Playing Pretend Box Set by Natasha L. Black

Author:Natasha L. Black [Black, Natasha L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-29T04:00:00+00:00

30

Giovanni

Better fucking figure it out, I growled to myself in my head.

I needed to figure this Kandice thing out—preferably before we got to the picnic spot.

Had I meant what I’d said to Kandice the other night? What if I had? Why did I say it, if I didn’t?

All this pretending was exhausting. Back with Maria and Gino, sitting around playing Mario Kart, every inch of me had burned to tell them the truth.

To just spill it. To confess that yeah, maybe things between Kandice and me had started out fake, but now... I didn't even know anymore.

I pulled up to a park on a hill with well-manicured grass. The color was deceptively deep for being in a desert climate. Nearby was a beautiful view of the beach and an odd, somewhat out of place stone fountain. There was barely anyone else here.

We unfolded the blanket and laid it out together, sitting down, side by side. I started to unload the picnic basket in a semi-robotic haze. I caught a glimpse of Kandice, her beaming smile juxtaposed against the shadows on her stunning face. Happy and sad, all at once. Because of me.

"There's something I think we need to talk about," I said.

My phone rang. It was Mama.

"Have you heard the news? Gino, he wants to work at the Bruno lamp plant, he's even going to go for a weekend rehab retreat. Giovanni, there's even a girl he likes—that girl from the party—it's all coming together!"

"I know, Mama, and I’m so happy for him," I said. "But I am in the middle of something with Kandice."

"Well, tell her I said hello," she said brightly. "You two have a wonderful time."

I hung up to see Kandice eyeing me expectantly.

"It was Mama," I explained. "She just found out about Gino and the good news. He wants to work at the family plant and wants to do a weekend sobriety retreat."

"That's awesome," Kandice said, her look still expectant.

I paused. I'd been prepared to take on this conversation head-first. But looking at Kandice now… I wasn’t sure where to begin.

"What are you thinking?" She finally asked.

I answered without thinking. "I did this all to protect my family, but maybe I didn't need to."

The realization was a bit of a relief. Strange. To think that Gino got better all by himself, more or less.

"Looks like you can stop all this, then," she said in a cold voice, standing up.

I stood too.

"Kandice?"

"You know what?" she said. "I'm not feeling well. I think it's best if we go back."

"We just got here," I protested.

"And I just started feeling like I might throw up," she spat back.

Our glares dug into each other. It had to have been something I said. Something she misinterpreted. But I was tired of dealing with her moods.

"What do you want me to say?" I snapped.

"Nothing that you don't mean," Kandice said. "Because I think we both know that there's been an awful lot of that lately."

Her words hit me hard.

Maybe because she was right. I could have blurted out that I loved her in the moment.

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