Page 53 of Gracefully Yours

We’d chosen to carpool for a good reason, but now I was wishing we’d chosen differently. We might have picked the best cars for going over the pass in the winter, but we could have been alone so we could talk. And now, that would have to wait until we got to our destination.

“Mhm,” she responded, looking out the window at the snow falling outside.

A few moments later, my phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see a text message from Charlotte.

Charlotte

Do you think we’re going to pull it off?

Daniel

No one suspects anything. What’s got you worried?

It’s just… I feel like we have to be super coupley. Like they won’t believe it if we don’t act like we’re in love. We’re about to get married, so we should be all over each other, right?

She had no idea how hard of a time I had keeping my hands off of her during the day. Her moving in with me had only made the desire that had flared up in August even worse. But I knew it wasn’t what she wanted to hear, what would help her to not spiral into anxiety.

She thought sex would only complicate this, after all. And maybe she was right.

But these feelings weren’t going away, no matter how hard I tried.

Breathe. We got this.

I just…

Is this wrong? That we’re duping our friends? Should we come clean and just tell them the truth?

The truth? Charlotte, we are getting married.

Everything is going to be fine. Because you’re my best friend. And we’re a team. Fake marriage or not.

I could only hope it was the truth.

* * *

Three hours later,we’d reached our destination, piling out of the cars in front of the rental for the weekend.

I helped Charlotte out of the car before we all went around to the back of the truck to grab our bags.

“Here,” I said, lifting Charlotte’s bag over my shoulder before she could grab it. “I’ll take that.”

She gave me a nod, following me inside our bedroom. The girls had picked a fairly large house to rent, complete with a hot-tub sitting on the back porch that was surrounded by trees—and lots of snow.

The house was a four bedroom, with a large kitchen and living room area, and thankfully, we each had our own room. Or not so thankfully, considering how hard it was going to be for me to sleep next to her and not think about our night in August.

I was so fucked.

“What’s in here, anyway?” I asked, setting her bag down on a chair. She’d brought a suitcase and a duffel bag, and the bag I had carried was much heavier than I thought it would be.

Char looked away sheepishly. “Books.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why? Aren’t you going to go skiing?”

“I’ve never actually, uh… skied before? I don’t know how.” She turned her head away, looking self-conscious, maybe even a little nervous?

“I’ll teach you.” The first time I’d gone skiing was when I was a kid, something my dad and I had always loved doing together.

“Are you sure?”

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