Page 63 of The Luck of Finding You
I run over my plan as we walk across the street.
We’re going to get through the main ticket entrance, which is also where we get our books. Then Tally is going to wait outside the event’s main room, at the doors. I am going to go in, letting her know I’ll save her a seat just in case. But really, I’ll go get our seats. I brought a jacket to cover them. Then I’ll sneak out a different door and approach her, laughing and saying something like, “Oh my gosh, wait, no way! I’m Mo.” As if she hasn’t told me his name, as if I haven’t talked about him like he’s some mystery man that I don’t know anything about.
She’ll probably punch me. No, I think she’ll definitely punch me. But it’ll be fine. I hope it’ll be fine because at this point, I just have to go through with it this way. If I tell her now, I know she’ll hate me for a million years.
My stomach is a ball of nerves and I really feel like I’m going to be sick. I am not this guy. The one who keeps secrets. It’s my own fault I’m in this mess, and I can’t tell if I’m more nervous that Tally is going to be mad that it’s me and that I knew and didn’t tell her or that she’s just going to be mad that Mo is me.
She almost kissed me though…
I’m clinging to that thought, hoping it soothes some of the nerves.
It doesn’t.
* * *
We getour books after they scan our tickets.
“I can’t believe this is real!” Tally clutches the book to her chest, then holds it out again to look at the cover. The book officially released on Tuesday, and beyond talking to Nora—well, Tally—on Twitter, I’ve avoided the internet.
If it were any other day and not the moment she finds out that I’m Mo, I’d probably feel the same way. I’ve been excited about this book since I read and loved the rest of the series. Plus, this one is going to be signed. I’ll get to meet Simone Sorrows, if only for a moment.
But I won’t be able to even comprehend any of that until I come clean with Tally.
“Okay, this is where I told Mo I’d meet him.” Tally looks at me, almost apologetically.
“Cool.” I give her an easy smile, even though I think I might be sick. I really hope I don’t look green. The event starts in twenty minutes. Mo is supposed to meet Tally in five. “I’m going to go grab some seats over there.” I point into the main room off to the right side. It seems less empty. “I’ll save you a seat, just in case.”
“Thanks.” Tally smiles at me, it squeezes my heart. “That won’t be necessary though.”
“I’ll see you back at the room, then?” I ask sadly. I have to be disappointed right now or she’ll figure it out a little too soon, and at this point, I’m all in for sticking with my plan.
“Yup.” Tally wipes one of her hands on her dress, and that’s when I know she’s nervous too.
“You look great,” I tell her. I want to hug her, give her some sort of comfort, but I can’t touch her. “He’ll love you.”
Tally bounces up and down, scanning the crowd before looking back at me. “Part of me wanted it to be you.” She laughs. “You know, like the wholeYou’ve Got Mailthing. Silly, I know.” She looks down.
Now. Now is when I tell her the truth, that it is me. It is that moment!
“But I’ll see you later.” Tally grabs my hand and gives it a little squeeze, then lets go, turning away from me.
Missed my moment. Again. Why is it so hard for me to say what’s on my mind? I’ve always been able to do that when I’m around Tally. Speaking up and sharing my truth has been easy until this.
Now I have no choice but to go grab us seats. We’re early enough that I get some pretty close to the front, which is actually really cool. Then I head back out through a different door. Only instead of finding myself in the main hallway, I’m in a different hallway that’s full of people waiting to get into the event. I turn around to go back through the door I just came through, but it’s locked.
“Sorry, sir, you have to wait in line,” a security guard who’s walking by tells me.
“No, I just came from in there.” I show him my stamped hand. “I was, uh, looking for the bathroom.”
“You’ll have to wait in this line to get back in. I’m sorry," he says apologetically. “The bathroom is at the other end of the hall.” He points toward the end of the line. “Then you have to wait to get back in.”
Panic rises in my chest. “I’ve got a friend waiting for me at the main door—I told her I’d just be a few minutes.”
“You’ll have to wait in line. Just text her.”
That’s when I realize that my phone isn’t in my pocket. I don’t even know if I brought it with me and it’s in my jacket that’s now strewn across the chairs saving our seats, or if it’s back at the hotel. I don’t have the time to go check at this point. Now I really am going to be sick. I make a beeline for the bathroom, saying a prayer of gratitude that they are singles and that there’s an open one.
I barely lock the door before I’m dry heaving.
