AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hell yes, and a giant drink, but I’m hoping there will be a dead zone where I can pee, because there’s no way I’m making it through this entire thing without going at least once.” Why didn’t long movies come with an intermission, like plays? It was so annoying.
“I’ll just let you know what you missed when you come back. No hurting your kidneys,” she said.
“That’s why you’re the best,” I said. She really was. “And I’ll do the same for you. That’s what best friends and fake wives are for.”
I ended up having to pee twice during the movie, and Emma got shushed the second time I came back when she told me what had happened. I glared at the person and thought about dumping ice on their head, but refrained.
“I can’t believe you ate all that popcorn,” Emma said as I dumped the empty box in the trashcan after the credits rolled.
“I think there’s enough sodium to completely preserve my body in the event of my death, so who’s winning here?” I shot back.
Emma shook her head. “Are you even hungry? Should we wait a little while before we have dinner?” I was pretty full from everything still.
“Yeah, you wanna just walk around?” She agreed and we left the theater to wander up and down the street, stopping in any stores that looked interesting. Of course I dragged her into a bookstore and she followed me around as I piled paperbacks in her arms. I also grabbed a Blind Date with a Book, because why not? It was an easy impulse to indulge in that didn’t hurt anyone.
“You should get one,” I said, as I looked at the descriptions on the wrapped books. You couldn’t see the title, author, cover, or blurb, but someone had written a sparse description and you picked your choice based on that. I loved it.
“This looks cool,” she said, nodding at one on the second shelf. I picked it up for her and we both walked to the counter to check out.
“I’ve got this one,” I said, adding her book to my stack. I winced at the amount, but books were better than something else I might blow my paycheck on.
“Shit, I should have brought my backpack,” I said, realizing too late that I would have to carry all these books back home. “I think I might have made a mistake.”
“I tried to tell you. We can take a car home if you want.” Emma took one bag and I took the other as the cashier handed me the receipt.
“I think we also might need some more bookshelves if you’re going to keep buying books,” Emma said, as I held the door for her. She had a point. I did tend to buy a lot of books. More so now that I had an actual place to store them. I’d crammed my tiny room full of as many as I could and it was a disaster. Wobbly piles everywhere, but I knew which book was in which stack.
“That would be great. But you’ll have to tell me when to stop because without any regulation, I’m liable to fill the entire apartment and then there will be no room for the puppy.” Emma groaned.
“I forgot about the puppy. I don’t think I'm up for that today.”
“Speaking of that,” I said, reaching out and stopping her from walking, “can we get tacos and then go to the shelter? Just to look?” I tried batting my eyelashes for good measure. That was supposed to work, right?
“Why are you blinking like that?” Emma asked, looking concerned.
“I was batting my eyelashes,” I said, a little miffed. Guess I hadn’t done it right.
“Yes, we can get tacos and then go to the shelter, but just tolook,” Emma said. “Why do I always feel like the mean mom in this friendship?”
“I mean, you could just give in to my demands and then you wouldn’t have to.” Emma snorted.
“You’re impossible,” she said.
“Is that one of my talents?”
“Definitely,” she said.
We reached the taco place and I sat down with the books as Emma got our food. I couldn’t stop thinking about potentially getting a puppy. I was a five-year-old, apparently. Emma was quiet.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, just thinking.” She didn’t sound like she was thinking about anything good.
“We don’t have to get a puppy if you don’t want to. Please don’t give in to my demands just because you’re my best friend. That’s not good for either of us.” All my words came out in a rush. The last thing I wanted was for Emma to cave to something she didn’t want just because she wanted to make me happy. We’d end up resenting each other and I couldn’t handle that. Not a good way to go about a fake marriage, or a real one. This was good practice for the real thing I might have someday.
She shook her head. “No, no, I’m actually excited about the puppy, now that I’ve had some time to think about it. If we find the right one, of course. We might want to do some research on breeds and so forth before we pick one, though. We can’t just pick the first one that’s cute, no matter how much we want it.”
“Why not?” I shoved an entire tortilla chip in my mouth and crunched down on it.
