Page 96 of Unnecessary Drama

‘Wait,’ he says, then leans over and puts on his glasses. ‘I’m ready.’

I roll my eyes but I can’t help smiling. Smiling might be my default for a while. His too. I notice he keeps grinning.

‘Scenario one. We have a huge fight. We want to storm off and not talk to each other for days. What do we do?’ I say.

‘We do what you did at the start of the year. Hide out in our rooms and ignore each other but pretend to be normal around Harper, so it’s not awkward for her.’

‘All right. You’re not mad at me, but you’re sick of the sight of me. You need space. What do you do?’

‘Go for a long run.’ He scoops up some rice with his spoon, and a single grain falls off and into his bed. ‘What was the code word Henry said we used? Wackadoo. I’ll say, wackadoo, and then go for a long run.’

‘You need more time away from me than that,’ I say, picking the grain out of his sheets and putting it on the tray.

‘I’ll say wackadoo and go and stay with my friends for a weekend,’ he says.

‘Okay. You want to cheat on me but you can’t bring anyone home. How do you do it?’

‘Easy. I go to their place. Should I still say wackadoo before I go, or should we have a different code for that?’

‘Jesse. I’m serious.’

‘Do you think these questions are a healthy way to start a relationship?’

‘Yes. I do. I like to be prepared for the worst.’

He puts his bowl down. ‘Let me give you a scenario okay?’

‘Okay.’ I fold my legs under me. ‘Go.’

‘I tell you I love you, and you let yourself be loved, and nothing bad happens.’ His voice is soft but his eyes are burning and serious.

‘Oh,’ I say quietly. The way he said I love you just then, I might be thinking about that for the rest of my life. ‘That would be nice. But—’

‘But?’ he says, his expression gentle.

‘But good things are scary.’ I don’t know how to explain it better than that.

‘Why?’

‘Well, I might ruin it. Or you might get sick of me. Leave me. All the stuff I was talking about before. It’s a big risk.’ I hate how insecure I sound. But it’s better he knows now, before he truly commits to loving me, the fear that can rise up in me.

His eyes rove over me for a few seconds before he speaks. ‘Brooke. I need you to listen to me, okay?’

I nod, and put down my food.

‘I know I ruined it before, but I’m not going to ruin it this time. I’m never going to cheat on you. I’m not going to get sick of the sight of you. We’ll probably argue sometimes, and we’ll figure out how to deal with that when it happens. I know everyone says living together is a mistake. I know we’re moving very fast. Maybe the worst-case scenario is in our future. But right now, it doesn’t feel like that. Right now, I’ve never been happier. Have you?’

I pause.

‘No. I haven’t,’ I say. And I can, I can feel it, a wonderful warm happiness, bubbling up from deep inside me.

‘So,’ he says, giving me his cutest dimple smile, ‘Let’s just be happy together.’

40

I put my hands on my hips, and try not to shout. ‘It’s not basketball. You can’t move once you’ve caught the ball,’ I say.

‘I’m not moving!’ Henry says.