“This morning in the shower,” Calista said. “Last night in the kitchen. We might have gone a week before that. We’ve gone longer than that, too, obviously.” She shrugged.
River sighed and replied, “Look, Lacey and I are going through it right now, I think. I don’t know how to get us out of this rut or whatever it is that we’re in. It’s like we’re just off somehow. Like, when I want to go out, she wants to stay in, or vice versa. I can take off early from here, but she has a late client. When I’m exhausted and just want to crash here, she wants to be at home because my apartment is a freaking hot box. I just… When we’re together, we’re usually catching up on our days, eating food, and crashing in bed. Then, I found out that she did something, and part of me was annoyed. Another part was kind of excited. I’m not sure how a third part of me feels yet because I’m still processing, but I think the fourth part of me is nervous.”
“What did she do?” Calista asked.
“She entered this raffle thing. It was for charity, and she didn’t think she’d win, but she did.”
“Win what?”
“A double date for us.”
“A double date? With whom, exactly?”
“Kennedy Gannon and Cameron Levine.”
“I’m sorry; what?”
“I know.”
“Hold on. You’re really saying you get to meet Kennedy Gannon and Cameron Levine?”
“Apparently,” River said and moved over to her desk to lean against it. “It’s a whole big thing… I don’t know that I really want to do it, Cal, but Lacey seemed so excited.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to go on a double date with two of the hottest celebrities in the world? God, just tell me when. Ashton and I will take your place.”
“I don’t think it works like that,” she replied, laughing a little. “But there was all this paperwork we had to fill out, and–”
“For what? Dinner?” Calista asked. “Like an NDA or something for whatever they might say?”
“No, it’s not just a dinner; that’s the thing. It’s a whole weekend. There’s a beach house and two nights and three days of cameras, too.”
“Cameras?”
“They’re filming it all, so we had to agree to be filmed as well and let them use it for some YouTube thing and to promote it. It’s for charity, so I get it – they want to draw attention to the cause. I’m also all for kidsnotgetting cancer, but I didn’t expect to be filmed for a whole weekend. I’m not exactly someone who likes to be on camera.”
“You’d look great on camera,” Calista suggested. “And this could be a kick-ass way to promote the shop, too. I mean, kids’ cancer comes first, obviously, but if you can toss in a shameless plug, and it ends up on YouTube or something, that would be amazing.”
“I guess.”
“But you still don’t want to do it?”
“I think Lacey wants this to be some grand, romantic weekend. Like, she’s looking at the beach house and the ocean and picturing us sitting out by the water alone, talking about our feelings and our future.”
“And you don’t want that?”
“No, that’s not what I mean. It’s just not the reality of what we’re walking into, I don’t think. We’ll be surrounded by cameras and a whole other couple, too. I think it’s going to be so awkward and weird. I agreed to do it because I knew it wouldmake her happy, but I don’t want her to be disappointed if it’s not a nice, relaxing, romantic weekend for us. I mean, I don’t want to be sitting on some blanket in the sand, holding her, with a camera is in my face when we’re just trying to talk.”
“Well,thatI understand. You told her all this?”
“Some of it. I kept the rest to myself because she really wants to do this. Cal, I can’t imagine having sex in a bedroom that’s right next to Cameron Levine and Kennedy Gannon’s, with cameras outside or something, waiting for us or listening to us.”
“Then, don’t have sex there. You think Lacey is expecting to have sex there?”
“It’s a romantic weekend to her, and you just brought up the point that we haven’t done that in a while. I’m guessing she’s hoping we do that, yeah. The contract thing said the cameras are not permitted in the bedrooms or bathrooms unless we allow it, but still… There’s nothing that says they can’t be right outside the room, listening in.”
“I doubt they’d try to putthatin the YouTube thing that’s supposed to be about fighting cancer. It’s not some tawdry reality show, River.”
“Doesn’t mean I want them to hear us. God, what if Kennedy Gannon heard my sex sounds?”
