Page 20 of Just Friends

The title sounds familiar, but I know without a doubt that I haven’t, so I shake my head.

“Well,” Lucy says, sitting back. “That’s your first assignment. It’s classic friends-to-lovers, and their siblings are married.”

I lift one eyebrow, and she nods enthusiastically.

“Right?” She writesEmmaat the top of the list. “I think you can learn a lot from them. And plus, it’s Hazel’s favorite Jane Austen movie. We’ve watched all the adaptations together, but the 2020 version is her favorite,” she says, continuing to scrawl all this on the paper.

“2020Emma,” I repeat.

“All theEmmas, but especially that one.” Turning back to me, she asks, “Next, have you ever heard of the female gaze?”

“I don’t…think so?” I watch as she writesfemale gazeon the paper.

“We need Hazel to see you as someone desirable.” That feels strangely like getting hand sanitizer in a paper cut, but I keep my mouth shut. “In order to do that, I think we need to put you in some situations that will make Hazel see you in a new light.”

“Oh-kay.” My voice is slow and skeptical.

“Men tend to think women find certain things desirable, when in actuality, what we want is something very different. Have you seenThe Witcher?”

“No. It’s actually been on my—”

“Never mind that,” Lucy interrupts me. “We’ll just have to strategize without the analogy.” I open my mouth to speak, but she keeps going. “Can you put your elbow on the table?”

I have many, many questions, but I do as I’m asked.

“Good. Could you flex your hand?”

My eyebrows quirk of their own volition. “What?”

“Flex your hand,” Lucy says, her voice holding a touch of impatience. My hand tightens into a fist on the table, and Lucy shakes her head. “No, open it up and flex.”

The veins on my hand stand out, stark raised bumps against my skin, as I follow her instructions. “Like that?”

Her eyes darken slightly. “Perfect. You want to do that when you touch Hazel.”

“What? Why?”

“Have you seen the 2005Pride & Prejudicemovie?”

“Is that the one with the little girl who likes to play in a secret garden?”

Lucy presses a palm to her forehead, looking distraught. “My lord, you are uncultured swine.”

“I’mwhat?”

“Alex, that’sThe Secret Garden.” Her hands flail spastically. “Moving on. You need to do this because when Darcy touches Elizabeth for the—”

“Who are Darcy and Elizabeth?”

The sigh Lucy gives is one of a mother whose young child has just pulled out her last straw and has used it to blow bubbles in his chocolate milk.

“It’s not important right now, but let me explain. When Darcy touches Elizabeth for the first time, he is overcome. The hand flex represents tension and longing and confusion—all things thatHazelwill be feeling over the next few weeks as she starts to see you as someone other than her best friend. The hand flex will let her know she’s not the only one going through it.”

“So I should do this every time I touch her?”

“No, no, no. It needs to be after a particularly poignant moment.”

“Poignant, got it. I guess I’ll just know it when I get there.”

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