Faking Forever Ch. 11-12

Chapter 11

"Ah, here we are," Winston announced, unlocking the door and pushing it open. The cabin was smaller than I expected, but just as rustic as any other cabin I'd ever stayed in. Wood paneling, antlers for a chandelier. He was proud of it and beamed as Cici and I followed him in. "Kitchen is here. There's a disposal; switch is on the wall. The bathroom is through there." He pointed at a narrow door just past the refrigerator. "And there is the bedroom." He clapped his hand and spun around to face us.

Cici had a broad smile on her face and nodded. "Thank you so much, Mr. Harper, for letting us use your cabin. It is so kind of you." She offered a kiss on his cheek as a polite gesture and said, "Excuse me, boys." She wheeled her suitcase into the bedroom, carrying her briefcase and laptop bag.

I let my suitcase sit next to the small island that divided the kitchen area from the main living space. Both of them together were probably less than five hundred square feet, an open concept divided only by the island. It was small even for cabin standards, and I already knew what Cici would say.

"Cici is right. Thank you, Winston, for allowing us to use this cozy little cabin." I shook his hand and said, "If you don't mind. I'm just going to make sure Cici doesn't need anything,and I'll be right back."

"Of course." He smiled and I turned and marched straight into the bedroom where Cici had disappeared. She stood with her arms crossed glaring at me.

"You promised separate bedrooms. There is one bedroom, Drew." Her angry whisper was justified, but I was upset that she didn't at least wait for Mr. Harper to be gone before she started in on me.

"I swear, I didn't know. Now get out here and behave yourself." I spoke with a whisper that sounded more like a growl and pointed toward the door, then returned to Winston's side with a smile firmly in place. Cici followed, happy as a clam.

"It's so lovely. I was admiring the painting on the wall of the lake. Is that the lake down the path?" She curled her arm around mine and leaned against me. After her display in the bedroom I knew it was about as fake as could be.

"I have no clue, honestly. I bought that painting at an art fair a few years ago because my wife loved it." He chuckled. "You have to keep the women happy." With a wink he headed for the door. "You have my number in case you need anything and I hope you enjoy the festival this weekend. Avoid the absinthe!"

"I'm more of a Hennessy man," I called after him as he shut the door. We were alone and I could already feel the heat from Cici's glare igniting my skin. She pulled away and assumed the same angry position she'd had in the bedroom.

"I can't believe you did this. I didn't even want to come and now one bedroom? One bathroom?"

"Listen, I didn't know. I swear it." It didn't matter how many times I tried to explain I knew she would still be upset. I should have asked questions before I made promises. "It will be okay. It's not like sleeping in the same bed gives you cooties or anything."

"Oh, no you don't." She scurried into the bedroom and I heard rustling. When she reappeared, she tossed a pillow and blanket at me and snapped, "You're taking the couch. The bed is mine. Please don't bother me. I'm going to be working."

The minute the bedroom door shut, I heard the lock click into place and knew that was the end of our night. "Goddammit, Cici." I raked my hand through my hair and stared at the locked door. I heard things moving around in the room, and then I heard music playing so loudly even if I banged on the door she wouldn't hear it. I had no choice but to settle in and wait for her to come out. With one bathroom it wouldn't be long.

I rifled through the cupboards and found them mostly empty. There was a can of beans and a few other canned vegetables. The freezer was empty, but there was a case of beer in the fridge with a note from Winston that said "Have fun." Some fun, sitting on the couch staring at the wall while Cici worked. I took a beer and settled onto the couch, noticing for the first time there was no television on the wall. No entertainment center, no computer. How did people vacation like this?

The beer was cold and I was bored. My phone became my only source of entertainment, so I scrolled social media. I didn't usually have time to just and scroll, but without access to my work computer, I couldn't do much more than answer emails. After nearly an hour of mindlessly drinking beer and reading useless Twitter posts, I switched to Facebook. It had been nearly a year since I logged into the account, and the first thing I saw were my memories there.

Curiosity killed the cat and it sucked me in too. After my sixth beer, I couldn't resist it. I clicked the link and saw a post from eight years ago. Cici had run out of gas on the highway and left her purse at home, so she didn't have the number for roadside assistance. Drew and her grandparents were at one of his wrestling matches and Nev wasn't driving yet. She called me. I came to her rescue and brought her some fuel, and she took a selfie and posted it to Facebook showing the world I wasn't a complete trash bag.

I felt good about doing that for her that night, and I felt my heart stir as I read and reread the post. It made me think about the night Nev told me Cici had a major crush on me. She was seventeen and I was twenty-nine. There was no way in hell her grandmother would have allowed that not to mention how different our lives were back then. I had thought about it for a split second, thinking maybe it wouldn't have been all bad, but I was too old for her. Nev had to break it to her and after that Cici hardly spoke to me--until the can of soup incident at her grad party.

The memory had me curious, so I went to Cici's Facebook profile. She hadn't blocked me, so that was good, but she also hadn't posted anything in over a year, almost three years to be exact. I scrolled through her photos, not seeing many of me at all. Most of the ones I saw of me were bad shots, awkward angles or me with a scowl on my face.

Until I got to a picture of her high school prom night. Her grandmother had snapped some pictures that night as I sat around hashing out my business deal with Beck. The woman had insisted Beck be there for Cici's big night since her parents weren't around anymore, and Beck and I had to finish a huge project. So there I was, sitting next to some pimple faced kid who was taking Nev. Cici asked me to come to her bedroom to talk and she asked me about taking her to prom. I had the perfect prank planned. I was going to put vinegar in her water bottle and snap a picture when she took a sip.

Instead, I ended up having to tell her it was off limits. Besides I had work to do. I was building my business and career, and she would only be a distraction, not to mention she was a kid still. When she caught me with the vinegar she scolded me and begged me to just leave her alone. I saw the tears in her eyes and assumed it was because I had told her no. I played the prank on Beck and later learned she'd been stood up, and I felt even worse.

The pictures that followed that chronologically were all with her and Kyle. I hated that slimeball. He really hurt her.

Just seeing the memories made me want to apologize again for being so horrible to her. I was so immature and she never deserved that. I stood and walked to the door on unsteady feet. Knocking, I called, "Cici," but her music was still loud. I tried again, but still no response, so I grabbed another beer from the fridge and parked myself back on the couch to wait for her to come out. The memories weren't all good. In fact, most of them were bad. I hated myself for being like that, and the alcohol only made it worse.

I looked at the pillow and blanket on the end of the couch as I cracked the beer. My phone chirped that it was dying, and I had no motivation to dig my charger out of my suitcase. I sat there drinking the beer until my eyes were so heavy I was ready to pass out, but I couldn't bring myself to sleep yet. Cici deserved an apology. If only she would come out of the bedroom.

Chapter 12

After a quick glance at the time on my phone, I slipped my robe and slippers on and tiptoed toward the door. I hadn't left the room since we got to the cabin and I had to pee so bad. With my music up so loud until after one a.m. I had no way of knowing what time Drew went to sleep but I was hoping he was still out. I cracked the door and peeked out, only to see him sitting up on the couch with his legs resting on the coffee table, head lolled back. His mouth hung open and loud snores emanated from deep in his throat.

I snickered at the sight. He would kill me if I snapped a picture of him and shared it on my socials, but my bladder screamed at me. I hurried to the toilet and relieved myself, and upon returning to the kitchen I noticed a few candy wrappers lying on the counter with at least ten beer cans stacked in a pyramid. The trash can, only a few feet away, was empty. I scowled at how messy he was, but when his snoring stuttered, I looked up at him. It was sweet that he'd fallen asleep sitting up. I smiled to myself before turning to make coffee.

The scent of the coffee filled the air and the machine hissed as it dispensed a steaming hot brew for me. I opened the fridge and realized we had no cream or sugar, which meant black coffee, but at least there were a few flavored K-cups. Roughing it took on a different meaning for people like Drew and me. Some people would think I was entitled for pouting about drinking black coffee, but I didn't care. I took the hot cup and brought it to my lips to sip it and at the same time, I heard Drew say, "Good morning."

The coffee sloshed, dribbling over the side of the mug onto my hand. "Ouch!" I set the cup down quickly and grabbed a paper towel to dry my scorched skin.

"Oops," he mumbled. "Sorry." I looked up to see him standing behind me with a grimace on his face.

"You startled me. I didn't realize you were awake."

"The smell of coffee woke me." He rubbed his eyes and yawned, and I got a whiff of morning breath. I covered my nose and picked up my coffee mug, strolling across the room.

"Make yourself at home. I'm just going to sit on the deck and drink my coffee." Drew didn't seem to notice my repulsion. He focused on his coffee and I focused on putting distance between us. When he stepped out onto the deck I knew I should have taken my coffee in the bedroom, but it was beginning to feel like a cave in there.

"You really hunkered down last night. Did you get a lot done?" He sat across from me and sipped his coffee. He looked handsome with disheveled hair and sleepy eyes.

"I did, thanks. What did you do?"

"Well with no coffee I ended up scrolling socials." He pulled his phone out and flicked his thumb across the screen then turned and showed me the picture. "Remember this night?"

My heart warmed. "Yeah, I do." I smiled without thinking about it. It was one of the nicer memories I had with Drew. He had rescued me, showing me he wasn't as horrible as I'd always thought. It was the night I knew my crush was more than just thinking he was good looking. I saw the softer side of him and I swore I was in love with him.

"I'm not a horrible jerk," he said, shrugging. He put his phone away and leaned his elbows on the table. "I can be a gentleman you know."

I nodded and said, "Of course you can. I don't think you're a monster, Drew." The breeze picked up, chilling me, and I was thankful for the warm drink. The familiar stirring of affection wound its way up my neck to a warm flush. The nostalgia hit had me swooning again, just as I had that night. Those old feelings were there, despite having been completely rationalized away years ago.

"So there is the founders festival and I want to check it out. I thought maybe we could go. My treat. We can get some food, play a few games. I heard there is a horse-drawn carriage ride through the mountain pass and--"

"Drew, I told you I have to work. I really intended to hunker down and get this project done. I won't have time to finish by Tuesday when I get back to the office if I don't." I hugged my mug with my hands and shivered.

"Well, I mean you have to eat sometime." He grinned and eyed me over the rim of his mug.

"No, Drew. It's a bad idea." I felt bad, but I had told him this would happen anyway. I didn't want to disappoint him but there was no way I was going out to some festival alone with him while we were tucked away in this cabin. It was a recipe for disaster, especially with how attracted I was to him.

"Fine." He sat back and scowled.

"Why did you say it like that?" I set my coffee down and crossed my arms over my chest.

"If you insist on being a curmudgeonous hermit, there is nothing I can do about it. I'll enjoy the festival myself."

"Oh, okay. So you insult me and think you're better than me for doing exactly what I told you would happen. And is that even a word?" I stood up, snatching my coffee and stormed back into the house. Before I got to the bedroom, he was there, standing between me and the door.

"You can't just lock yourself in there all weekend. Cici, this is beautiful country. Come enjoy it with me."

Who did he think he was being nice and romantic now? I seethed. He'd had his chance a long time ago when I was young and naïve, and now I wasn't having it. "Get out of my way, Drew. I have to work."

He took a step closer to me. "Just dinner then? I can cook it here. We don't have to leave."

"You think I want to eat with you after you insulted me?"

I side stepped him and he halted me with an arm pinned to the wall. I glared up at him as he leaned in, trapping me. I pressed against the wall. He was really close to me again, just like on that boat. My pulse was thready. I was upset at him for insulting me, but he was magnetic. How did this keep happening to me? And why hadn't I just insisted the trip never happen?

"I need to work."

"I need you to see I'm not like I used to be. I haven't played a single prank on you or hurt you in any way since you started dating me."

"Fake dating you," I corrected him. "And you've been demanding and bossy and rude."

He leaned closer, his forehead nearly touching mine. My body couldn't get close enough to the wall. My groin was stirring to life and I was having a hard time fighting the desire inside of me.

"Dinner... please. That's all I want."

"I can't." I ducked under his arm and scurried into the bedroom, locking the door behind me. Thankfully he didn't even bother to knock. I'd have just turned my music up anyway. What I did do was to call Nev immediately, while I paced the room.

"Oh, hey girl," she answered, quite cheerily. I almost screamed.

"Oh my god I almost kissed him again. Nev, get me out of here." I was a wreck. I realized my robe hung open in the front, revealing my skimpy cami and spandex shorts I slept in. "Oh god, and he saw my pajamas."

"What?" she chuckled. "Why do you care?"

"Because it's Drew!" I snapped.

"Because you like him. Admit it!" I could almost see her cocky "I told you so" expression, but I would never admit that out loud. "Look, Cici, just bang one out and get it over with. You'll realize he's not that amazing and move on."

"I'm not going to 'bang one out,' Nev. This is Drew Freaking Pratt."

"Yes, and you were in love with him in the twelfth grade, and those feelings are obviously still strong, so bang one out. Maybe he's a good fuck." She chuckled again and I slumped to the bed.

"I gotta go." I hung up and flopped myself backward to a lying position. I wanted to go home.