Crash Course in Love

20

Ethan

The moment Riley suggested we practice one last time for Liam’s wedding, I was hit with a mix of excitement and soul-crushing nerves. This was my plan—a ridiculous, dramatic, borderline petty plan—but still my plan. And Riley, my next-door neighbor-turned-partner-in-crime, had been nothing but patient, which made me feel a little guilty about dragging him into this.

“Ethan,” Riley said, his voice calm and steady, as always. “You’re spiraling again.”

“No, I’m not,” I muttered, pacing back and forth in his living room. “I’m… processing.”

“You’re panicking,” he corrected, stepping in front of me and placing his hands on my shoulders. His touch was firm but grounding. “Stop stressing yourself out. We’ve got this.”

I stared at him, trying to let his confidence seep into me. Riley was always like this—calm, collected, like he had everything under control. It was infuriating and comforting all at once.

“Fine,” I sighed, shrugging his hands off. “Let’s go through it again. From the top.”

Riley smirked, and I hated that it made my heart skip a beat. “Alright. Fake meeting, holding hands, lovey-dovey glares. Let’s make Liam really regret ever letting you go.”

At the mention of Liam, my chest tightened. That bastard. My ex. The guy who cheated on me after two years of what I thought was a perfect relationship. And now, he was marrying him. God, I hated him. If I couldn’t crash his wedding in a literal sense, I was damn well going to do it emotionally.

“All those cringe things people in love do,” I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. “God, I hate this already.”

“Come on,” Riley said, clapping his hands. “You’re the one who proposed this, remember? You can’t back out now.”

I groaned. “I know, I know. Let’s just… get it over with.”

We repeated with the basics—how we'd met if people asked or even Liam.

Riley crossed his arms, leaning against the arm of the couch with a smug grin. “Alright, let’s start from the top. So, where did we meet?”

“At a bookstore,” I said, already feeling the tension rise in my chest. “I was in the self-help section, and—”

“And you were hopelessly lost,” Riley cut in with a laugh. “Which isn’t even a lie.”

I shot him a glare. “Do you want me to tell it or not?”

He held up his hands in surrender, still grinning. “Go ahead, Ethan. I’m all ears.”

“Thank you,” I said pointedly. “Anyway, I was looking for a book, trying to make sense of the mess that is my life—”

“You looked curious,” Riley interjected again, his tone teasing. “Like you’d just discovered self-help books existed.”

I glared at him, trying not to smile. “Would you let me finish?”

“Fine, fine,” he said, suppressing a laugh.

I rolled my eyes but continued. “And then you came over to help. You recommended a book—something about confidence or whatever—”

“Actually, it was How to Stop Overthinking,” Riley corrected, smirking.

I snapped my fingers. “Right. That’s the one. And then you practically begged me for my number at the end.”

Riley barked out a laugh, shaking his head. “Oh, no. That’s not how it went, and you know it.”

“Yes, it is,” I said, crossing my arms.

“No, Ethan,” Riley said, his voice lowering in mock seriousness. “I didn’t beg. You were so flustered after I helped you find that book, you practically shoved your number into my hand like it was a grenade about to go off.”

“That’s not—” I started to argue, but then I faltered, forgetting what I was supposed to say next. I stood there, blinking at Riley like a deer caught in headlights.

He raised an eyebrow. “You okay there, Romeo?”

“I forgot my line,” I admitted, my cheeks heating up.

Riley let out a laugh, a real one this time, and it was the kind of laugh that made the room feel lighter. “It’s fine, Ethan. This isn’t Broadway. You don’t need to be perfect.”

I groaned, running a hand through my hair. “Why am I so bad at this?”

“You’re not bad,” Riley said, stepping closer. “You’re just overthinking, like always. It’s supposed to be fun, remember?”

“Fun,” I repeated, deadpan. “Right. Crashing my ex’s wedding as your fake boyfriend is so much fun.”

Riley grinned and leaned in, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “It will be if you let it be.”

“We’ve been practicing this for a week,” he pointed out, crossing his arms. “You should have them memorized by now.”

“Yeah, well,” I muttered, “you didn’t date Liam. You don’t know what it’s like to want to… I don’t know, destroy someone emotionally.”

Riley raised an eyebrow. “True. But I do know how to fake being in love.”

The words hung in the air for a moment, heavier than they should have been. I cleared my throat, pushing the thought away. “Okay, fine. Let’s move on. Holding hands.”

Without hesitation, Riley reached for my hand. His fingers were warm and steady, wrapping around mine like it was the most natural thing in the world. I stared down at our intertwined hands, my throat suddenly dry.

“Relax,” he said, his voice softer now. “It’s just practice.”

“Right,” I said, forcing myself to focus. “Practice.”

We moved on to hugs, laughter, and those stupidly intimate looks that couples shared—the kind that used to come so easily when I was with Liam. Riley was annoyingly good at it, his blue eyes locking onto mine with just the right amount of tenderness to make my stomach flip. It was unsettling how convincing he was.

“Smile like you’re in love with me,” Riley said, his lips twitching into a smirk.

I scowled. “I can’t smile if you keep saying stuff like that.”

“Ethan,” he said, his tone teasing, “you need to sell it. Think about Liam seeing us together. Think about his face when he realizes you’ve moved on with someone hotter, smarter, and—”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” I interrupted, rolling my eyes. But the thought did help. I forced a smile, trying to channel every ounce of love-struck energy I could muster.

“There you go,” Riley said, giving me an approving nod. “That’s the look.”

We ran through the rest of the routine—laughing at each other’s fake jokes, brushing hands, stealing glances. It was painfully awkward at first, but by the end, it felt almost natural. Almost.

When we finally collapsed onto the couch, I let out a long, exhausted sigh. “This is insane.”

“Probably,” Riley agreed, leaning back and resting his arms on the couch behind him. “But it’s also going to be fun.”

“Fun for you, maybe,” I muttered, staring up at the ceiling. “I just want Liam to pay. He cheated on me, Riley. He lied to me for months. He—”

“Ethan,” Riley said, cutting me off. His voice was calm but firm. “I get it. But tonight isn’t just about making him jealous. It’s about proving to yourself that you’ve moved on. That he doesn’t control you anymore.”

I turned to look at him, surprised by the sincerity in his voice. “You really think that?”

He nodded, his expression softening. “Yeah. And hey, if you’re lucky, maybe you’ll even have a little fun in the process.”

A reluctant smile crept onto my face. “You’re annoyingly good at this whole pep talk thing.”

“It’s a gift,” he said, grinning. Then, after a beat, he added, “Now get some rest. We’ve got a wedding to crash.”