Page 46 of The Boyfriend Swap

“I won’t. Just superficial wounds, I promise.”

After we hung up, I stared at my home, noting the absence of a return call or text from Will. Maybe he instinctively knew I was obsessing over an ex-boyfriend and was avoiding me as punishment. I put my sleep mask back on and set my mind on falling asleep. Once I applied myself to something, it was rare I didn’t succeed.

As long as “something” was not asking my closest friend a simple four-word question.

Robyn

Once safely parked in my parents’ driveway, I turned the engine off, unbuckled my seat belt, and looked at Will. He was staring at his phone. “We’re home,” I announced.

As if in a daze, Will lifted his eyes away from his phone and blinked at me. “Oh, right.” He freed himself from the seat and placed the device in his back pocket before opening the passenger door.

Tucking my hands in my jacket pockets as we walked up the driveway, I pretended not to notice the tension in the air. The car ride home from the bar was silent aside from the stupid comments I’d made while tinkering with the radio in a desperate attempt to make conversation. Adding to my tally of pathetic dialogue, I said, “I think the temperature dropped at least twenty degrees since yesterday.”

With a groggy smile, Will said, “Accuweather calls for a brutal Christmas. Al Roker agrees, but I’m still hoping Bill Evans will give us a reprieve.”

Chuckling, I said, “You’re sure up on your television meteorologists.”

“Only NBC and ABC. I couldn’t tell you about CBS.”

“I think it’s John Elliot.” When Will regarded me in surprise, I said, “I only know because Perry was stuck in an elevator with him once.” I winced at the mention of Perry’s name since it seemed to be a sore subject and concentrated on unlocking the front door of the house.

Sarcasm dripping from his voice, Will said, “Let me guess, Perry kept himsoentertained with his pitch-perfect singing voice that John barely noticed he was trapped.”

“Of course not,” I said quickly. According to Perry’s telling of the story, hedidmake John laugh with his impersonations of various anchors and reporters, but I didn’t think providing further details on the matter would go over well with Will.

After hanging up our jackets, I motioned toward the kitchen. “Want water?”

Will grinned sheepishly. “I’m kind of starving. Any chance we can eat leftovers from dinner?”

I was so thrilled to see him smile again, I’d have offered to drive him to get hoagies if it was what he wanted. “Sure.” Happy at least a smidgen of tension had been lifted, I forced myself to shrug off concerns about what we’d talk about while snacking. As Will followed me to the refrigerator, I was taken aback by sounds coming from the family room. “Is anyone down here?” I asked.

One at a time, the members of my family popped into view—first my mom, then my dad from next to her on the couch, followed by Jordy from the reclining chair. It was like a Whac-A-Mole game, but without the light and sound features. I glanced at my watch. “What are you guys doing up?” Jordy was a night owl, but my parents rarely stayed downstairs past ten. What if Jordy only pretended to believe Will’s explanation earlier and had told my parents he suspected we were lying about the whole thing?

“We were watching a movie,” my dad replied at the same time my mom said, “Binge-watching on Netflix.”

Peering at the flat-screen television through the open space connecting the kitchen to the family room, I said, “You’re binge-watching movies on Netflix? On Christmas Eve?” I glanced at Will to see if he thought it was weird too. He was smirking as if in on the secret. I mouthed, “What?” and he shrugged in response.

Jordy cleared his throat. “We watched a movie first andnowwe’re binge-watchingFuller House. Too wired up about Christmas to sleep.”

“Sure.” I nodded as if I actually believed he’d pass a lie-detector test with that explanation. But I couldn’t make sense out of why they were all waiting up for us like we were sixteen and on our first date. Maybe they reallyweretoo keyed up about tomorrow to fall asleep.

“But enough about us. How wasyournight?” my mom queried, stepping into the kitchen and glancing eagerly between Will and me.

No, they were definitely waiting up for us. I scratched my head and frowned at her. “It was fine. Right, Will?”

“It was better than fine,” Will said, snaking an arm around my waist. “Drinks with friends. Dancing with my girl. No complaints here.”

I whipped my head toward him. How did he recover so quickly from the most awkward drive in history to seamlessly assume the devoted boyfriend role? I had a feeling he underestimated his talents in improvisation. From where I stood, he was a solid nine and a half.

“Who else was there?” Jordy questioned.

“Leon and Oliver from Will’s class,” I said.

“They asked about you,” Will added.

“Really?” Jordy beamed. If my crush on Will hadn’t lessened with time, neither had Jordy’s hero-worship of Will’s friends.

“And James was there too,” Will said.

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