Page 102 of Break Your Fall

We’re gathered at the bar, all of us except for Banks who is playing around with the stereo, as I wait through stunted breaths, hoping for a pleasant surprise. But the more I wait, the more they chew with delayed reactions—no noises, no words, no expressions—the more I’m thinking they’re getting anunpleasantsurprise.

“Well?” I press, my nervous anticipation erupting from my mouth.

“It’s bland,” Camille says with a drop of her fork, done after one bite.

“Chewy,” Julian says next, his jaw still trying to break down the bite he shoved in his mouth.

“And sticky,” Jessa adds, showcasing a log of noodles clumped to her fork.

“It’s notbad,” Tommy tries to diffuse as his jaw tries as hard as Julian’s to break down my cooking disaster. “It’s just. . .” He sighs, then concurs after a tough swallow, “Bland, chewy, and sticky.” He gives me a sympathetic smile that brings a short laugh from my chest.

“But there’s pepper and cheese,” I argue my effort with a face, gathering some spaghetti onto my fork. “How is it bland?” I take the bite and frown as I try to chew.

It’s bland, chewy, and sticky.

“I’m sorry, guys,” I say through my mouthful, then force a swallow at the same time Julian finally swallows his.

“You’ll get better,” Tommy encourages with a touch of his hand against the small of my back.

“Salt helps,” Jessa says, knowing just from one bite that I hadn’t added salt to the pot, and I internally facepalm.I knew that.“As does having a sister who cooks,” she adds with a smile. “We can cook together.”

I smile back, glowing from the inside at her promise to help me, picturing bonding with my sister in the kitchen, the two of us singing and dancing as we prepare fun meals together.

An exaggerated groan of pleasure sounds from behind me and Tommy, and we all look to see Banks has moved to the stove, filling a plate from the pot, spaghetti already hanging from his mouth.

“This is good. Blondie. You killed it.” Noodles drop from his mouth onto the plate as he compliments me and I laugh, appreciative for his attempt to make me feel better.

“Leave it to a piece of shit to make everyone else feel like shit,” Camille drones as Banks approaches the bar and settles at the end between Julian and Tommy.

“Dogs are known for liking shit,” I tease out loud, and I get looks from around the bar before everyone erupts with laughter.

Everyone except Banks who drops his filled plate on top of Tommy’s, his face flat and his cheeks puffing out with spaghetti, a hurt in his eyes at me for adding to the insults instead of defending him, but I was making jokes about myself, too. I give him a pinched smile and a shrug of my hands.

“Now I’m not eating it,” he protests through the mouthful before making a show of spitting it all out into the trash can. Then he straightens up and wipes his mouth, moving on with a mischievous beam. “You know what this calls for?” He points at Julian as he stalks back over, then smacks his arm. “Pizza night!”

“Ooh, extra pineapple,” I holler out as Julian retrieves his phone to make the call and Banks prances back to the stereo. I try not to let the cooking disaster get to me, because there’s no denying that my dinner isn’t good, and we’re hungry.

Tommy starts stacking our plates and relocating them to the sink, and once the pizza is on its way, Jessa looks between me and Julian and says, “So what happened between you two?”

“What?” I say as I blanch, exchanging a look with Julian who’s leaving the floor open for me to answer. “Nothing,” I blurt, then cringe at the denial before tracing back. “Kinda.”

“I’m pretty good at reading people,” Jessa informs Julian, then her eyes scan the rest of us. “And with a friend group this tight, things are bound to go wrong.”

Camille chuckles around a sip of her water as my sister’s words from back in my driveway with Tommy repeat in my head.Now that I’m seeing you together, I sense it.

“I was a selfish dick,” Julian supplies for both of us, then eyes me with lingering apologies and hope. “But we’re getting back on track.”

“Getting there,” I say through a half-smile that he returns.

“And now he’s my selfish dick,” Camille announces to Jessa with a fauxWoe is melook that makes Julian laugh and pull her into his side.

“You love me,” he teases into her hair and she tries to hide a smile in his shirt.

Jessa waves a finger between Tommy and Camille, assuming, “And nothing between you two.”

“No,” they say at the same time, adamant and loud, Camille adding on a gag.

Tommy’s look is unamused by her reaction, and I smile as he protests, “Okay, you didn’t have to—did I do that to you?” He imitates the gag and we all laugh.

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