Page 31 of Take a Chance on Me

“Definitely. I think we’ve used up our emergency room visit quota for the year. Oh, and we need to hit the escape room.”

“Do you think you’ll be up to walking around if we start at the society and then walk the main street?”

She smiles at me. “I think I can manage it, and if not, I know where I can find some crutches.”

“Let’s go then.” I grab my coat and lead the way to the parking lot where we stop and grab her crutches before getting in my car and heading downtown. I may be taking baby steps - like agreeing to be locked in an escape room despite my minor phobia - but I’m still insisting on being the driver. For now.

The historical center is chocked full of interesting facts but nothing that really jumps out as a draw to get people to come into it except for the wax figure room. We decide a picture with one of the figures will work for the app, and after snapping one together, which I am minding much less now than a week ago, we make our way to the part of the downtown area where most of the food shops sit.

Our first stop is a cupcake shop called Cupcake Cuties, and while I don’t usually eat a lot of sweets, I cannot pass up trying one of these delectable desserts and it does not disappoint. “This is amazing,” I say as I finish, “but what challenge do they do here? Just take a picture with their dessert?”

“That’s definitely an option, but we could also ask if they have a dessert of the month and we could offer extra points if someone tries it.”

I study her for a moment. It is clear that she has the creative leg up on me. I might be able to organize the presentation, but she is definitely the genius behind this. And right then, I realize that if we win, she should get the promotion. I don’t say anything aloud, but I make the decision to tell Philip.

After the cupcake shop, we visit a chocolate shop, a cafe for lunch, and finally the hat shop she’d mentioned - Hats Off to You - which has more hats than I’ve ever seen in one place.

“Oh my gosh, you have to try this one.” She hands me a hat in the shape of a giant taco. I still can’t put the hat on - the germ thing runs deep - but I do hold it over my head and check the sight out in the mirror. It is comical to say the least and maybe with a lot of cleaning, I could actually put it on my head if I bought it.

“We could definitely have a different challenge each month with all of these.” She picks up a hat with a turkey head and legs that dangle down. “I just can’t decide whether we should start with food or holidays.”

“How about both?” I say. “I’ll pose with the taco hat, and you can pose with a holiday hat. That way we can use the picture to showcase all the different options.”

She snaps her fingers and nods. “That is brilliant. Now, which holiday hat do I want?”

As she scans the shelves, I can’t help thinking about the upcoming wedding. Katie has turned out to be pretty amazing, and I can’t imagine how some guy could dump her for her friend. It’s stupid and petty, but I really want to make the guy jealous, and I wonder if I’ll be able to pull it off.

“What?” she asks, jarring me back to the present.

“What, what?” I ask, wondering if I missed a question.

“You were staring at me. Do I have something on my face again?” She begins wiping at her face, but I shake my head.

“No, you look fine. More than fine, really, you look great.” Beautiful is what I really want to say, but how awkward would that be? We still have to finish the presentation this week and we work together. Office romances rarely work out for a reason, and I’m still figuring myself out. It wouldn’t be fair to drag Katie into my mess.

She tilts her head as she studies me, clearly trying to decide if that’s all I was going to say. Thankfully, she doesn’t push the issue. “Well, thank you. You look great as well. How about this one?” She holds up a hat in the shape of a big red heart with cupid on top shooting a bow.

“It’s perfect,” I say, and somehow it feels apropos. She pulls her hat on and I hold mine up. Then we take a picture using the mirror.

“Okay, hats are done.” She looks at her watch. “And I think we have just enough time to hit the escape room. Shall we do that and then go back and see about putting the presentation together?”

I almost say no because I don’t want to think about the presentation being over. I feel like we’ve become friends, but I don’t know how she feels. What if when we finish the presentation, we go back to the way we were before? The thought saddens me immensely, and I push it from my mind. Things are different now. I’m different now, and we don’t have to go back.

CHAPTER15

Katie

“Areyou sure you’re up for this?” Derek asks as we approach the escape room.

I know he’s worried about my ankle, but it seems to be fine for now. I was careful to have it up all weekend and I took some Tylenol to manage the slight throbbing I felt at the cupcake shop. Besides, we need to finish with the places and work on putting the presentation together, and there is no way I’m missing the escape room.

“Absolutely. This is going to be like one big puzzle, and I love puzzles.” I used to work jigsaw puzzles with my mother when I was young and though I have less time for them now, I still enjoy them. I’m not as good at crossword puzzles, but I’ll attempt them, and I also like word finds and logic puzzles. If it’s a puzzle, there’s a pretty big chance I’ll enjoy it. “You do too, right?” Puzzles were actually the one thing we found we agreed on in the very beginning.

With a sigh, he pulls open the door. “Let’s go then.”

The lobby of the escape room is… different than I expected. The floor looks like paneled wood, but it’s a light gray color rather than dark. The walls are also gray with what appears to be some hammered metal effect on them. There’s an antique lamppost in the corner and a counter in the middle, and I say counter instead of desk because it seriously looks like a marble slab on top of some corrugated metal. I’m not entirely sure how it’s even standing. Behind the counter is a sign that simply says “Escape Room.” I feel like they could have been a little more creative with the name considering the rest of the room.

There’s also a small shelving unit behind the counter, but it’s more like a cubby shelf with boxes filling each square. It seems a little out of place with the rest of the room, but not as out of place as the guy behind the counter. I know it isn’t right to judge, but from the ambiance of the room, I was expecting some hipster looking person with slicked back hair and skinny jeans. Instead, the guy manning the counter looks more like he escaped from Duck Dynasty. He has a long, scraggly beard that’s probably never been combed, a trucker hat with a rifle on it, and a red and black checkered flannel shirt.

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