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Lucy snuggled into the crook of the sofa, clutching the pillow a little tighter. “Wow. I don’t know shit.” She swallowed audibly. “I’m greener than a seasick Grinch.”
Meryl barked out a laugh. “Great visual.”
“Thanks. So, what do I do? What did you do with your last girlfriend?” Her question was perfectly reasonable and there was no judgement or jealousy behind it.
“I’ll let Jake answer that one.”Meryl the martyr.
Removing my hand from Lucy’s knee, I laced my fingers together, mimicking Meryl’s stance with my elbows resting on my thighs. “I never really dated much. Once I signed on with Velram, I hardly had the time, and before that, I wasn’t a household name, so nobody gave a shit who I was seen with.”
“Okay…” Lucy drew out, “but what about Sabrina Lowry? Didn’t you two date for a few months?”
“Did you google that?” I wondered, more amused than annoyed at the fictitious relationship the internet fabricated.
“Well, yeah,” Lucy justified. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Meryl cleared her throat and we both turned our attention on her like we had been caught talking in class.
“Sorry,” we chirped in unison.
“I suggest we waste no time on this,” Meryl implored. “Tonight, they know your name, Lucy. Tomorrow, you’ll be pregnant with Jake’s twins and by next Tuesday you’ll have broken up because he refused to pay child support.”
Lucy scoffed. “Jake. You would never.” Her body shook while she cracked herself up. “Some superhero you are.” And then under her breath, she continued with her mock disgust at our pretend babies and our pretend break up. “Leaving a girl alone, pregnant with not one buttwobabies and then refusing to even help pay for them.” She tsk’d.
Her efforts to diffuse the seriousness was appreciated, but we did need to figure out how to proceed.
“I can reschedule my trip home,” I voiced. During the break between Chicago and Boston, I planned on flying home to visit my parents. But with Lucy sitting there twirling her fingers around the corner of the pillow, I was questioning whether or not I should go.
I could stay here and be with her; weather the beginning of the storm. Help her. Guide her. Protect her.
All of it was shit timing and I hated the guilt that was settling in my stomach like acid.
“No. You said you hadn’t been home in almost a year, Jake.” Lucy sat a little taller. “I can handle it. Will you be around Meryl?”
Meryl shook her head. She told Lucy that she was flying back to LA for the week. “But, I’ll be available whenever you need me.” The two of them exchanged phone numbers.
“And I will be too,” I assured, giving her arm a squeeze. “We’ve got a few days to prep you for the world’s weirdest obstacle course.”
The room fell silent. Lucy began to look a little pale.
“Are you up for this?” Meryl prodded gently.
Lucy blew a strand of hair off her forehead and shrugged. “YOLO, bitches. Let’s do this.”
Chapter 20
Lucy
Chicago
Jake wasn’t kiddingwhen he promised that Meryl was good at her job.
The vibe I got from them initially was that I would have to turn into some sort of elusive, aggressive ninja that was armed with combative skills and could make my attacker pass out cold from a single finger touch to the base of their neck.
I was wrong. For the most part at least.
First, I should mention (in equal parts relief and disappointment) that there would be no ninja skills learned. This girl needed to pump the breaks; I was no Cathy Cambridge here. I wasn’t married to a future king and thus, I didn’t need to undergo mock kidnapping scenarios and hone my evasive and defensive driving skills. (Need I remind you about my parking fiasco in San Diego?)
Secondly, there was only one picture floating around cyber space and it wasn’t even that clear. After deliberating with my new team (read Meryl and Jake), we decided my best defense for any bit of anonymity was disguise.
