Page 25 of A Very Snowed In New Year
“Have fun! I’ll be checking the conversation when I have time, from my own phone, just to see how things are going, but I’m sooooo busy and I totally trust you. Byeeee.” She puts her aviators back on and heads for the door.
“Wait…so…you want Holden to like you so he’ll take you to a movie premiere in February, but you don’t plan to actually talk to him or see him before then?”
She shrugs. “I mean, we’ll see how it goes. I might need a date for New Year’s Eve. I don’t wantyouto agree to a date with him for me. For now I just need to keep him interested until he’s back from New York because he sounded busy. Don’t come in too hot or anything. I mean, I’m kind of a slut, but if I was just going to sext with him, I wouldn’t needyou. Just make it seem like I’m into him and create some chemistry and keep things going through the holidays, okay? Text him on Backroom—he’s waiting! I literally have to go now.”
“Got it.”
“Love you mean it byeeee!” And Shay has left the building.
Lainey shuts the door and widens her eyes at me.
We are still and silent for a beat, and then we start squealing and jumping around.
“It’s all happening!” she says joyfully as she wraps me in her arms.
“Something’shappening!”
“I mean, yes, you’re texting him as my shitty sister, but you’re texting with Holden Archer! And I don’t know how you’re going to get there, but Piper,thisis your meet-cute.” She grasps my shoulders and stares deep into my eyes. “Do you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“This is the beginning of your story. It’s going to end up the way you want it to, I promise.”
I hug her again. She is not a romantic—she really isn’t—but I can tell that she genuinely wants this for me. “Okay.”
She turns me around and starts pushing me down the hallway toward my bedroom. “Now, get in there and make contact.”
“Okay!”
I go into my room and shut the door.
I get comfortable on my bed and stare at my phone. Then I get up and go to my desk, because this is a job. I’m essentially creating a character. The character is an actress who isn’t an awful person at all. Someone who really likes Holden Archer and just wants to keep in touch with him.
Then I get up again and dab my signature scent on my pulse points. I don’t have time to shower before starting my new important job, but this is a defining moment. With Holden Archer. At the very least I have to smell nice.
I open the Backroom app. There’s a notification saying that HoldUp.76 has accepted my invitation to join a chat. And here we go…
ShayAnything.83: Hey. Fancy meeting YOU here.
HoldUp.76: We have to stop arranging to meet like this.
ShayAnything.83: Oh, but you’ll be so much more pleased to meet me on here than anywhere else.
HoldUp.76: Oh yeah?
ShayAnything.83: Oh yeah. I feel more comfortable on here. I think you’ll find that I’m like fifty to seventy percent more awesome on here than in person.
HoldUp.76: I get that.
ShayAnything.83: It’s in private backroom chats like this where I can feel free to let loose and tell you just how brilliant you are in Riders. People don’t talk about your performance enough. I mean, people talk about you a lot, of course, but your acting in that movie is underrated, if you don’t mind me saying. It’s on par with every seasoned, knighted English actor in the supporting roles. The way you convey Zephyr’s quiet strength and analytical nature in one scene, his fierce protectiveness in another. And his vulnerability when he finally tells Ember how he feels about her—I can’t even…
HoldUp.76: I have to tell you, I really am pleased to get to know this side of you…
ShayAnything.83: Good. I’m just getting started :)
HoldUp.76: Awesome. I have to get to a meeting, though. Can we continue this very interesting discussion later tonight? We don’t even have to talk about how brilliant I am, although I wouldn’t want to dampen your spirit.
ShayAnything.83: Well, you’ve already dampened something whether you meant to or not.
