Page 18 of Pretend Girlfriend

“I don’t really have much time for hobbies. Except drinking!” I punctuated that with a laugh.

There were some awkward chuckles around the table. Danicka sniffed, then pulled out her phone and began scrolling Facebook.

On the other side of me, Landon cleared his throat and nudged me.

“I was just joking,” I said, thinking fast. “I’m actually… a marathoner.”

Danicka blinked and turned back to me. “Oh really?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty good. I was much faster in high school. I set a few state records. I mean, none that you would be able to check. They’ve all been broken by now. But I had them for a while. I just qualified for the Boston Marathon next April.”

“I’ve been trying to qualify for Boston for two years!” Marisa exclaimed. “I ran the Chicago Marathon last October and missed my qualifying time by five minutes.”

“She’s trying again this fall,” Clark said. “You two should go running together.”

“Oh yeah, totally,” I said with a big fake smile. Good thing I would never see these people again, or I would be worried about my fake hobby checking out.

“You guys see the Bears report?” Clark asked his two sons. “I’m telling you, this is the year.”

“You say that every year, Dad,” Landon replied.

“This time I mean it!”

Since the guys were all chatting, I turned toward the two women at my end of the table. “I heard you’re getting married next weekend. That’s exciting!”

Marisa let out a long sigh. “It’s exhausting. I’m just ready for it to be over. Even with a wedding planner, it’s so much work.”

“What style dress did you get?”

Marisa pulled out her phone and showed me the screen. “This is from the final fitting this morning.”

I put on another fake smile. It was the ugliest dress I had ever seen in my life. It was a chaotic mishmash of lace, silk, and frills. It looked like a prom dress from the 1970s had been spray painted white.

“It’s so pretty,” I said. “I love the frills around the arms.”

Marisa bounced happily in her chair. “I can’t wait to see Bradyn’s face when he sees me in it for the first time.”

“I can’t wait either,” Bradyn said, kissing her on the cheek.

“Where are you doing your honeymoon?” I asked.

“Jamaica. Everyone is going: the entire wedding party, plus other family and friends. It’ll be so nice spending time with everyone!”

“I love Jamaica! It’s like Hawaii, but a lot closer.”

“You’ve been?” Danicka asked, surprised.

“My boss took the entire office on a long weekend back in January. It was so relaxing.”

It wasn’t relaxing at all. The resort was cheap, and the food was mediocre. And my boss, Tim ‘The Steam Engine’ Sawyer, hired prostitutes for all the men who went on the trip. At least, that’s what we had heard.

I really needed to get this DefTec job.

“It was so relaxing,” I reiterated. “You’re all going to have so much fun. I love the idea of a group honeymoon trip.”

I was lying again. A group honeymoon sounded like literal hell to me. Who would want to spend their first week as a married couple surrounded by family?

“Let me tell you about the flowers…”

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