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“Son, how are you?” Dad uses Cliff’s distraction to come over and shake my hand before turning to Mia. “Amy, I see my son finally let you catch him.”
She giggles. “Yes, he was quite good at playing hard to get.”
She winks at me, and something bursts inside my chest.
I fucking love her.
I choke on my own breath, coughing and sputtering until I’m finally able to regain control. But not until after everyone is staring at me.
“Isn’t it time to eat?”
Luckily, the attention shifts back to the food, and everyone quickly fills a plate and finds a seat on the back patio. Mia and I are shoved to the small loveseat, where we balance plates in our laps while the parents sit in a circle around us.
Was this planned?
“Bailey and Mallory are sorry they couldn’t join us,” Mom says.
I’ll bet they are. Sorry to miss the inquisition, maybe.
“Aww, that’s too bad. I haven’t seen them in years,” Mia responds. I snort, and she pinches my side. “Be nice.”
The moms share a look as I rub at my side. It’s like that’s their cue to fire off questions. They crow equally about my new job now that Meric is relocating and Mia’s latest role. It’s one of the things I loved growing up the way we did. If it was Mia’s latest part or my latest A on a test, it got equal billing in being celebrated.
The interrogation finally slows as we move from dinner to dessert. Mia’s mom is probably the best baker I’ve ever met, and my mouth waters at the strawberry shortcake being dished up and passed around.
“You know, Amy, we were so happy to hear about you and Garrett,” Mom says, interrupting the blissful silence of enjoying dessert. “He had the most massive crush on you growing up.”
The food I’ve managed to eat curdles in my stomach, and I put down my half-finished shortcake. “Mom.”
“What?” She looks at me innocently. “You did.”
“Aw, you did?” Mia looks at me, her eyes glowing in amusement. I narrow my gaze, promising retaliation later.
“He did,” Mom continues. “He used to watch that show you were in when you first got started. He’d record it and rewatch it. You know, once I caught him fast-forwarding between scenes that you were in.”
Kill. Me. Now.
Mia stiffens slightly beside me, uncomfortable. Who can blame her? My mom makes me sound like a fucking psycho.
“I did not,” I argue, desperate to get back to the less charged atmosphere of a few minutes ago.
“Oh, honey, you did.” She looks at me with this look of pity mixed with amusement.
“And prom.”
“Prom?” Mia asks, her attention pinging between Mom and me. “What about prom?”
Shut up, Mom.
But she doesn’t catch my not-so-subtle hints to stop talking.
“Mmm. I know you guys agreed to go as friends, but Garrett had this elaborate plan. He was going to ask the DJ to play a song and ask you to be his girlfriend. Oh, it was so cute.”
Please, can an earthquake come and swallow me?
Mia turns to look at me, and even I know my smile is shaky at best.
“You were?”
