Page 54 of Joey

And it’s weird, because I think she’s probably experiencing the same thing. My stubble and Wald’s smooth shave.

Huck snaps the pic and says. “OK, where are we, Brooke? Give us a good lie for these.”

“Hmm,” she says. Huck opens up the voice recorder on his phone and holds it out to Brooke. “We’re in Zermatt, of course. Skiing. First time we’ve been there together.”

“And we just got back from the mountain,” Wald picks it up. “And we’re in the lodge bar.”

“Getting dinner,” I add.

“What’d we eat?” Huck asks.

“Burgers,” we all say at the same time.

“OK, next one,” Huck says. “All of us on the couch. And no jackets this time.”

We shrug out of the jackets and Brooke lifts the hoodie over her head, exposing her flat, muscled stomach when the t-shirt underneath lifts up.

All three of us stare at that.

Wald grins at me. Huck nods his head. And I pretend it didn’t happen.

I’m not getting involved with this. They can play house all they want but… well, that was a bad example. But the point is the same.

“Just you two first,” Wald says. “Brooke, put your feet up on the coffee table so we can see those sexy boots.”

Brooke rolls her eyes, plops down into the soft couch cushions, and looks at me.

I sit next to her and immediately Wald is saying, “Closer.”

So I scoot closer until our legs touch. She looks at me. No smile. And places her hand on my thigh.

“Put your arm around her,” Huck says, already snapping pics.

I do. And I pull her into my chest a little. She leans her head on my shoulder and Wald says, “Yeah, that’s good.”

“Now kiss,” Huck says.

I want to complain. Because I know what they’re doing. Trying to draw me into this game Wald wants to play.

But there’s no point. The whole reason for the pics is to prove we’re a couple. That we’ve been a couple for a long time.

So I just… turn my head, place my hand on the side of her face, and kiss her.

She moans a little as our mouths open. Tongues seeking each other out. And her hand slides up my thigh.

“That’s it,” Wald says.

“Very nice,” Huck says. “OK, enough of that. I got it. Now all of us on the couch.”

Wald sits next to Brooke and Huck sits on the other side of me.

Immediately Wald has his arm around her. But his fingertips are touching the back of my neck.

I shoot him a look and he shoots me one right back. A challenging look. Like… Say something. I dare you.

Huck snaps the pic, then says, “For fuck’s sake, smile, you guys. We just drank a shitload of ale and we’re buzzed. Everyone narrow their eyes into heady expressions.”

“You’re dumb,” I laugh.