Okay, maybe just a smidge of progress.
“It will. We go out a few times, post a picture online here and there, and fizzle it out in a month or two. Plus, the season is just starting, so he’ll be in Colorado Springs anyway. Yeah, it’s not far from here, but he’s not actually in Denver, right?”
“I guess. But what is the actual plan? Like, how many dates would it be and how long do we have to do this?” I pushed the plate of food toward her. She broke off a piece of an iced snickerdoodle and popped it into her mouth. “Sorry, it was eying me.”
I chuckled. “It’s all yours. I can grab another.”
“I’m not stealing your cookies.”
“I wasn’t really planning to eat a full plate of baked goods. I got them all for us to share. And to answer your questions, we can play it by ear. Although I think we should do a picture today, for sure.” I looked at the plate. “Yeah, with the cookie. It’ll be great.”
She eyed me warily again as I scooted my chair next to hers and leaned in, holding my phone in front of us.
“What are you doing?”
“Pretend you like me. Smile and hold up that cookie.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “What? That’s dumb.”
“Nah, people will love it.”
“Except that I haven’t agreed to dating you yet.” She frowned. “Fake dating.”
“I want to snap it before we finish the cookie.” She really must not be big into social media. Everyone knew you had to take the picture or it never happened.
“This is ridiculous,” she muttered.
“Come on. It’ll be quick and painless.”
“Just because you keep saying painless doesn’t make it so,” she fired back.
I tamped down my grin, not wanting to piss her off.
She sighed. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
Leaning back, she picked up the cookie while I adjusted the phone to get the best snap.
“Okay. Now, smile like you love me.”
Her lips tweaked. “I love this cookie.”
“Good enough.”
Her eyes brightened and the grin that came out was a punch to my gut. I wanted to make her smile like that for real. Quickly, I took a few shots and shifted away.
She smelled incredible. And it had nothing to do with the treats between us.
“Does it look okay?” She peered over my arm as I scanned through the pictures, then pointed. “That one’s the best.”
“We need a caption that’ll get attention. Maybe ‘my girlfriend has the best taste… in cookies.’” I waggled my eyebrows.
She snorted.
I met her gaze. “What? It’s cute.”
“And kinda cheesy. Plus, girlfriend? Aren’t we just casually dating?”
“Fine. How about ‘iced snickerdoodles are the best’? That way, people will wonder if we’re together. Adds a little mystery. You have to post it on your socials, too.”
