Page 54 of Friends Don't Kiss

“Colton, dear,” Ms. Angela says. “Stay a minute. We have things to discuss with you.” She produces a thick three-ring binder with my name on the cover. “Why don’t you take this home, look through it, and let us know your questions.”

The binder has several tabs, including procedures, minutes, and upcoming meetings.Fuck.This is gonna be real work—not that I didn’t know.

“Appreciate it,” I say, tucking the binder under my arm and zipping up my jacket. Then I make it to Lazy’s, right around the corner from Town Hall.

“Yo, Colt. They rope you in?” Justin asks, drawing my favorite IPA.

“They sure did.”

“Thanks for stepping in, man. And congratulations,” he says as he sets a beer in front of me. “On the house.”

“Thanks, man,” I say, lifting the pint glass to my lips.

Cold seeps into the pub as the door opens on Grace, her husband, Ethan, Chris and Alex, then Kiara and Willow, and finally Noah. Justin’s dog Moose greets them, sniffs the outside air, then lies back down next to the bar.

Instead of congratulations, my friends and sister thank me. “I was hoping you’d step up,” Grace says, looking at the three-ring binder I set on an empty stool. Kiara gives me a friendly back slap. “Proud o’ya,” she says, her gaze averting mine.

“You’re exactly what the town needs,” Justin confirms. Then, to everyone, he asks, “You guys gonna eat something?”

Several “hell yeahs” echo, and we move to the far end of the room, pushing two tables together so we can all fit, the guys naturally gravitating to one end while the women take the other.

“You’re gonna get even more popular than you already are, you watch,” Justin tells me once we’re all squeezed in and eating. He sat on the board for a while, after his accident.

“I’m plenty popular,” I joke, struggling to not let my gaze slide to Kiara.

But the rest of the group falls silent as Justin dispels pieces of advice.

“People are gonna ask you to vote for this or that,” he explains. “Try to make you see their point. It can get… a lot. Give ’em some standard answers like, ‘We’re looking into it.’ Or: ‘You have a strong case. You should come to the next meeting and make your point.’ Now, any questions about rules and regulations, just go straight to Ms. Angela. She knows everything and everyone. She’ll tell you why things are done a certain way—there’s always a reason. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes not.” Then Justin turns to the rest of the group. “Just—you guys, leave him be. Don’t ask him for favors or shit. We wanna make sure he stays on the board and doesn’t give up. Got it?”

Everyone nods and hums.

“He’s right,” Noah says. Then, after a quick glance around the room, he adds in a low voice, “You guys should listen to Justin, or else we’ll only be left with people like Owen who actually enjoy giving favors.”

I lean over to Noah. “Is he that bad?”

Noah shrugs. “You’ll find out. Don’t want to spoil all the fun,” he adds with a smile.

I’m about to ask for more details, but my attention shifts to the other end of the table when I hear Willow say, “What do you mean, he looks too good to be true?”

“What’s ’at?” Grace asks, leaning across the table.

“Nothing,” Kiara says, while Willow leans over and whispers, “Dating app”.

My blood freezes.

My sister pushes her chair back, eyeing me. “Time for a bathroom break!” she says, effectively summoning the other women to follow her.

“Sure got quiet here,” Justin says as his wife, Chloe, leaves the room to follow along. “I wonder what they’re up to.”

Chris looks at me. “Are we still supposed to pretend you guys are dating or what? I heard a rumor.”

“What rumor?”

He shrugs. “Breakup? Fake breakup? Fuck if I know. Be nice to be notified, though. I’m kinda losing the plot.”

My phone dings with a sound I don’t recognize. Grateful for the distraction, I pull it out.

Pixie802 hearted your profile.I frown.

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