Page 77 of Love Me Like It's Real
I snort and sigh when I notice how far ahead the girls have run. “I’m okay, thanks,” I tell him before I call them back.
“Are you saying you don’t want a piece of this?”
I eye him top to bottom with the most serious expression I can master and shrug. “Maybe later.”
“Oh wow. I must be losing it.”
“Your mind? Most definitely,” I tell him.
He just gives me the evil eye but I ignore him, suppressing my smile.
“Well, you did defect today. Twice.”
“Huh?”
“Once with Red’s.” I point behind us. “And once with the romcom marathon.”
He gasps as if I’ve insulted him beyond repair. “Excuse me. I was just playing along,” he whispers and looks at the girls who’ve just arrived back around our feet.
“Ah okay. Sure. Sure. So you won’t lose your club membership for going with us?”
It is too much fun teasing him. Who knew messing with a love cynic could be so entertaining.
“It’s my club. I do what I want, thank you very much.”
“So the other members won’t kick you out when they find out?”
He huffs and lets out a fake laugh that gets the girls giggling.
“Of course not. I see it as a successful mission. We made those four and a half hours living hell for those attending. I’d say that’s a successful club mission.”
Of course. How could I forget his saboteur activities? He’s not going soft on me. He’s just doing his civic duty as a love hater.
“Besides, this marathon was complete and utter…poopoo?” He smiles awkwardly at me as we all stare at him as if we don’t know what word he was going to use.
“Was it? I thought you liked13 Going on 30.”
He shushes me. “Don’t shout these things. I have a reputation to think of.”
“I thought we’re trying to take care of your reputation.”
He ignores my comment as if he didn’t hear me. “Tomorrow’s marathon is going to be so much better.”
I raise an eyebrow and stare at him until he elaborates.
“It’s an Anti-Valentine Club activity. Counter—programming to today’snonsense.” He whispers the last part. “The Love Sucks Movie Marathon.”
I pause and sigh. What else did I expect?
“Cool name!” I mock him.
He shrugs me off. “It gets the point across.”
“And what happens during the marathon? Do you play horror music while showing romcoms?” I ask and Hayworth claps his hands together.
“How did you know?”
I can’t help it. I burst into laughter. A laughter that infects the girls. We all stand around Hayworth laughing our asses off and even so, Hayworth doesn’t look offended. Not in the slightest. He smiles at us. At me.
