Cole
The footage from the vineyard was crap. I knew it, and from the look on J.P.’s face, he knew it too. We’d finished one bottle of wine from our day trip and Kara promptly opened another one. The Lux’s highspeed wheels sent a constant low-intensity vibration through the train car. It would have been soothing if I weren’t so stressed.
“All right,” J.P. said, pushing his laptop away from him. “I’m going to just come right out and say it. What the hell was that?”
Kara shook her head. “That place was lame.”
“Not for anything, Kara, but we’re not paying you to decide if you like the place. We’re paying you to convince everyone else you do.”
Kara whipped her gaze to him. “Oh...We can be plenty convincing.”
“Yeah, that’s what this whole campaign is banking on. But so far, I’m not feeling the magic.” J.P frowned with an expression leaning more toward frustrated than confused. “Your archives are full of joy, this infectious jubilance that everyone can’t get enough of. Apparently, people are in love with your relationship. If you can’t bring that energy to this trip, we are all fucked.”
Kara poured herself a full glass and downed half of it in two swallows. I rubbed my temples.
“He’s right, you know,” I said, glancing at her. “We need to get our shit together.”
“My shit is together, Cole. You’re the one who’s changed.”
That shouldn’t have hurt as bad as it did, but the truth usually stabbed at the most tender places. “You’re drunk, Kara.”
“And you were high this morning and look...even that didn’t help.”
J.P. stood up. “Listen, both of you. I would love nothing more than to head on back to my suite and let you crash and burn in here alone. Your marriage problems should be your business...except, in this case, it’s actually my business too. So, you two need to be upfront with me about what needs fixing between you, so we can put a Band-Aid on it and get through this escapade with the Kara + Cole fabulosity we’re counting on.” He gestured to the seat next to me on the couch. “Kara, please have a seat and let’s have a real discussion here.”
Kara looked at me and I shrugged back at her, then patted the cushion. She huffed and sat down.
“So...Cole and I have been at odds over having a baby. He doesn’t want kids.”
I frowned at her. “I never said that.”
“Okay, excuse me. He doesn’t want kids with me.”
Now it was J.P.’s turn to frown at me. “That’s usually how it works, you know.”
I searched for another lie and just couldn’t bring myself to give one. “You want to know what’s going on? We’re not a real couple.”
“What do you mean?” J.P. asked.
“Cole—” Kara warned, but I was so far past the point of return now.
I held my hand out in front of her. “J.P. signed a non-disclosure agreement, same as we did. Anything I tell him stays here.” I turned to J.P. “Doesn’t it?”
“I need to know what’s going on here, but unless you are in breach of contract, no one else needs to know anything.”
I let out a hard breath. “Kara and I are best friends, but that’s all. We don’t even sleep together.”
“I figured there was something up in that area...I mean, I overheard you in the elevator the day we met.”
“Yeah, well, now you know. It’s not that I don’t want kids. I just don’t want to raise a family in a lie.”
“I see...and that’s understandable. But you’re not going to resolve that here on this train. We need to figure out how to help you both change the subject for the next two weeks. This is supposed to be a fun getaway, an experience to lose yourself in.” He eyed us both. “I say do it. Let go of your problems and get away from your issues.” J.P. tucked his lip between his teeth while he seemed to think through his next sentence. “If I’m getting this correct, you’re both basically single.”
I nodded. Saying it like that stung, but yeah, that’s exactly what we were, whether I wanted to be or not.
Kara threw herself back against the couch and groaned. “Everyone assumed we were a couple. We already did everything together, just not that. So...I figured what was the big deal. Sex is overrated anyway.”
“Wait—” J.P. said.
“What?” I finished. Did I just hear her right?
Kara rolled her eyes. “It’s totally overrated.”
“Oh, honey. I think you’ve been doing it wrong.” J.P.’s tone was only mildly amused.
Kara shrugged and took another hard swallow of Chardonnay. “I know exactly what to do...so what do I need somebody else for?”
I realized my mouth was hanging open in shock. “I always assumed...”
“What? That I made arrangements with other guys like you do? No. Dick makes me dumb. It’s not worth it.”
Was there a hint of jealousy in her voice? No, it couldn’t be. I dropped my gaze from her. “I haven’t done that in a long time.”
“Really?” she asked, sounding genuinely interested, more than I’d expected her to be.
I looked up at her. “It’s been almost six months.”
“Fuck...” J.P. said. “I’m not trying to oversimplify things here, but I strongly suspect both of you need to get laid, badly.”
“Maybe he does, but like I said. I do just fine alone.”
J.P. rolled up his sleeve, exposing the tattoo we’d spotted earlier. “Did you take a minute to look this up?” he asked.
“No. What is it? Some kind of secret symbol for Super Mario Brothers high scorers left over from 1992 or something?”
“This one’s got a mouth on her, huh?” J.P. said to me.