Page 81 of Prime Time Romance

I feel sick. Even worse than before.

“Good.” Sheldon nods. “You should probably go get changed, then. I hear you have a date tonight.”

22

Brynn

By the time Spencer knocks on my door, I’ve rallied myself into a better headspace. I’ve gone full Sloan in a fresh outfit. My blond hair has been wrangled into beachy waves. I’ve meditated.

“Wow, Sloan. You look incredible.” Spencer gives me the kind of look that I’ve been longing for since I got here. “My dad loaned me the boat tonight. I figured it would be fun to take it into town. What do you think?”

“I think it’s perfect,” I say with a renewed commitment to the plan.

The next few days are about three things, and only three things.

Win Spencer. Win pageant. Go home.

I take his hand and let him lead me down to the dock, where a fancy white speedboat is tied up and waiting.

I climb into the passenger seat. He turns the ignition key and the boat roars to life. There’s a notable coolness in the air as we cruise out into the bay. The sky is a dull gray with dark clouds looming on the horizon. The wind has picked up. It’s not much more than a slight breeze, but there’s something different about it. A notable change in the texture, maybe? As if it’s saying, Something’s coming.

“It looks like it might rain.” I glance around the boat to see if there is a cover, but there doesn’t appear to be one.

Spencer taps on one of the round dials on the boat’s dashboard. “It will probably blow past. It usually does.”

As we pull up at the town docks, the weather seems bent on contradicting him. When Spencer jumps out to tie up the boat, I feel the first drops of rain on my bare shoulders.

“We may need to make a run for it.” Spencer reaches down to pull me onto the dock. He looks around. “We can take cover in the gazebo for a few minutes. It’s probably just a quick little summer rain shower.”

He takes my hand and leads me up the gravel path that winds toward the park with the gazebo. When we reach the grass, the rain begins to fall harder, and we have to sprint the last thirty feet to avoid getting soaked. By the time we’re under the gazebo, it’s completely pouring.

“Wow!” says Spencer, watching the rain, which is now so thick that we can barely see Main Street. “I didn’t see that coming. We may be stuck here longer than I thought.” He turns to me. “But that’s okay. I’ve got something important that I wanted to talk to you about anyway, and it feels right to do it here. A little like fate.”

He takes my hand, and it reminds me so much of the perfect scene from the show’s opening credits. Sloan and Spencer alone at the gazebo, holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes, lips parted as if they are on the cusp of saying something that could change the course of their relationship forever.

It’s romantic.

It’s idyllic.

I shiver with the déjà vu.

“Are you cold?” Spencer’s fingers trace the line of my collarbone.

“Just a little.”

He curls his index finger under the strap of my sundress. “I’d give you my sweater, but I wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty dress.”

I smile weakly as he swallows, then draws a deep breath.

“Sloan, we’ve known each other since we were kids. And from the very first moment that I saw you on the beach, you captivated me with your sweet smile and unwavering spirit.”

My stomach drops at the sudden realization that we’re doing this here and now.

“You’ve grown into this tenacious young woman,” he continues. “And whether fate held me back or our stars weren’t yet aligned, it took until now for me to realize that my feelings for you have changed….”

He tugs my hands so I have to step even closer.

The feeling in my stomach is less butterflies and more angry bees. My heart picks up speed but doesn’t swoon, and the inside of my mouth tastes rancid as speckles of black begin to cloud my vision. I breathe and blink, and the perfect scene in front of me becomes a little like a Monet. I start to see the brushstrokes. The messy little flaws. And the picture-perfect beautiful bubble I was in a moment ago bursts.