Page 20 of The Problem with Perfect

Bellamy’s not supposed to meet me for another 20 minutes, but arriving early was intentional on my part, and I step up to the bar and order a whiskey, hoping to take the edge off whatever these nerves are.

Clyde, the bartender who’s been working here since I was too young to sit at this bar, immediately pulls out a bottle of Woodford, my go-to and what I typically order when I come in on a weekend night.

“Not used to seeing you here during the week,” he says, giving me a friendly smile.

“Yeah, I’m…just mixing things up.”

Clyde seems like an okay guy. I know he’s been around for a while, but part of me thinks at least half of the rumors that pick up around town start with things Clyde sees, and I don’t want to give him anything that might spread with a quickness.

He takes my statement for what it is—an indicator that I’d like to sit in silence—and turns to continue working on unloading a case of recently washed glasses. I’m left to my thoughts, which is what I believed I wanted, but now that I’m here, staring into my glass like I wish it had some kind of explanation for why I feel so stressed about tonight, I’m kind of wishing Clyde would come back and distract me.

This dinner is going to be interesting, that’s for sure. I wish I could have just turned my mind off to this whole thing and focused on work until our double date with Connor and Stace tomorrow night, but I get why Bellamy thinks this is important. At least connecting about a backstory is a good idea.

I think back to the way my sister looked at me in the grocery store, like I was growing a second nose on my face. Maybe an origin story will make everything seem a little more believable.

I take a long sip then turn my head and look out through the massive glass doors that get slid to the side during good weather to give an indoor-outdoor feel to the large restaurant. We’ll be sitting on the patio tonight. I even called and made a reservation, and I can’t remember the last time I did something like that. The hostess sounded surprised when she took my name down, but at least for the summer, that kind of stuff will be the new norm—calling in reservations, hanging out with Bellamy around town.

Who knows? Not getting laid aside, maybe it won’t be so bad. I can’t imagine spending time with Bellamy will be too much of a hardship. She’s kind of always been around, actually. Maybe not the two of us spending time together alone, but she was definitely there in the background.

That gives me pause as I flick through my memories of Bellamy when we were younger. Mostly I remember her always in a corner, doing homework. I don’t have a lot of specific recollections of her after I came back to Cedar Point. There’s a ten-year age gap between us, and I’ve been pretty focused on my own shit. I know she has come out of her shell quite a bit, even if she’s still fairly studious. She has always been like that, very focused on her education.

Light from the front door opening draws my attention, and I turn in time to see Bellamy walk through, the sunlight illuminating her figure before the door shuts behind her and I take her in. She’s grown into a knockout, that’s for sure. I hate myself for even thinking it, but it’s the truth.

She’s wearing a pair of snug jeans that accentuate her long legs and a loose maroon top that shows off her tanned shoulders, and when she sees me, she smiles. It feels like I’ve been socked in the stomach, and I clench my jaw at the discomfort I feel as I watch her approach.

“Hey.”

“You’re early.”

Her brow furrows, and she glances over at the clock behind the bar.

“By five minutes.”

I grumble an acknowledgment and turn, taking the last sip of my whiskey.

“I guess we should get this over with then.”

I feel like a prick when Bellamy’s smile dips, but it lifts back up after a second and she spins, heading toward the hostess.

“Hey Nicole.”

“Hey! I didn’t know you were coming in tonight.”

Bellamy smiles. “I’m on adate,” she whispers conspiratorially. “Can you believe it?”

Nicole laughs, but it fades and her eyes widen when I come up next to Bellamy.

“With…Rusty?”

I tuck my hands into my pockets and glare at her. “We have a reservation.”

She glances at Bellamy for a second before tugging two menus from the holder and clicking a button on her screen, then she leads us through the slightly busy dining room and out to the patio. I catch a few eyes from familiar faces and give a thin smile I hope is at least a little friendly, then we both take a seat at a small table right up against the railing overlooking the lake.

“Your server will be right with you,” Nicole says, handing us our menus before turning to head back inside.

I flip mine open and begin perusing it but pause when I see Bellamy just staring out at the water, her menu remaining closed in front of her.

“You’re not going to look at the menu?”

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