Page 78 of Pretend You Love Me
“You aren’t.”
“I am.”
“Well, I don’t care.” I pull my arm back and stand up, and then I extend my hand and help her up.
“In that case, I’d love to.”
We spend the afternoon on the couch watching movies and eating popcorn. She curls up next to me. I hate that she’s hurt, but I could stay like this forever. There’s nothing overtly sexual going on, and yet everything feels overtly sexual somehow.
I pull together some leftovers for dinner. “Wanna eat outside. I’ll start a fire.”
“That sounds lovely.”
I light the torches and turn on the dangling lights and lanterns.
“Woah.” Her mouth falls open as she walks outside. She slowly spins around, taking it all in. “I hadn’t seen it all lit up yet. It’s stunning.”
“It really is. I haven’t lit this up since Mom died.”
“How long ago was that?” She sits down across from me.
“Three years.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, softly.
“She loved it out here.” I sigh as I look around. I haven’t wanted to be out here in years.
“I do too,” she replies.
We start eating without another word, and then she pauses. “Why don’t you get along with Hawk?”
I set my fork down considering how to answer this. “Why are your brothers so possessive?” I counter.
She gives me a tight smile.
“I guess it’s only fair if I won’t tell you about me.”
“So what are we allowed to talk about?” I lean back in my chair and watch the light from the fire dance across her face. “Politics?”
“Oh god, no.” She twists her face up. I laugh.
“You don’t want to share your thoughts about the next election?”
She groans. “I get enough of that at home.”
I give her a sidelong look, and she just inhales steadily. I decide to drop it.
“What about religion?”I ask.
She wrinkles her nose.
“Music, movies - we tried to talk about books.”
She laughs.
“It didn’t go great, did it?”I say.
“No. Well, I did like that Graham Greene book a lot, so maybe it wasn’t all bad.”
