Page 74 of Once Upon a Boyband
It doesn’t compute. My ability to tolerate the fantastical in my own life is maxed out. Threshold exceeded. I need at least a week of nothing but mundane, boring events in order to recover.
I’m sharing a bedroom with AdamDekeDriscoll, texting with Freddie Ridgefield’s assistant like she’s my new best friend, and Jace Campbell spent the last half of dinner showing me videos of his daughter, who is indisputably the cutest toddler I have ever seen. Now I’m supposed to hang out with Flint Hawthorne?
Cool. No problem. I am A-okay.
“Hey! Deke is back!” Freddie says to Adam. “Looking good.”
“I don’t know, man,” Leo says. “Your beard tan is terrible.”
“It’s not terrible,” Ivy says. “Adam, don’t listen to Leo. You can barely see it.”
“You’re probably going to have to wear makeup tomorrow,” Jace says. “The camera isn’t going to like your glowing cheeks.”
Adam breathes out a sigh beside me, and I loop my arm through his, giving his bicep a squeeze.
“Dude. I’m being so rude,” Freddie says. “Flint, this isAdam’s…fiancée, Laney,” he says, hesitating just slightly on the wordfiancée, like he isn’t quite sure how far our deception should go. Flint lifts his hand in acknowledgment. “It’s nice to meet you, Laney.”
I’m okay.
Just kidding.
I am not okay.
This last little bit of the impossible seems to have severely impacted my gross motor skills, because when I open my mouth to respond, no words come out. Nothing.Nada.Not even a grunt of acknowledgement.
Adam’s hand slips behind my back and curves around my hip, giving it a gentle squeeze. I don’t miss that just moments ago, I was the one comforting him, and now he’s doing the same for me.
The realization is just enough to thaw my frozen vocal cords. But honestly, I might have been better offnottalking, because I point to Adam, open my mouth, and say, “I’m Adam’s vet.”
It sounds just as dorky coming out as you might guess. My own version of the “I carried a watermelon” line inDirty Dancing.
Flint’s eyebrows lift, like my words surprise him.
“I mean, nothisvet, obviously,” I try to explain. “That would be weird because he’s a human. And humans need human doctors. Not that vets aren’t also humans! We’re just notdoctorsfor humans. We’re doctors for dogs. His dogs! That’s me. A doctor for Adam’s dogs.”
Beside me, Adam is practically vibrating, his shoulders shaking even as his grip around me tightens. Is he…is helaughing?
Oh, geez.That was bad. I’m absolutely positive it was bad.
“And that’s basically how we met,” Adam says, tucking me a little tighter against his side. He looks at Ivy. “And now thatyouhave seen my face, Ms. Controlling Control Pants, we’re heading to bed.”
I lift a hand to wave, then let Adam tug me back down the hallway to our room.
“Thank you, Adam!” Ivy calls. “You look amazing!”
As soon as we’re safely inside our bedroom, Adam dissolves into a fit of laughter that should make me feel more embarrassed, but it doesn’t feel like he’s laughingatme, so I can’t really be mad.
I sit on the end of the bed and collapse onto my back. “Adam?”
“Yeah?” he says as his laughter subsides.
“Did I just monologue to Flint Hawthorne about the differences between human doctors and animal doctors?”
He sits down beside me, leaning back onto his elbows. “You did.”
“Did you know he was here?”
“I met him yesterday, so I knew he was around. I didn’t know he was coming over tonight.”
