Page 71 of Meet Cute Reboot

Bethany and Sarah zero in on me.

“We have enough investment capital,” Bethany says. “It will just—”

“No. I promised Instagram I’d go on another date with Luke. A fourth date.”

Bethany looks at me, confused. “Why is that a problem?”

“Because Cassie is using Luke for likes and subs,” Sarah answers for me. “And she showed him how to tie his shoe using the bunny ear technique.”

Bethany rears back in her seat, her befuddlement creating a deep line between her carefully plucked eyebrows. “You taught a grown man how to tie his shoes?”

“Right before she almost kissed him,” Sarah adds.

“I did not almost kiss him,” I retort.

The skin between Bethany’s eyes flattens as her eyebrows raise. “You almost kissed your primary investor?”

I sink into my chair and shrug. “No?”

“You told me you two were putting on an act for Instagram, to garner subscriptions.”

“There’s more to it than that,” Sarah says.

I cross my arms before spilling the truth. I tell Bethany about my history with Luke, how he inserted himself into my launch, how he still has feelings, how I... I don’t even know.

Bethany is speechless for a moment. “Well... Goodness,” she says finally. “That’s complicated.”

“Isn’t it?” I answer. “Not very professional.”

“He hijacked your launch,” Bethany says. “That wasn’t very professional.”

Sarah and I nod.

Maybe I shouldn’t rollout to three states. Maybe I should delete the livestreams and come clean to everyone who invested time in our little act. This could stop now. I could resume a slow, manageable rollout, instead of making myself crazy while Nana and Granny boil in their house that’s about to collapse around them.

“Maybe I should call off the fourth date,” I say.

Bethany looks at me like I grew snakes for hair.

“Are you kidding me? Have you seen your latest subscriber count? You’re almost to three thousand.”

“That’s not a lot,” I say.

“That’s exponential growth. You’re on a roll. You can’t stop now.”

I focus on Sarah. “What do you think?”

“I think you’ve come this far, so why not? Also, you almost kissed him.”

“Would you stop saying that?”

Sarah grins.

I groan again.

Luke was right. This little exercise for the Instagram audience could crash and burn. I could fall for Luke all over again—if I haven’t already—and he could cheat on me. Or dump me. Or fall deeper in love with me. I don’t know which is worse.

“How do I look?” I ask.