Page 31 of The Boyfriend Swap

Planting a fake smile on my face, I said, “Me too,” wishing it were the truth.

Robyn

I woke up the next morning in a panic. I’d had a dream in which the new principal of my school was the Evil Queen from Snow White and she canceled the music program. I’d never dreamed about fairy-tale characters before and blamed Will for reviving the Snow White nickname. I gasped in remembrance.Will. I’d been sleeping on my side facing the window, but unless I’d also dreamed the last few weeks, he was right next to me. I sat up and braced myself for a visual I never dared to imagine I’d see in real life—Will Brady sharing my bed. I slowly turned my head and there he was, sleeping soundly with no evidence of bad dreams like the one I’d been having. For the benefit of my younger self, I took a minute to observe him. He was a nose breather, unlike Perry, whose faint snores from sleeping with his mouth open often woke me up. Will’s lips were textbook perfect—arched Cupid’s bow on the top and full lower lip. I’d dreamed about kissing the beauty mark above his top lip way before Jake Gyllenhaal made it sexy. I continued to study him for a moment before shaking myself out of it. Watching someone sleep was creepy even when you were dating him. Doing it to a random guy, even if the guy was Will Brady, sunk to a whole new level of disturbing.

I groaned to myself before stepping off the bed as stealthily as I could. I grabbed fresh underwear, a pair of magenta corduroy pants, and a lavender t-shirt and took a shower. When I returned to my bedroom, I was relieved to find the room empty since I wasn’t prepared to see Will in his languid waking-up state. I noted with a blush that if he woke up like Perry, he’d be relieved to find the room to himself. But I couldn’t remember Perry ever making my bed like Will had. Before heading downstairs, I emailed Lance back to tell him I’d heard the rumors too but was trying not to panic. I also suggested we get together after the holiday and brainstorm solutions. I knew there were foundations in place to assist struggling music programs. Maybe they’d help us.

A few minutes later, I joined Will in the kitchen. “Good morning.”

“Back at you,” he said with a sheepish smile. “Hope it’s okay I made my own breakfast. I was starving and no one was around.” He pointed to the bowl of Cheerios in front of him at the kitchen table.

I waved him off. “Of course, it’s fine.” With my back to him as I removed a gallon of orange juice and a container of yogurt from the refrigerator, I asked, “You sleep all right?”

“Great. You have a comfy bed,” Will said with a yawn, and I looked over in time to see him stretch his arms over his head. He gestured toward his computer. “I don’t expect any work emergencies, but I need to at least stay on top of the emails.”

I sat across from him at the table and sipped my juice. “One perk to being a music teacher is the lack of homework over the major holidays. With the winter concert out of the way and several months until the spring concert, my break is a holiday in its truest sense.” Of course, if the rumors Lynn and Lance heard were true, I might find myself on a permanent holiday soon. I swallowed down the ache in the back of my throat with a spoonful of yogurt.

“Lucky you,” he said with sincerity. “I think we’re the first ones up.” Even though Will hadn’t showered yet, he’d thrown on a pair of black sweatpants and a hoodie. He probably assumed my parents would be weirded out if he came down in boxer shorts. If he were more familiar with my parents, he’d know they wouldn’t even notice. I, on the other hand, would, and I was hoping for a blush-free day.

The scent of coffee was decidedly absent, which meant no one had been downstairs yet. “Jordy can sleep all day. My parents are more unpredictable, but they seem to be asleep as well.” I swallowed a spoonful of yogurt and glanced up at Will, who was studying me curiously. “Is something wrong?”

He shook his head. “Is your hair wet?”

As I ran a hand through my long hair, droplets of water fell to the surface of the kitchen table. “Yes. It takes a while to dry because it’s so thick.”

Will’s eyes opened wide. “You don’t use a blow dryer?”

“Nope.”

His mouth formed an O. “Wow.”

I snickered. “What’s so fascinating about letting my hair dry naturally?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever dated anyone who wasn’t high maintenance about her hair. Sidney even has that iron thingie.”

“A flatiron?”

He shrugged. “I guess.”

I patted down my hair self-consciously. “Sidney has great hair.”

“So do you.”

Caught off guard, I choked on a response but was saved when his phone blessedly pinged a text message.

“Speak of the devil.” As he typed a response, I read the coupons on the back of the cereal box until he looked up. “Sidney says ‘hi.’”

“Tell her I said ‘hi’ back.” I watched Will tap on his phone, completely engaged in his conversation with his girlfriend. I wondered how much Sidney missed him when they were apart. Then I pondered whether Will was homesick for her. Was he silently counting down the hours until he saw her again? I missed Perry, but I wasn’t exactly pining over him. I thought back to leering at an unaware Will while he was sleeping and felt sick to my stomach. What kind of horrible girlfriend was I? “Don’t think you need to hang out with me all day if you have people to see.” Distance from Will would do me good.

Will pushed his phone to the side and cocked his head at me. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

I smiled timidly. “Not at all,” I lied before scooping up the last of my yogurt and walking my dishes to the sink.

He laughed. “Good. What’s the plan for tonight?”

I sat back down. “We always celebrate Hanukkah on Christmas Eve. Just a traditional dinner. It’s really informal. I hope it’s okay.”

“Of course. But I’ve been texting some of the guys from high school and a bunch of them are planning to go to Billy Murphy’s tonight. You game for meeting them after dinner?”

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