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Wow, Kate really knew the show's formula by heart.
"You make it sound so cheap when you put it like that," I said. As if my whole journey to find love had been written by some screenwriter.
Kate laughed, not seeming to realize she'd hit a nerve. "I'm sure it was all very special. I've just been watching the show for, oh, about ten years."
"Well, I never watched it until I was on it. And I'll have you know that yes, maybe we did eat in our rooms before dinner…chewing isn't so great sounding in the microphones…but they at least never told me when exactly I had to kiss a girl. In fact, I'll probably go down as the bachelor who kissed the least number of girls."
Why did I say that? I was practically handing out reasons for Kate to think I was a loser and thank the heavens that she'd dodged that bullet.
"The least? Really?" Kate's eyebrow lifted. "How many did you kiss?"
I might as well keep digging my grave.
I counted them off in my head, still not believing that had been my life for a few months.
I'd never imagined dating, let alone kissing multiple women on the same day. But that was what had happened. The show and all the candles and romantic dates just seemed to make it happen without me even trying.
"Seven. I kissed seven."
Kate leaned back in her seat. "Hmm, seven's not so bad. And that's a lucky number, so it probably means you're gonna end up really happy at the end of all this."
I sure hoped so.
But I really wasn't sure. Gwen was great and all, most of the time, but could we really work it out when we came from two completely different backgrounds and lived across the country from each other?
"Did you initiate all of those first kisses, or did some of the girls sneak them in on you?” Kate asked.
She certainly was nosy about this. But I guessed when you put your love story out there for the world to see it kind of becomes an open book.
But since I wasn't about to reveal all the show's secrets, I shot her a smirk and said, "You'll just have to keep watching the show to find that out."
"Oh poop. You're no fun." She crossed her arms.
"Did you really just say, ‘Oh poop’?” I raised my eyebrows. “Are we, like, five now?"
"No. I just—"
"Wait—" I couldn't believe it. All these years later… "Do you still have that no-swearing bet going?"
Kate looked down and tugged on a loose thread in her skirt. "Well, it was still going when Aiden died, so I decided to just continue it. It helps me remember him, I guess."
Back when Aiden and I were in high school, we had started hanging out with a couple of guys who used profanity all the time, and it only took a few weeks before we started using it ourselves.
But perfect little Katie, who was probably eleven at the time, thought we were on the road to hell. So to help save her brother's soul, she had talked us into joining her in a No Swearing Contest. The loser had to do the winner's chores for a month.
And so the replacement curse words were born. It had been pretty funny to watch Aiden, the captain of the basketball team, say things likedang,oh my heck,poop, andfudgewhen he got frustrated. But he was bound and determined to win. I eventually forgot about the contest, and yeah, swore here and there…but Aiden and Kate were still going strong clear until the accident.
I gave Kate's hand a quick squeeze, hoping to get her to look at me so she could see I was sincere. Her wedding ring poked my palm and took away any warm sensation I might have felt at touching her skin. "I think that's actually really cool. Maybe I should start on that bet again. My mom probably wouldn't mind."
She gasped. "What? Saint Drew has a potty mouth?"
I rolled my eyes. "Sorry to disappoint. I just can't live up to that nickname, I guess."
Kate laughed. "It's okay. I've been pretty close a few times myself."
Kate's phone rang. She answered it and spoke to someone for a minute before hanging up.
"We're supposed to stop at the gas station after the next stop light," she said. "Once it gets closer to show time, we'll pop on over to the viewing party."
