Page 95 of Simmer Down
I smile till my cheeks ache. Then I go to the truck window and wave over Penelope to see if she can help me pull off the idea that popped in my head while talking to Ted.
“So this is going to sound nuts, but hear me out.”
•••
“You ready to do this?” Penelope glances at me as we sit side by side at my dining room table.
“Definitely.”
I smooth the low ponytail that’s slung over my shoulder with one hand, then run my other hand over the fabric of the silky blouse I’m wearing. This is the most dressed up I’ve been in weeks. But today’s the day I need to pull out all the stops.
“Okay,” she says. “Then let’s get started.”
She adjusts her phone, which sits atop the table, so that there’s a clear shot of her and me on the screen.
I’m about to make the grandest gesture I can think of. ForCallum. My stomach is doing roundhouse kicks at the thought of how personal I’m about to get.
In the end, it will all be worth it. I hope.
I glance at Mom, who’s watching from the living room. She flashes that same encouraging smile she used to give me when I was nervous about a test or presentation in school. “You’re going to do great,anak.”
“Thank you, Mom.” I really, really hope so.
Penelope pulls up Instagram on her phone, then starts to stream a live video. My heart thuds against my chest harder than ever before. I’ve never done a live interview on social media before, let alone one where I’m about to get this personal. From the inside of my chest it feels like my heart and lungs are playing the bongos. The frenzied movement even shakes the fabric of my white blouse. But that’s just the adrenaline talking. Iwantto do this.
Penelope tucks her blond hair behind her ear then smiles at the screen. “Hey, everyone. I know you’re used to seeing live videos of me chowing down on yummy food or filming gorgeous sunsets, but we’re trying something a bit different today.”
She turns her attention to me. “Today I’m over the moon to have Nikki DiMarco with me. She runs the delicious Tiva’s Filipina Kusina food truck with her mom, Tiva. It’s the best eatery on Maui, as evidenced by their recent Maui Food Festival win. But sadly, that’s been a bit overlooked due to the way a lot of food vloggers and island paparazzi have been prying into your personal life.”
“That’s true, unfortunately,” I say.
“And you wanted to set the record straight.”
I nod, reminding myself to breathe. Even though it’s only me, Penelope, and Mom in the condo right now, I can practically feel the eyes of thousands of viewers on me at this moment.
But that’s what I want. I want everyone to hear what I have to say once and for all.
Penelope flashes another gentle smile that helps ease the nerves whirring inside. “The floor is yours.”
I inhale, then exhale, then dive right in. “First of all, thank you so much for letting me do this. I guess I could have done this on Tiva’s Instagram, but we have a fraction of your followers. And whenever you post or do a live video, you get an insane number of views and likes and comments. And I want as many people as possible to see this, because this is the only time I’ll ever openly discuss my relationship with Callum James from Hungry Chaps.”
With a single inhale, my heartbeat slows. “I met Callum when he and his brother, Finn, parked next to my truck near Big Beach almost four months ago. We started out as rivals, nothing more. That competition between us was one hundred percent real. So was the Maui Food Festival wager we made. I’m guessing most of the people watching this now saw videos of Callum and me arguing. Those were one hundred percent real too.”
When I think back to those ridiculous antics we pulled on each other, I don’t cringe like I used to. Instead, my chest aches. I pause to take another breath and steady myself.
“Our relationship was also real.”
I glance down at my hands folded in my lap. I wonder what Callum is doing right now.
“Close quarters can breed attraction just as effectively as it can breed contempt,” I say.
Even though Penelope knows all this, she stares at me with wide eyes, like she’s hearing it for the first time. I bet she’s wondering if I’ll elaborate for everyone who’s watching. I won’t. That unlikely chance of Callum and me being seated together on the plane ride to Londonis what changed everything. But I’m not sharing that with them. That’s personal, something I’ll lock away forever next to my heart, in that little space I keep Callum. It’s special and secret and belongs to no one else.
Another breath and I continue. “Every single thing that happened between Callum and me was real. Our initial dislike for each other, the tension between us, our attraction, our arguments, our relationship.”
Our kisses, the glances we stole during busy workdays, the desperate way we touched each other every single time we were together in private. The love between us, even though I waited too long to acknowledge it.
I rest my hands on my hips to steady myself. Looking at the ground seems to help. I take a much-needed breath. “We didn’t fake a single thing.”
