Page 12 of Last First Kiss
Lala watches her for a few seconds, probably trying to figure out if she believes this or not. She must have decided that she does because she excitedly clasps her hands together and says, “Oh, honey, I’m so happy for you.” She wraps Clara in a tight hug, and my mouth drops open.
Clara turns to me with a triumphant expression and a wide grin.I can’t believe that actually worked.Great, now Lala is going to double down on setting me up. Especially if she thinks Clara—the forever bachelorette—is finally dating someone.
“Who is it? What’s her name? How did this happen? Tell me everything,” Lala says excitedly as she pulls up a chair next to Clara.
Clara grabs a strand of her hair and twists it between her index and thumb—a nervous habit she’s had since she was a kid. She’s never been a good liar, especially when she has to make it up on the spot. Clara turns to me with wide eyes, and then an idea strikes. Not a great idea, possibly a terrible idea, but I’m out of options.
“It’s me,” I say, my heart steadily picking up pace until it’s pounding in my chest.
Lala turns to me as her eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
Clara’s eyes go so wide, I swear they are about to pop out of their sockets.
“Oh?” Lala leans forward. “Is this why you’ve beenturning down most of your dates recently?” She looks intensely between Clara and me.
“Yeah,” I say, my voice a little shaky. I try to swallow the knot lodged in my throat, but it won’t budge.
“Oh, finally.” Lala lets out a long, relieved sigh.
Clara blinks. Once. Twice. Then, she stares at Lala in utter confusion. She shifts around in her chair, body stiffening.
“Finally?” I repeat, choking through the word. “What do you mean by ‘finally’?”
“I knew you two would eventually figure it out,” Lala says, and an icy nervousness runs through my veins.
Both our mouths fall open, and we stare at each other, frozen.
Lala thought we’d end up together? Why?
“You have no idea how happy this makes me. You’re perfect for each other.”
I laugh nervously, not entirely sure why, but I do.
Clara pouts before breaking into a tiny smile, so small it almost looks sad, and there’s something in her eyes I can’t quite make out. Maybe she’s processing what Lala is saying. I know I am.
“Yeah, she is. I’m so lucky,” I say, making sure to look straight at Clara, who gives me a tiny, tightly lipped smile.
I reach for her hand, and she starts to pull away, but I hold on a little tighter, and she stops.
When Lala is done gushing, she announces that we are a set pair for the rest of the night, and everyone cheers. Clara and I smile awkwardly and thank the endless line of grandmas stopping by to congratulate us.
“Alright now, lovebirds, I’ll check in on you two later.” Lala smiles and gives our intertwined hands a gentle pat. “I need to make sure Miranda’s granddaughter meets Jocelyn’s. Those two are going to look perfect together.” She turns around and flags someone down at the other end of the room.
As soon as she’s out of earshot, Clara leans in and hisses, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry, you gave me the perfect out and I took it,” I whine.
“God damn it, Ale,” she groans. “It’s such a bad idea.”
“What do you mean? It’s perfect! My family loves you, and Lala already thinks we’re soulmates. It’ll get me out of these dates; it couldn’t be more perfect. Plus, it wouldn’t be the first time we pretend to be dating,” I remind her.
“Yeah, but that was around annoying people at bars who wouldn’t leave us alone, not your family. Yourfamily, who’s mine, too. You don’t see how this could completely blow up in our faces?”
She’s right. I hadn’t thought it through, and now I’ve put her in an uncomfortable position. This was too big a decision to make on my own, and the excitement I felt at being free from all these dates quickly fades.
“You’re right, I should have talked to you about it first. It’s unfair of me to drag you into this. If you really think this is a terrible idea, I will tell Lala I was lying and let her set me up on a million dates to make up for it.”
Clara playfully rolls her eyes at me. “Well, you’re not giving me much of a choice when you word it likethat,”she says with that annoyingly perfect smirk of hers, the cute little dimple on her left cheek popping out. “You don’t think everyone will think it’s weird since we basically grew up together?”
