“We had a blast this weekend,” River said, starting them off.
“Lacey?” Jessie asked, her eyes begging Lacey to add something to that.
“Cameron and Kennedy were great. I really enjoyed getting to know… them.”
Jessie’s head practically flopped down. Then, it shook.
“Okay. Thanks,” she told them, sounding utterly defeated. “Why did I have this idea?”
Jessie seemed to be asking herself that question as she walked out of the room, camera people in tow.
“I think we screwed it up,” River said.
“You were fine. I was terrible.”
“That awkward pause probably gave you away.”
“Hey, I tried. I’m not used to being on camera,” Lacey said, smacking River’s thigh playfully before removing her hand entirely.
“Neither am I,” River retorted with a laugh. “At least, I could say a sentence without hesitating.”
“Fine. Fine. You’re better at this than I am.”
Then, Lacey saw two men walking back from down the hallway, carrying bags. Specifically, they were carrying Cameron and Kennedy’s bags because it was nearly time to go. They’d probably be taking Lacey and River’s bags out next.
“Are you ready for that final game?” Cameron asked, walking into the living room, with Kennedy close behind her.
“Sure.”
Lacey stood up, and just as soon as she’d given up her seat, Kennedy had taken it, which seemed so very perfect for this weekend. Lacey followed Cameron down the stairs and was surprised when she saw her sit on the couch instead of heading to the table.
“Are you okay?” she asked, sitting down next to her.
“Not really, no. But I’ll figure that out.”
“Are we not playing?” she asked.
“We can, but I honestly just wanted a minute away from everything and everyone before we have to go.”
“Oh. I can go, if you want to be alone. I thought you wanted–”
“Lacey, I didn’t mean you. I don’t want… I didn’t mean that I wanted to be away fromyou. That’s all I meant.”
“Are you worried about going home?”
“A little, yeah.”
“Me too. You know, I thought River and I would have the rest of our weekend. She didn’t tell me that Cal needed her there to close today. She said she had the whole weekend off.”
“Do you think she’s lying about it?” Cameron asked.
“No, River’s not like that. I think she either just forgot to tell me, or Cal asked her sometime this weekend. It doesn’t matter. I get that it’s important to her, but I was kind of hoping she’d want to prioritize me over the shop for one whole weekend. That didn’t happen, but it’s my fault, too.”
“Why?”
“Well, I didn’t exactly prioritizeherthis weekend, either; did I?”
Cameron nodded, looked out the window, and asked, “So, are you maybe looking for any new clients?”
