Page 30 of Daydream

She rolls her eyes, but I sense her begin to relax. She lets go of the death grip she’s had on her legs and removes her chin from her knees, letting her legs cross in front of her. I slide a little closer as she pulls out her phone, tilting it so I can see her open a notes app. I fight the urge to point out that she hasn’t changed her phone background from the picture of me in the bookstore. I watch her type “RULE BOOK” in bold letters along the top. “Okay, what do I need to write down?”

“Nothing. We don’t need a rule book.”

“Of course we do. Number one: you have to be honest with me if you’re too busy. Hockey and school are more important than inspiration for my silly book.”

I take the phone from her hands and huff. “New number one: we have to be honest with each other about how busy we are, and you have to stop belittling things that are important to you by callingthem silly.” She reaches to take the phone out of my hand but I move it out of the way. “And number two: you have to stop being embarrassed around me. You won’t be able to tell me what you need for inspiration if you’re embarrassed about everything. I’ve seen four of my friends naked since you, by the way.”

This time she snatches the phone out of my hand, typing frantically. “Number two continued: we are not allowed to talk about the fact you’ve seen me naked ever again.” I try to take the phone back but she holds it in the air out of my reach. “Number three: if you want to date someone and our arrangement is uncomfortable for them—we can end it straightaway. I don’t want to ruin your chances with someone.”

“Delete number three,” I say before she’s even finished typing. “People who don’t understand our friendship don’t get to stick around. I have the same rule for people who have an issue with my other friends, so you can’t argue.”

“New number three: since this is for my benefit, I pay for everything,” she says, squeaking when I snatch the phone from her hands.

“Delete,” I grumble, tapping at the delete key aggressively. Halle moves onto her knees, leaning across, mumbling my name in a disgruntled fashion. My arms are longer than hers so all her attempts fail. “New new number three,” I say as she admits defeat and sits back on her legs. “Finance is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. I’m paying for our dates and other stuff, but if one of your experiences is that you want to go to Bora Bora on a private jet you can pay for that.”

“What if we fly coach?” A grin spreads across her face and I know she’s kidding.

“I can fly you coach to anywhere in the surrounding states.”

She laughs and it’s a sound I’ve grown to really like. “If you whisk me away to Reno, I may simply fall in love.”

“There’s rule number four,” I say, adding the number to our rule book. “You can’t fall in love with me. You’re going to want to. Anastasia tells me I’m very lovable, and the more time you spend with me the harder it’ll be.”

Now she’s really laughing, and I feel so relieved that I’ve managed to improve the sour mood she was in when I arrived. “I couldn’t fall in love with my actual boyfriend so I’m pretty sure I’m incapable of it anyway.”

“Yes, but he’s a dick. I’m not.” She pins me with a look that I can’t decipher. She looks both annoyed and amused. As bad as Will Ellington is, I bet it’s hard for him to know she never loved him. “Like I said, very lovable.”

“Okay, Mr. Very Lovable,” she sighs, gently taking the phone out of my hand. She maneuvers onto her butt, her body pressed up against mine as we sit side by side. I watch her fingers as she types number five. “Our final rule: Henry must break Halle’s heart if she falls in love with him. Hey, it’ll even double as a new experience! Give me plenty to write about.”

“You sound unusually happy at the prospect of heartbreak.”

“And you sound unusually confident that you’re going to be able to melt my ice cold heart,” she says, locking her cell phone now that our rule book is complete.

“There isn’t anything about you that isn’t warm, Halle.”

She doesn’t say anything at first. She just watches me, her face ten inches from mine and her body still pressed against my arm, taking slow and steady breaths.

“You know what isn’t warm anymore?” she says, quickly standing from the couch. “Our food. I’m going to go and heat it up for us.”

And with that, she disappears into the kitchen, takeout bag in hand, leaving me to wonder what exactly it was about Will that she couldn’t love.

Chapter TenHALLE

IT TAKES ONEGOOGLE SEARCHto confirm with certainty that misogyny is alive and well in the world.

My first date—experiment? Experience?—with Henry will be starting any minute, and it suddenly occurred to me as I waited in my living room, possibly looking like Miss Honey, that I don’t have any idea how to go on a date.

After Henry and I confirmed today would be the first day of our—partnership? Scheming? Shenanigans? Whatever we’re doing—I made the choice not to tell anyone. I do honestly feel like that’s the right decision, but it’s forced me to consult the internet for advice rather than a person like Cami or Aurora. So when I typed “how to not mess up a first date,” links to articles by self-declared alpha bros wanting to share their “wisdom” were the first to appear.

Thankfully, I don’t have concerns about being a “low-value woman,” so I was able to swiftly move on to slightly less toxic results. I’m reading an article about how to keep the conversation flowing when Henry texts me that he’s on his way.

His looming arrival is enough to make me panic more than the alpha bros ever could, and I’m suddenly reevaluating all my choices.

HENRY TURNER

Ten-minute warning. Leaving my house now.

Not too late if you want to change your mind about this!

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