Well, it's Complicated...

Chapter 17 - Amber

Chapter 17 – Amber

A week and a half later, Emily and I decided we were ready for our—well, technically her—plan to be put into motion.

“Let’s call them,” Emily said, and I dialed Dan’s number.

After it started ringing, I put it on Speaker. After about the sixth or seventh ring, he picked up. “Hello?”

“Hey Dan, it’s Amber and Emily,” I said.

“Hey girls, what’s up?”

“We were just wondering if we could come over for dinner tonight,” Emily replied.

“Sounds alright to me. Let me ask Phil,” Dan said before yelling, “PHIL! THE GIRLS WANT TO COME OVER FOR DINNER TONIGHT. THAT OKAY?”

There were a few seconds of silence, and then Dan said, “Phil said yes. About what time do you want to come over?”

“I don’t know. About six, maybe?” I replied.

“Works for us. See you then.” Dan hung up.

I took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. “Well, no going back now,” I muttered under my breath.

Even though I’ve been preparing for this for a week and a half—and Emily for I don’t even know how long—I was still unsure of whether it was going to work.

“Of course it’ll work,” Emily would tell me. “You’ll see.”

Every time I tried to point out a potential flaw, she was prepared with a backup plan in case it didn’t work. I was actually more worried about how much thought she had put into this plan than anything else.

“How long have you been working on this plan, anyway?” I had asked her a few days ago.

In response, she had just smiled sinisterly and whispered, “Longer than you will ever know.” I physically shuddered at that memory.

“Everything OK, Amber?” Emily asked me. I jumped, having almost forgotten she was there.

“Y-yeah. Everything’s fine,” I lied, trying to look relaxed.

“Cringe attack?” she asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I didn’t trust myself to open my mouth, so I just nodded.

Emily kissed me on the cheek. “It’s alright, babe. The past is in the past.”

Not when it deals with something going on in the present, I thought, and then realized that didn’t really make sense.

“I’m gonna be in my room for a little while, okay?” I asked, needing some time alone to think.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll be in here if you need me.”

I walked to my room and closed the door behind me. I was able to leave the room without Emily giving me a kiss, which was a rare occurrence in the last week and a half.

The first time it happened was pretty much right after she told me the plan. I was going to take a nap, and I was headed towards my room when Emily grabbed my wrist, turned me back around to face her, and pecked my lips.

I looked at her, mildly confused. “Umm…”

And, of course, she was ready with a response. “You’re okay with a lot of kissing, right?” and before I could say anything, she continued. “Well, we’re gonna need a lot of practice to be able to convince Dan and Phil that we’re together.”