Page 44 of The Wrong Date Deal

She let out a heavy sigh and glanced away. “Okay. Fine. Let’s do this.”

Piper smiled triumphantly. “Great. You’re going to do fantastically, I just know it.”

August grimaced. “Well, at least one of us does.”

Piper shot her an impossibly fond look. “It’s just me. And, you know, if that’s more of a hindrance, pretend it isn’t me.”

August laughed. “So, either lean into the fact it is you, or really, really don’t?”

“Pretty much, yeah. Do what works best.”

“But it won’t be you at the end of the messages I send.”

“Pretend it is while you’re sending your opening line. It’ll help get you out of your head.”

August groaned. “Well, we’ll see if it does. Let’s… try it, I guess.”

She smiled again, pausing before diving in. “Okay, so, I’m going to give you some info that might be in my profile and you just react like I do.”

August nodded. She could do that. Probably.

Piper looked around, considering. “Got it. Since childhood, I’ve been a really big fan of clowns.”

August recoiled. “Clowns?”

Piper shot her a look. “Since the first time I met one at a fair, they’ve fascinated me. The colors, the emotions, the fun style choices… They’re just filled with all of these amazing connections to my family and attending fairs.”

“If this is what’s in your actual profile, I’m no longer surprised we haven’t been matched,” August said, shaking her head.

Piper gave her a pointed look and leaned in a little closer, continuing. “I thought about becoming a clown myself, but I worried that would take the joy out of them. You know, if clowning is your nine-to-five, is it any fun anymore?”

“Ugh. Fine.” August laughed and cleared her throat. “One year, for Halloween, my brother’s best friend dressed up as a clown—he was about seven at the time—but he got really weird with it, chasing everyone and screaming, throwing dirt at them. It was quite the production and made a lot of the adults wonder which movies his parents had been letting him watch. Sort of a funny story now, but I haven’t liked clowns since then. Interesting how our childhood experiences impact us as adults, huh?”

Piper smiled. “Good. Next.”

“Wow. You’re quite the drill sergeant.”

“And don’t you forget it.” She chewed her lip momentarily. “Working out is more than a chore to me. It’s my absolute lifestyle. Every free minute I get, I’m in the gym. It’s like my holy place. There’s nothing I can’t face when I’m pumping iron or running on the treadmill.”

“The way your whole body and voice change…” August said, marveling at just how much Piper was embodying each of her characters.

She met August’s gaze intensely. “The sweat, the burn, the gains. There’s nothing else like it in the world.”

“This morning, I was on the treadmill thinking about how cool it would be to follow in Forrest Gump’s tracks and run that same route. I could just feel the challenge in my bones. And consider how much thinking you’d get done while you ran… Amazing.”

Piper laughed, breaking character. “Now you’re getting it.”

August rolled her eyes. “Thank you.”

They went a few more rounds, and the more they did, the easier the replies came. Sure, they weren’t August, but Piper’s examples weren’t her either. They were caricatures and August’s replies were perfect for that. It was simply an activity in easy conversation.

As Piper downed the last of her drink, a sultry song by FLETCHER filled the space around them, and August noticed how low the light had become and how she and Piper had shifted closer together over their conversation.

Piper put her mug on the table and turned back to August with a look in her eyes that August couldn’t quite place but which made her ridiculously eager to hear what Piper was about to say.

“When I was in college, I went to a music festival with my friends. It was actually the first time I’d seen live music,” she shook her head like it was ridiculous she’d waited that long. “Tegan and Sara were playing. I’m pretty sure that was the moment I really… felt at home in who I was. Just this moment of seeing all these queer people—mostly women—singing along and being part of something so wonderful. If I hadn’t gone to that festival, I don’t know if I’d be the person I am today.”

August took a breath, her chest feeling tighter than it should. This one was real, she knew it. She had no idea if it was part of Piper’s actual profile, but, right there, in that room, it was real.

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