Page 31 of My Fake Date With My Childhood Friend
My heart melted a little at the explanation, and I once again had to remind myself that we weren't actually dating.
“That's so sweet.”
“I would wait to say that until you taste them,” he said. “They're probably not very good.”
“I'm sure they're great,” I said.
Alexander's face lit up. He led me into the kitchen just as the timer went off. He opened the oven and pulled out two trays of cookies. He quickly moved about ten cookies over to a plate.
“We can eat them while we watch the movies,” he said.
“Sounds great,” I said. We walked over to the living room, where a small fire was already blazing in the fireplace. Next to it stood the tall Christmas tree, covered in perfectly placed ornaments, with presents piled underneath. There was one covered in skating penguin wrapping paper with my name on it. All of us opened one present here on Christmas Eve: a pair of pyjamas that we wore to bed that night.
Between the fire, the cookies, and the soft Christmas lights, the living room felt cozy. We both settled down on the couch and pulled a big blanket over us.
“So, these are all my favourites Christmas movies,” Alexander said, gesturing at a pile of about twelve DVDs on the coffee table. “I wasn't sure which ones you've seen before, but I'd be happy to watch any of them.”
“Why not all of them?” I asked.
“Really?” He asked, a twinkle in his eyes. I smiled.
“Yeah,” I said. “I've got nowhere to be. Let's do it.”
Alexander's face lit up, and he began to pile the movies into a good watching order. In the end, he decided we'd start with the shortest movie on the list — Rudolph — and work our way up. He then split the pile into two, one to get through today and one for tomorrow.
We laughed and watched and ate pizza and cookies, and by the time the last movie of the day was over, it was midnight. I was lying on the couch, my head in Alexander's lap, and he was running his fingers through my hair. I was so comfortable that I could have fallen asleep right then and there.
I had never belonged here as much as I did now, in this house, with this boy. Sometimes, when I got overwhelmed bybeing a part of my huge family, I liked coming over here and spending time with Alexander's mom. She loved having me around because she said I was like the daughter she never had. For me, it was nice to feel like I was the priority in somebody's life rather than one of the many kids my parents had to keep track of. I wondered whether in all those days that I had been here and all the holidays' Alexander and I had spent together if his mom had wished for us to be like she saw us now — in love, with me as part of the family. I wondered whether she would ever forgive us if she found out the truth.
I wish I'd thought this plan through more when we first started it. All I'd been worrying about was making Joseph think we were together. I hadn't even thought about the people we might hurt in the process.
twelve
I woke up slowly,stretching my arms and yawning. I could feel Alexander's warmth next to me, and I smiled in relief when I realized he was still there. His fingers loosely intertwined with mine, his breathing deep and even. I nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck and closed my eyes, resting for a few minutes longer. I was drifting off again when I heard loud footsteps upstairs. I jerked awake, suddenly becoming much more aware of where I was and what I was doing. Why were Alexander and I cuddling? We must have moved in our sleep, right? It didn’t matter, anyway. The crux of the issue was that I fell asleep in his house and if I didn’t move soon, I was going to get caught.
I got up and thought quickly. Could I get out the door without one of his parents seeing me leave? The sound of it opening would probably alert them that something was happening, but maybe I could pretend like I was just arriving. But for us to pull that off, Alexander needed to be awake.
“Alexander,” I hissed, shaking his arm. He groaned and rolled away from me. “Wake up!”
I huffed as he kept snoring, his eyes closed and his face relaxed. I shook him again.
“Go’way,” he mumbled tiredly.
“I can’t,” I said. “I need to get out of here before your parents realize I was here all night!”
“Too late.” The voice sent chills running down my spine. My head shot up, and I locked eyes with Francine Rigby, staring at me from the doorway with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised. I slowly stood up to full height and clasped my hands behind my back.
“Uh, hi, Francine,” I said. “W-we were just….”
“You can relax, darling,” Francine said. She smiled. “I know you just accidentally fell asleep last night.”
“Really?” I asked. I practically fell over from the relief. I’d never done anything like this before, and I had no idea how either of our moms would react to it. “I’m really so sorry about this. I meant to go home, but then we got caught up watching movies and drinking hot chocolate and?—”
“Penny, breathe,” she said. “I promise I’m not mad. I know you’re good kids.”
I couldn't believe it! Francine wasn't mad at me at all! We'd really lucked out.
I smiled, relieved. “Thanks,” I said. “Um, do you want me to help you make breakfast? I'm sure Alexander won’t wake up for a while, anyway.”
