40 - Joanna

40

Joanna

I spent the rest of the evening drowning my discomfort in wine. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep on the couch, and then Landon helping me to bed.

I woke up before him. The pillow barrier down the middle of the bed had worked well so far, but this morning we were both snuggled up against the pillows. Our foreheads were almost touching, and he had an arm draped across them, his hand resting on my arm.

Rather than recoil from it, I stayed in bed and enjoyed his accidental touch. Despite any awkwardness last night, everything with Landon felt so normal and natural. Like we really had been dating for two months. Or even two years.

Was it possible to fake our relationship so well that we developed actual feelings?

Eventually, Landon snorted and woke up. I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. Just like when I had woken up, he didn't move at first. His hand remained on my arm, violating the Neutral Pillow Zone. I wanted to open my eyes, but I knew he was watching me. I could practically feel his gaze.

Then he got out of bed. I made a show of stirring in bed, then stretching. "What time is it?"

"Time to get breakfast," he replied. "I'm starving."

"Well, yeah," I teased. "You only had one meal last night instead of four."

He jokingly smacked his forehead. "Of course. I won't make that mistake again tonight."

My ankle was still tender, but felt surprisingly good this morning. Especially once I unwrapped it and applied some of the anti-inflammatory cream. It was an ugly shade of purple, but I could limp around without the need for my crutches.

While waiting in line at the omelet station, Marisa came up to me and gave me a hug. "Good morning! How are you feeling? No crutches, I see?"

I held out my foot. "It looks like an elephant's ankle, but I can move around! As long as I can limp down to the beach, I'm happy."

"We missed you at dinner last night," she said. "The food was so good . But I heard you and Landon had a good time alone."

Something about the way she said it was strange. "He was so sweet to bring me food. We hung out on the couch until I fell asleep."

"Oh I know. You two are such a cute couple."

I frowned at her. "What do you mean, you know?"

"Landon texted a photo to Bradyn this morning. You were asleep with your head resting on his shoulder. It was so cute . I don't know why I thought you two were giving off a weird vibe. Obviously you're both so happy!"

When I returned to the table with my omelet, I carefully asked, "Did I fall asleep on your shoulder last night?"

Landon paused with a forkful of sausage halfway to his mouth. "Uh… no?"

"That's funny. Because Marisa just told me you sent Bradyn a photo of exactly that."

"Oh." He put down the fork. "Um, yeah. You fell asleep on my shoulder while watching TV."

He showed me the photo on his phone. I was leaning hard on his shoulder, my eyes closed and my mouth wide open in an unflattering way.

"Why did you lie when I just asked you?" I demanded.

"I didn't want you to feel embarrassed about it. You were… kind of drunk last night." He quickly held out a hand. "Which is fine! Totally fine! But I didn't want you getting all self-conscious about it."

"You cared enough not to tell me, but not enough to stop yourself from taking a photo?"

He looked around, then leaned forward to whisper. "I was thinking about what you said. About Marisa's suspicions. It was a cute moment, so I snapped a photo. And when Bradyn texted me to ask if you were okay, I sent him the photo."

"You could have asked me first. I look stupid in that photo."

"Sorry." He cringed. "I was a little drunk too. I wasn't thinking."

"It's all right," I said, conveying only part of my annoyance to him. "Next time, warn me first."

"I honestly forgot I took the photo until you brought it up. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's fine," I muttered. "I'm just grumpy because I'm sick of being the center of everyone's pity. First the roofie guy, then my sprained ankle… I wish everyone would leave me alone. Hopefully today I can—"

"There she is!" Danicka said, making a beeline for our table. "How's the ankle, dear? I felt so bad for you last night!"

I put on the best fake smile I could muster. "I'm fine. It's sweet of you to ask."

"Are you sure? It looked so bad yesterday…"

I stuck my leg out from under the table. "The swelling has gone down a lot! I don't even need the crutches. It's not going to stop me from walking down to the beach today, I promise."

"I'm so glad to hear it. Oh, and I have something that will make you feel better." She started swiping on her phone. "The photographer sent me some preliminary photos. Most won't be ready until next week, but when I saw this one, I knew I had to show you right away!"

She showed us her screen. It was a close-up photo of me and Landon on the beach, staring into each other's eyes.

"What a beautiful moment!" Danicka exclaimed, as if the photo had been candid rather than forced. "If that isn't true love, then I don't know what is! I don't want to get ahead of myself, but maybe we'll be having another Jamaica honeymoon before long."

She went off to meet Clark at his table. I gave Landon a forced smile, and he focused on his eggs while shaking his head.

But despite the forced nature, it was a good photo of the two of us. Ironic considering we were the fakest couple in Jamaica.

We went to the beach after breakfast, snagging the same chairs we'd been using all week. Landon peeled off his shirt and closed his eyes while I began reading my book.

I kept glancing over at him, though. He was in my peripheral view, tan and muscular. Once again, I thought about how well we meshed together. We were quiet and comfortable in each other's presence, without the need to talk. That was a rare thing, in my experience—not just in relationships, but friendships in general.

"Hey," I said after a little while.

He rolled his head over to face me.

"I just wanted to say I'm having a great time on this trip, in spite of the drama that has happened. I needed a vacation. Even if I'm spending half my time pretending to be someone I'm not."

"Glad this arrangement has worked out for everyone involved," he replied. "Even though Mom has been annoying, she would be a million times worse if she thought I was single. I'm actually enjoying myself, too. There's just one problem."

"What's that?"

"I am not looking forward to our breakup. Mom likes you so much, she might take your side instead of mine."

I laughed and shook my head. "I've finally won over a boyfriend's mom, and it's not even real. Ain't that a bitch?"

"Life is unfair," he agreed.

I looked beyond him and winced. "Speak of the devil…"

"There you are!" Danicka exclaimed. "Since your ankle is better, I decided to book you on another activity."

"You really didn't need to—" I tried to say, but Danicka bulled through my protests.

"I booked a parasailing outing for you two. It'll be so much fun!"

Landon groaned. "I get motion sickness, Mom. You know this."

Danicka gave her son a hard scowl. "I knew you had it when you were a boy, but I assumed you grew out of it as an adult. Can't you just, I don't know, power through it?"

"That's not how it works, Mom."

She rolled her eyes. "Very well. Joanna will have a great time without you. Be at the activity hut at two."

"Actually," Landon said, "Joanna probably wants to relax on the beach today."

"Nonsense! Joanna wants to parasail, even if her boyfriend refuses to go. Right, Joanna?"

Without waiting for a response, she strode away.

"Maybe I spoke too soon about mom being easier to deal with," Landon muttered.

"Thanks for trying to get me off the hook. Maybe I should have pretended my ankle is still too swollen to walk."

"If you want, I can break it for you," Landon offered.

"Don't tempt me!"

Our laughter carried across the beach.