Page 29 of Cinnamon Roll Set Up

But as her face twists, I figure it out. I wanted conflict, right? I think I just got it. The knot in my gut isn’t very satisfying, though.

“I’ll have you know, Mr. Pickles has averypopular Instagram account.” She sits up straighter. “More than you, Mr. Doesn’t Have Social Media.”

“Kara, I didn’t realize?—”

“He has thousands of followers.”

Thousands?“That many people follow a random cat?”

“Dog,” she says through gritted teeth.

“Right. Dog. I’m sure he’s a…very interesting subject.”

“And it’s not cringe to post pictures of your dog with captions of celebrity quotes.”

I go completely still. Must not move a muscle. Otherwise, I will break into laughter that just might result in a punch to the nose. But come on? Celebrity quotes with her dog?

Kara tilts her chin up. “Thank you for dinner, Miles, but I don’t really see this going anywhere between us.”

I nod, willing myself not to imagine photos of her dog alongside quotes from Vance Vickers about the importance of hiring the right nanny. “I understand.”

She slides out of the booth and escapes into the night. Once she’s gone, I exhale out all my tension. Not really the way I’d wanted that to go, but I can’t be sorry about the end result.

I’ll probably have an unflattering story go around town about me, but I’m one step closer to going to the Andromeda Awards with Georgia.

Text Thread

Georgia: I heard it didn’t work out with Kara

Georgia: I’m sorry

Miles: What did she say?

Georgia: That you’re a dog hater and know zero pop culture references

Miles: That’s weird. She didn’t recognize my Monty Python reference

Georgia: Which one?

Miles: Nobody expects the…

Georgia: Spanish Inquisition!

Georgia: That’s too bad

Georgia: I’m not giving up

Miles: I didn’t think I’d be that lucky

Georgia: Ha ha. I’m going to make the most of our time at the Harvest Festival tomorrow

Georgia: I’ll give you some dating pointers

Miles: Basedon?

Georgia: Un

Georgia: Called

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