He opens the box and lets out the most endearing little gasp.
"You shouldn't have," he says, peeling back the sleek cardboard lid and taking the Apple Watch out of the box.
He damaged his watch at work last week and wasn’t happy when the repair bill came in. It was an old model, so I figured he was due for an upgrade anyway.
"Look on the underside," I say, wishing I had my phone on me so I could record his face when he sees it.
"No fucking way!" His eyes light up, and before I know it, he's pulling me into a crushing bear hug. When he lets go, he bringsthe watch up to his face. "CM + BL 4ever," he says, running his eyes over the tiny inscription.
"I remember how bummed you were when you couldn't find our initials at the tree house, so hopefully this might make up for it."
"This is amazing, thank you," he says, wrapping the leather band around his wrist.
"My pleasure."
I'd do anything to make him happy.
Even make a real effort with what's-his-face.
Forty-five minutes later, the four of us—Buzz, me, Scooter, and Cyrus—are wandering around the ink festival.
The packed hall hums with the sounds of tattoo machines, and there's a heavy smell of ink and antiseptic as we move through a maze of artists and onlookers. Every once in a while, we stop at a station and watch the artists as they work.
The irony is none of us have tattoos, but the Villain Ink'd Festival has become so iconic it's always fun to wander around. It's even better to be doing it with my closest friends.
"So, how are things going with that new cast member? The one who's like a younger, hotter, even meaner version of you on the show?"
"Not great. I just found out he's my replacement," Scooter grumbles.
"Wait. Are you being serious?" I check.
"Yep. Here's some fun behind-the-scenes reality TV goss for ya. Every show needs a villain. I've been playing the role of mean vet for years now, and apparently the audience is tuning out. That's why they brought Carter in this season. The show gets oneyear of in-fighting from us with the newer guy proving victorious and the older guy getting the boot."
"Oh, man. That sucks, Scooter," Buzz says, threading his arm through mine.
My body heats at the contact, and I draw him in even closer.
"It happens all the time. I just didn't realize being thirty-one made me officially old. But apparently it does."
"In reality TV land," Buzz points out. "Which is not the same thing as the real world."
Scooter goes on, listing a number of grievances he was having with the show before this latest drama, and as much as I want to listen to him and be there for him, I'm too wrapped up in my latest fantasy, walking arm in arm through the festival with my for-real husband because we're for real in love, to be paying attention. I'll talk to him later to catch up on anything I miss.
Buzz asks Cyrus about his "business" trip to Italy with his manager, and I manage to miss most of that, too. Not that there's much to miss. Cyrus says something about it being nice then does what he does best—deflects. "What's going on with you two?"
But before either of us can answer, Zane appears out of nowhere. "Hi, you guys! It's so good to see you!"
He greets everyone with a big hug.
And then he gets to me.
"Hey," he says, lurching back.
"Hi," I say. "It's good to see you."
He scratches his arm. "Yeah. You, too."
Well, this is going wonderfully.
