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At that, Yael stiffened. This guy knew what he was doing. He couldn’t contradict his girl and discourage Yael from attending their wedding, but he could make it as unattractive as possible. And bringing up Yael’s ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend did the fuckin’ trick.
Allie’s face took on that same pitying look. “Oh, honey. I wasn’t thinking how weird it might be for you coming alone. Of course you’re welcome to bring a friend if you want.”
Yael’s eyes slid to mine and widened for a heartbeat, like she was trying to convey something. Then she threaded her fingers between mine on her shoulder and pressed our joined hands to her cheek.
“Actually, Alex and I have been together for a while now. We never know his travel schedule, which is why I haven’t RSVPed yet.” She tipped her face up to mine, her eyes doing that crazy widening thing again. “Baby, we can go, right?”
I brought my hand up to grip her chin, playing along. The shocked look on Jamie and Allie’s faces made it fun. Watching Yael hold back from slapping my hand off her face brought it up about a dozen notches.
“Yeah, Boo,” I rasped. “We can go, as long as you fill your dance card with my name.”
Yael shuddered with what I knew was disgust, but to an outsider, might have passed as desire. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to hold in my laughter. The woman had brought this on herself.
Jamie’s frown just kept getting deeper. The dude was going to have some serious wrinkles before he hit thirty. “Wait, you’re with him?”
Yael nodded, but I did her one better by pressing a kiss into her hair. “She is. Why’s that making you frown, ol’ chap?”
Yael snorted, like she didn’t appreciate my use of “chap.” Really, she shouldn’t have been throwing stones. A scant thirty minutes ago she’d said “guff” with a straight face.
Allie clapped her hands together beneath her chin. “Oh my god, Yael! I’m so excited. It’s going to be like sophomore year all over again. You have to come up Thursday to be part of all the celebrations.” She leaned toward me, shielding her mouth like she had a secret to tell. “And don’t worry, our friends are cool. No one will bug you for an autograph or anything.”
“If they’re anything like you and Jamie, I have no doubt they’ll be super cool,” I said.
Yael’s elbow jammed sharp in my ribs. She knew sarcasm when she heard it, but her girl Allie chose to be oblivious. Jamie gave me a hard look, but meh, the guy was too serious. I had trouble caring what he thought of me.
After about a hundred years, cheek-kissing, and false promises to text, the golden hipster couple went their way and we went ours.
“Thank you for playing along,” she mumbled, doing her best not to look my way.
I cupped my ear. “What’s that?”
She flipped me off and kept marching down the sidewalk. “I said thank you, asshole, but I take it back. There’s no way you pretended to be my boyfriend out of the kindness of your heart.”
I kept up with her lightning pace, placing my hand next to hers on the stroller handle. “It’s the free trip to the Finger Lakes. You know how much I love Fingering on the weekends.” I dipped my head so my mouth was level with her ear. “That’s what lovers of the lake call our frequent visits, you know.”
She shoved my face away. “Have you ever been serious once in your life?”
“Several times.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. You’re not going to the Finger Lakes and neither am I. I’d rather pluck out each of my toenails and rub lemon juice all over the wounds than spend three days with everyone I knew in college.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. Why else would you have pretended we were a thing?”
She huffed. “Because Allie got that pity-face she does so well. Poor little Yael can’t get a man since Harris dumped her ass four years ago.”
“Since when do you care what anyone thinks?” I asked.
“Never. I don’t care. But it was damn satisfying to wipe that look off. And I know Jamie’s going to run right to his brother.” She tugged the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands. “Not that it matters.”
I found that hard to believe, but Yael was a closed book. I could never tell what was going on in her mind, and I often thought even if Icould, I wouldn’t want to. Something told me the inside of Yael’s brain wasn’t sunshine and rainbows. More like skulls and crossbones and the souls of lovelorn men she’d devoured.
“If you don’t go, they’re going to know you were lying. You’re going to be the only topic the whole wedding weekend,” I said, giving Simone’s bottom a pat when she made a little whimper. My girl was getting sleepy. I guess that’s what happened when she stayed up all night giving her aunt hell. “Unless that’s what you want.”
Yael tossed her hair behind her shoulder. “Maybe it is. It’s no concern of yours.”
And that was that. Her slick, impenetrable wall was now firmly in place. This was the Yael I was familiar with.
Yael stopped in front of Mo and Michaela’s building. “I’m good now. Hand over the infant and nobody gets hurt.”
As much as I enjoyed having Simone strapped to me, I was itching to go skate, so I gave her back willingly.
“All right, cool girl. It’s been real. Hit me up if you need baby help.” She mumbled something about eating glass again, to which I really had to laugh. Her disdain for me was so achingly on display at all times, it was comical. With a mock salute, I tossed my board on the ground and skated away, making it half a block before I turned back.
Yael had Simone cradled against her chest, kissing her downy curls. I found the whole scene compellingly adorable, which was hella disconcerting since Yael was pretty much a hell demon. Shaking my head, I pushed off the sidewalk and skated to the only place I felt halfway sane these days.
