Like a Best Friend | ✓

chapter fourteen

There were supposed to be six of us on this tour. Well, seven total. Three couples plus the guide. But when Kitty and I make it to the meeting point, there's a guy standing with a clipboard, a loved-up couple with their hands in each other's pockets, and a girl on her own. Clipboard guy waves the board at us and says, "Is one of you Katherine?"

"That's me." Kitty raises her hand. When I arranged the tour, all it asked for was the name of the cardholder and how many guests, saving us an awkward conversation about why I'm not Levi.

"Awesome, this is everyone then, guys!"

I glance at the solo girl, short and curvy with freckles and a tan and her ash blonde curls in two fat plaits. It's entirely possible that she's solo on purpose, maybe she's taking an adventurous trip to find herself or get back to her roots or whatever, but from the look on her face, I get the feeling that's not the case. Behind her oversized wire-rimmed glasses, her eyes are projecting a mix of terror and sorrow.

"Right, so, we're about to spend three busy days together so we should get to know each other. My name's Dylan," says our guide, hand on his chest. He's about five ten with an athletic build and a rugged tan, like he spends his life outdoors, his dirty blonde hair sun-bleached with an I cut my own hair look about it. "I'm thirty-two and I was born and raised in Reno, but Vegas has been my home for the last seven years. I've been running tours for almost a decade now, so I know my shit. You got any questions, you fire 'em straight at me and if I don't know the answer, I got plenty of friends I can call. Start of every tour, I like to play a game with you guys."

I groan on the inside. Icebreaker games are not my idea of fun. Especially not at six o'clock in the morning.

"It's called like, dislike, free time. Simple, self-explanatory. When you introduce yourself, I wanna hear one thing you like, one thing you don't like, and what you get up to in your free time."

Okay, not a game. I can handle this.

"Example," Dylan says, one foot propped up on the van's front wheel. "I like really fuckin' ugly Christmas sweaters, I dislike bowling, and I don't have a ton of free time between this gig and my second job as a bartender, but when I do, I spend it hiking with my girlfriend and making blanket forts with her kid."

"Cute," Kitty says under her breath. Dylan hears and grins and gives her finger guns.

"You're up next, Katherine."

"Alright. I'm Kitty – never Katherine, unless you're my mom or I've really pissed you off," she says. Dylan laughs. "I'm twenty-eight and I'm from Boston. I like roller coasters, I dislike scary movies, and I spend my free time ... uh, I spend most of my free time reading books or hanging out on Instagram."

Way to downplay almost half a million followers, I think with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Kitty." Dylan salutes. His eyes shift to me and he says, "You guys came together, right? How do you know each other?"

Kitty takes my hand and says, "We got married last week. This tour is part of a honeymoon surprise from my wife."

The words roll off her tongue with ease. She doesn't even hesitate anymore, and nothing in her expression gives away that it's a lie. Like she has fully convinced herself that it's the truth. Forget Levi, he never existed. This really is our honeymoon.

"Oh, nice. Congrats, guys. Alright, Kitty's wife, tell us all about yourself."

"Hey, I'm Fliss. Also twenty-eight, also from Boston." My mind goes blank. I forget everything I have ever loved or hated. Kitty squeezes my hand as I stand there blinking and thinking. "Um, I like coffee? Like, it's a need." I let out an awkward laugh. The solo girl gives me an encouraging smile. It helps. "I dislike the Big Shot at the top of the Strat. With a passion." Kitty laughs at that. "I spend my free time reading mystery books and exploring New England."