Page 52 of He's The Reason Why

“Handsome?” Blake offered.

“Infuriating!” she shouted.

He gestured to the imaginary pipe. “After you.”

She looked down at the wood floor where no pipe existed, and reality crashed in on her. “I…have no idea what to say.”

She couldn’t figure out what to do with her hands. For a second there, she’d almost had it. She’d felt different. She’d been in the momentwithhim, but now it was gone.

“I’m sorry.”

Blake glanced up at the ceiling. “I just hope your friend knows how to keep her promises.”

It was the line from the scene. The real one, not the pretend ones they’d just been doing. She knew what she was supposed to respond, but it didn’t feel right. If she said her real line, she’d be back into the same wooden, awkward delivery she’d had all day.

She didn’t want to go back there. She’d worked too hard to get away from it, and, dammit, shehadit. It was in her grasp, all she had to do was hold on.

She moved to the back of the couch, crouched down in front of the imaginary pipe, and said what she thought Princess Jewel would really say. “She’s a mother. She knows what it’s like to have someone she loves in danger. She’ll be here.”

Blake dropped to his knees and followed her along the invisible pipe. “It’s going to take a year to get this stench off.”

“Stop complaining. At least you’re not in a dress.”

They continued the scene, using the living room as the castle until they reached Elaine’s bedroom.

They climbed out of the imaginary food cart.

Marshall leaped up from the sofa and screamed in a realistic imitation of a girl.

Piper shrieked in surprise and scrambled sideways into the side table. The lamp on it teetered and fell over.

Blake caught it just before it hit the floor and replaced it.

Piper put her hands on her chest. “What the hell?” Her heart pounded so hard she could feel her pulse through her shirt.

“Stay away from me!” Marshall shouted in a falsetto that could easily pass for a woman’s voice. He picked up a crumpled sandwich wrapper and threw it at Blake. “Get away! Get away!”

“Hey!” Blake cried out as he covered his head with his arms. “I’m here to rescue you.”

Piper scrambled to gather her wits. They were still in the scene. Marshall was playing the part of her sister. He’d put a napkin over his head like a kerchief and sucked in his cheeks to make his lips stand out. He waved his hands in the air in a pretty accurate imitation of Rachel playing Elaine.

Piper burst out laughing.

“Stop throwing things at me, you ungrateful…,” Blake said.

It wasn’t in the script. He was ad-libbing to stay in character.

“Elaine! Stop!” Piper finally managed to call out through a fit of laughter. “It’s me.”

Marshall lowered his hand, some crumpled paper still in his fist. “Jewel?”

“Elaine.” Piper rushed toward Marshall. She grabbed him by the arms as she would do if it was one of her own sisters. “We came to rescue you.”

Marshall threw his arms around Piper and squeezed. “Oh, Jewel, you shouldn’t have come. I wanted to warn you but I couldn’t. It’s a trap. It’s all a trap.”

Piper swore he squeezed her a little tighter before he released her to grab the script. She couldn’t believe he’d managed to remember as much of the dialogue as he had.

Marshall gave Blake a derisive once-over. “You don’t look like a hero to me.” He said it with more disgust than Rachel had managed.

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