Page 28 of Pretend to be Mine
A little while later, the two of us are at our table at the restaurant, eating breakfast.
“The party was fun,” Ben says.
I have my mouth full of pancakes, so I nod.
“Your parents were great, too.”
Again, I nod.
“Thanks for inviting me.”
I swallow my mouthful. “Thanks for coming,” I say, stuffing it full again.
“Guess you’re hungry this morning,” he says, taking a sip of his coffee.
Honestly, I don’t want to talk to him yet. I need time to wrap my head around this whole thing and figure out what we’re going to do about it. If we start talking now, I’m sure to blurt out something dumb.
“It’s from drinking. I always need food after a night of drinking. Food, plenty of water, and sleep and I’ll be as good as new. Promise. Hangovers suck.”
Ben chuckles quietly but drops the conversation.
We load up in the rental and head back to the airport. He turns in the car and the two of us board the plan. I buckle up, take my sleep mask out of my carry on and fall fast asleep. I sleep the entire flight home and I’m not fully awake until he’s pulling into my driveway. He parks the car and we both step out. Popping the trunk, we go around to the back of the car to get our belongings.
“Well, thanks for pretending with me.”
He smiles. “Any time.”
It feels like more needs to be said or done, but that confuses me, so I just turn around and walk toward the door. I grab my keys out of my purse, unlock the door, and step inside. As I’m closing it, I look and find Ben still standing by the trunk of my car. I offer up a small smile and wave. He nods his head and I close the door. Finally, I’m alone and in my own space to think over everything I fucked up and how I can fix it.
I immediately drop my bag onto the floor, make a cup of coffee, and take it to the bathroom to drink in a nice, relaxing bath.
