Page 24 of The Love Dare
Winnie makes a face. “I’m not following.”
“The show, Win. The one I just finished filming.” Sam pauses, as if waiting for the dots to connect, but Winnie can’t form the picture. “I know all the producers,” her friend continues slowly, giving the words time to sink in. “I know how they think. And they would absolutelylivefor the drama of Tyler’s childhood friend coming on the show as a surprise guest to confess her undying love for him.”
“What?” Winnie gasps, her heart launching like a rocket into space. “Absolutely freaking not. Have you lost your ever-loving mind?”
“You’re right,” Sam concedes in a way that Winnie knows is one hundred percent fabricated and will immediately be followed up with an annoyingly effective counterattack. “What am I thinking? You should just keep doing what you’re doing. It’s working out really well for you, pining after him in secret while self-sabotaging every possibility of ever having a real relationship.”
Winnie releases an offended puff of air. It’s the only argument she has. “I donotself-sabotage.”
“If you say so.”
“When have I self-sabotaged?”
“Please!” Sam laughs outright into the phone. “Going out with that thirty-year-old creep when we were in college. You know. The clock guy. What was his name?”
Jonathan Freaking Doherty.“Okay. Fine. I’ll give you that one.”
“Thatone? I’m just getting started. What about the guy who worked at the Korean Karaoke bar we used to love who didn’t speak a lick of English?”
“I’m not going to let a language barrier get in the way of true love.”
“You couldn’t even pronounce his name!”
“We didn’t speak through words.”
“Okay. What’s your excuse for the guy who was a furry?”
“I don’t judge.” Plus, she thought he was the school mascot at the time.
“The nose picker?”
“Hey! I didn’t notice that untilafterour first date.”
“You went out with him again!”
“Everyone deserves a second chance.”
“Just admit it. You pick guys you know you’ll never fall for because then the door will always be just a little bit open in case Tyler ever pulls his head out of his ass and realizes how amazing you are.”
Shit.
Do I do that?
She’s honestly never thought of it that way before, but much as she’s loath to admit it, Sam might be onto something.
“You need to tell him how you feel.”
“And blow up my entire life? He’s practically my adopted brother, Sam. Every holiday, he’s there. Every phone call home, he’s mentioned. Our lives are too intertwined.”
“That’s my point. You’ll never move on unless you face it. And this show is the perfect opportunity.”
“Right, because it will be so much easier to have my rejection blasted all over the internet instead of just telling him privately at home.”
“It’s perfect precisely because it’s not at home.”
“What do you mean?”
“You need neutral ground, someplace you can talk without your parents, or your brother, or a mountain of memories standing between you.”
