Page 51 of Enemies with my Bestie’s Brother
“Don’t even try to deny it, Grayson, it’s written all over your face! You’re head over heels in love with Whitney!”
She laughs and starts singing, “Grayson and Whitney sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”
“Oh, shut up Penny! What are you, six?”
“I may look like an adult, but I’m truly a kid at heart. Now, seriously, tell me about your feelings for Whitney.” She grins and plucks another fry from her plate.
I stare at her and frown. I wish that I could tell her everything about my feelings for Whitney. That would break Whitney’s trust, though, and I know that I can’t do that.
“Seriously, I was just trying to think of something nice to do. I don’t have feelings for Whitney. And don’t even think about trying to set me up with anyone else, because I’m not interested in dating right now.”
I’m filled with guilt at having to lie to Penny. It’s not like I can even talk about this to anyone besides Landon, and even though I love my older brother, he’s not really the best at giving advice. Plus, he and Hailey are basically glued to the hip when it comes to anything not work related. I don’t know how close Hailey and Penny are, but it’s not a risk I’m willing to take when it comes to Whitney’s and my relationship.
I’m really in a conundrum, because I can’t even talk to my own best friend about it. Truthfully, I’ve barely spent time with Parker since he and Penny got married. I’m happy for them, and I’m glad that they both found happiness together, but it is tough losing my best friend. It wouldn’t be right for me to ask him to hide something like this from his own wife. There’s no need to drag anyone else into my own mess.
“Do you want to get some ice cream after this? Dewey’s is open until three,” I tell Penny.
Her eyes light up at the mention of our favorite childhood ice cream place. At least things are going right for one of us.
“Iheardthatyoumight need help sealing some envelopes,” I say as I walk into my home office.
Whitney is sitting at my desk, diligently putting together the invitations for Preston’s and my birthday party.
“Oh my god, yes, thank goodness you’re here. There are so many invitations! I found a place that will address and mail them all, but they all have to be sealed and put together in the envelope for them to take them, which seemed doable before I knew that there were 1000 invitations!” Her eyes bulge when she says 1000.
For us, that’s actually a small party, but I decide not to mention that, since she’s already freaking out. Penny and Mom must have decided to keep it to our closer group of acquaintances.
“It’s okay, I’m here to help. Here, hand me half of them and I’ll get started.” I sit down at the desk next to her as she picks up a box and sets it in front of me.
I gaze into the box and see various elements of the invitations — response cards, information cards, envelopes, and a sheer piece of paper. I’ve never actually put any invitations together myself; that’s something an assistant would usually do. Whitney must recognize the confused look on my face because she takes one piece of each out of my box and holds them up in front of me.
“Alright, pay attention because I’m only going to show you this once. Paper invitation, response card, wrap them in the sheer sheet, folding at the perforations. Put them in the envelope like this,” she says as she slides the small packet into the envelope.
She hands me the envelope and I move to lick the edge to seal it. “No! Are you crazy? Do you know how bad it is for you to lick those things? Use the paintbrush and water.”
She slides a cup with a brush sticking out of it onto the edge of my desk. I eye it suspiciously.
“That’s not going to spill, right? We have very many important documents on our computers in here.”
“It’s not going to spill if you pull the brush up out of the cup instead of just toward you,” she says as she rolls her eyes. She goes back to the box in front of her and expertly assembles an invitation. She grabs the paint brush and lines the envelope flap with a small line of water before sticking it to the body of the envelope, sealing the invitation shut.
I seal the invitation in my hand before moving on to begin assembling more. At first, I’m slow, fumbling with the different pieces in my hand. After I’ve finished putting together a few dozen invitations, though, I get the hang of it, and I am able to put them together almost as quickly as Whitney is.
“I ate lunch with Penny today,” I say, starting a conversation.
I can see tension line up in her shoulders at the mention of my sister’s name.
“Oh, really? Where did you two eat?” Whitney asks, trying her best to sound casual, but I can hear the tightness in her voice, and see the sharp movements in her hands.
“King’s Chicken. She thanked me for making you feel so welcome and asked what I thought about you.”
“And you said?”
“That you were different than I expected you to be, and that I like working with you.”
“Oh, that’s nice, thank you. I’m sure she was happy to hear that.”
“She also guessed that I have feelings for you,” I say as I seal another invitation.
