve never been full of so much hope. Or dread for if this all goes well and I have to tell her I’ve been working from a cheat sheet this whole time. But we can cross that bridge when we get to it.
“How though? I can’t exactly make out with her on my couch at home and use the fake relationship excuse. And we don’t have any events coming up.”
“I’ll throw a party,” Derek says from his end. “After the game tomorrow. If we win, we’ll call it a victory party. If we lose, it’s a consolation. Parties are the perfect excuse to make out. Everyone’s always slipping off to a dark corner.”
I grimace, feeling sort of gross to be premeditating a make-out with Bree. “Actually, I don’t want to plan that one. If it happens naturally, it happens. I’m not going to force it.”