Page 29 of A Necessary Nudge Out of the Friend Zone

A date? He tugged at his shirt, which suddenly felt tight around his neck. That meant he’d be alone again with Remi. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too awkward. He was probably overreacting, anyway. It was just Remi. He’d been fine around her his whole life. Why was he worried all of a sudden? There shouldn’t be any reason to be freaked out. Everything would be fine.

He sent her a quick message.

That’s ok. See you soon.

A knock came on his door a minute later, and he opened it. Remi carried her laptop and wore a heather gray T-shirt that said, “You read my shirt. That’s enough social interaction for today.” He smiled as he let her into his room. That was totally Remi.

“Hey.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. Why did he feel nervous all of a sudden? Geesh, you’d think he was in high school and Remi was his crush or something.

“Did you order the pizza?”

“I was just finishing it up on the app. Want any breadsticks?”

She looked at him funny. “Would I ever say no to breadsticks?”

He chuckled and swiped on his phone. “All right, dumb question.”

Remi plopped down on the couch and picked up the remote. “I’ll get the movie to the place where I fell asleep, and you can finish your order. Ooh, do they have dessert?”

“Yep. Already in the cart.”

“What kind?”

“Brownies with fudge icing.”

She grinned at him. “You’re the best.”

He finished his order and joined her on the couch, where they continued watching the movie. Colton snuck a few peeks at her, to make sure she wasn’t falling asleep again, but he was careful not to put his arm around her. He didn’t want to do anything dumb tonight.

Remi jumped when the knock came on the door for the pizza. She put her hand on her chest. “Geesh, that scared me. Why did he have to come during the super scary part?”

Colton chuckled as he paused the movie and grabbed the pizza from the delivery kid. “Perfect timing, I’d say.”

Remi pulled a slice of pizza from the box, cheese extending until she swiped it with her finger. She took a large bite. “Okay. Start it up. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

The movie played and they finished off the pizza and breadsticks. Remi gasped at the twist at the end, just like he had expected her to. As the credits rolled, he couldn’t help but grin. “What did you think?”

“Brilliant. I mean, it was the perfect way to end it.”

“Right?”

“It was unexpected, yet they had to end it that way if you think about it.” She went on to explain what she had meant by that, and he sat, transfixed on her. Remi was probably the smartest person he’d ever met. Not that he would ever admit to her that she was smarter than he was, but she totally was, and listening to her talk about the movie just proved it to him. She thought of an entire new thread he hadn’t even considered before.

Discussing the movie made him want to show her his screenplay. He wanted to know what she thought of it. But what if she didn’t like it? What if she thought the twists were too contrived? The plot too easy to figure out? He was positive Remi would tell him exactly what she thought, and he wasn’t sure he could take it. He’d never showed any of his screenplays to anyone. Having it ripped apart by Remi would kill him, so he kept his mouth shut.

They discussed the movie for another hour, and then broke open the brownies. Remi took a bite of the gooey chocolate and then moaned at the taste. “This is why I like you. You had these in the cart before I even asked.”

“Of course. Only a monster would overlook this kind of dessert.”

Remi took another bite, but a bit of the chocolate frosting stayed on her lip. Colton stared at it as he watched her eat, his pulse picking up speed. He shouldn’t be looking at her like that, but he couldn’t help it. All he could think about was what Remi might do if he leaned forward and kissed the chocolate off her lips.

He shook his head to clear it. That wouldn’t end well. Remi would probably freak out. He didn’t want to get slapped. Besides, he liked Brooke. Why was he thinking about Remi that way? “Hey,” he blurted out. “Who is Brooke dating?”

Remi stared at him a second before dropping her gaze. “Some guy she met last night.”

“Last night?” Like, she’d gone out and met some guy after she ditched them? He frowned at the thought. That so wasn’t cool.

“Yeah. I guess she decided to go to that dance club up the street.” Remi shrugged. “It’s just her life. She walks into the pharmacy and gets picked up.”

---