Page 76 of Meet Cute Reboot
“Much better.”
Luke smiles, wraps his arm around my shoulder, and pulls me close.
I freeze. This wasn’t in the manual. Unless I missed it.
I mentally tear through the Date Number Four manual, which I carefully composed before meeting Luke at the beach this morning. Side hugs definitely aren’t listed.
Luke notices my surprise because he drops his arm and mutters, “Sorry.”
I’m left standing alone, wondering why I’m being such a prude. I reference the manual again.
Oh yes. This is a pretend date. I’m still mad at Luke for...stuff. What “stuff” was that? It’s fading from my memory, sinking into a nebulous fog. I try to reach for it, but I grasp formless vapors.
“It’s okay,” I say.
Luke looks down at me, a soft smile playing on his lips. He doesn’t reach around me again, though. I’m a little disappointed.
I turn to Sarah and wave into the camera. “Hey guys, I think we’re going to call it quits here. I don’t think we can top the octopus. What do you think, Luke? Are you ready to sign off?”
“Do we have to?” He says it convincingly, but I know he’s lying.
“My battery is about to die,” Sarah says.
“Oh, no.” I feign disappointment. “We’re losing power.”
“Seriously, it’s about to die. I’m not just trying to rescue you guys.”
I feel my eyelids start to peel back, but I remember I’m on camera.
“Ha ha,” I manage. It sounds forced. “We love these livestreams, don’t we, Luke?”
Luke leans over my shoulder. “I love this like I love a rack of smoked ribs.”
I manage to raise an eyebrow at him while remaining focused on the camera.
“That’s some serious love,” I say. “He means it. Okay, thanks for picking the location of our date, it was wonderful to explore the beach.”
I plug Tidewater Island Beach Ecology Tours and MatchAI before signing off.
“Ever the saleswoman,” Luke says, smiling.
“Was it too much?”
“Not at all. You’re a natural.”
We continue enjoying our morning without the watchful eye of the camera. Sarah hangs back and pokes around in the sand, splashes a bit in the ocean.
When the tour is over and the animals have been returned to their habitats, we head toward our cars. Luke escorts us to mine. He lets Sarah open her own door but follows me to the driver’s side.
I rest my hand on the door handle. I don’t feel ready to climb in just yet. He grins and looks down at his feet.
Sarah peers at us over the hood. “I think I need to...” She flits her eyes between me and Luke. “Yeah. I need to do Number Two.”
“Really?!” I exclaim.
“Sorry!” She ducks her head, spins around, and runs toward the restrooms.
“Wow,” I say. “That wasn’t graceful at all.”