Page 31 of My Fake Date With My Childhood Friend (Port Lane Romances #3)

I started making them as I walked, shaping them with my hands and packing them tightly before throwing them at the window.

But I'd forgotten the key piece of the puzzle, which was that I had terrible aim.

Plus, it was a lot harder to throw something at a second-story window than I expected.

The snowballs kept falling short, or if I was lucky and got them high enough, they hit the brick wall beside his widow instead of the glass.

I was getting frustrated and cold, but I didn't give up.

I kept making snowballs and throwing them at the window until I finally hit the target.

I gasped in surprise and then cheered. But Alexander still didn't open the window, so I started to make another one, now with renewed energy. My hands were freezing, and my fingers were starting to cramp, but I didn’t care.

If I did it once, I could do it again, right?

And eventually, he would have to open it and listen to me.

My hand was shaking as I made the snowball, and I had to struggle to get it into the air.

But when I finally let it go, I knew it was going to hit its target.

As I watched it fly, it felt it was moving in slow motion.

But soon, disaster struck: just as the snowball was nearing its mark, the glass window was thrown open.

And just like that, I hit Alexander Rigby in the face with a snowball.

“Oh my gosh,” I giggled, my hands flying to cover my face.

“Penny!” He yelled. He wiped the snow off his face. “What was that?”

“I am so sorry!” I laughed. It wasn't the ideal situation, but hey, at least I got him to talk to me. “Are you okay?”

“What are you doing?” He asked. Not the answer I was looking for, but I supposed it was good enough. At least he was actually talking to me. I had to be happy about the small things.

“You know, this all seemed easier in the movies!” I called back. “And I’m here to serenade you.”

I pulled out my phone. This would have worked better if I had a speaker, but I didn’t tend to bring one with me to parties. It was probably also for the best that I didn’t draw more attention to myself right now. This didn’t need an audience.

I hit play on the music. Ellie Goulding’s dreamy voice blared out of the speakers in her song Love Me Like You Do. I carried the boombox in my hand and swayed along while humming. I stared at him and smiled. He did the same in return.

My heart was beating; I could feel the connection between the two of us.

When I was with him, it was like the two of us were on our own planet alone.

Nothing else mattered. He looked emotional and surprised, like he couldn’t believe I did this for this.

After a second, he covered his face with his hands and shook his head, his face turning red.

“You did not just do that,” he said, laughing. “You shouldn’t have.”

“I did, and I’ll stand here all night if it proves how much I like you!” I yelled over the music. I was glad the noise of the party was stopping my voice from travelling inside. “I’m sorry — I should have told you a long time ago!”

“What about Joseph?” He asked.

“Joseph is dead to me! He has been for ages. I’m sorry that I didn’t make that clear.”

Alexander was silent for a moment before he nodded.

“Why don’t you turn off the music and climb up here?” Alexander called. There was a tree right behind their house, with a branch that just barely stretched to Alexander’s window. I knew it was the way he snuck into the house when necessary, but I had never tried it myself.

“You must be out of your mind!”

“If you really loved me, you would do it,” he said with a mischievous grin. He was obviously joking, but I never turned down a challenge.

“Fine,” I said. I tucked my phone into the waistband of my tights and prayed it wouldn’t fall off during the climb.

“Wait, Penny, I was just kidding!” He yelled as I started to climb.

“If you can do it, I can do it too!” It actually wasn’t as hard to climb as I thought it would be.

There were a couple of handholds and footholds attached to the trunk to make it easier to get up.

It was the branch that proved to be the difficult part.

It was covered in snow and slippery. The only thing I felt like I could comfortably do on it was to sit and slide my way across it until I reached his window.

“Penny, please be careful!” I could hear the panic in his voice.

I knew he was worried about me, but I couldn’t stop now.

I had to finish this. I gritted my teeth and tried to focus on continuing to move forward.

I could feel my grip slipping, but I refused to let go.

If I let go now, I would regret it for the rest of my life.

The branch was getting thinner and less sturdy the further I walked on it. I tried not to look down as much as possible. I had no idea a second floor could feel this high up.

“Reach for me!” Alexander called as I got close. “I'll pull you in!”

“What if I pull you out?” I asked in concern.

“You won't! I promise.”

I reached for him, and he grabbed my hand. Together, we pulled me inside the window, and I landed safely on the bed. I could hear the sound of people partying down below us. It was like a surreal dream.

“Are you okay?” He said as he knelt down next to me.

“Yeah, I'm just a little winded.” I smiled and leaned in to give him a hug. He hugged me back tightly, his body shaking with laughter.

“You're an idiot,” he said finally, breathless from laughing. I grinned and put a hand on his face.

“I missed your smile,” I said. He stared back at me, his eyes bright.

“I missed you,” he responded.

“I’m sorry about everything,” I murmured. “About pushing you away and Joseph showing up and… everything. I like you, Alexander. More than I have ever liked anyone before, and that scares me. But I’ll be damned if I let fear stop me from loving you the way you deserve.”

“Does that mean…” He trailed off and looked at my face searchingly. “Does that mean you want to go on a date with me, Penny Owen?”

“I do,” I whispered. He smiled wider than I’d ever seen before and brushed his fingers across my face.

“Please tell me this is the part of the movie where we get to kiss.”

“Obviously.”

He leaned in closer and kissed me on the lips.

It was gentle and slow at first, but as his lips moved against mine, a fire began to burn inside of me.

It was exactly how I dreamed it would be.

Fireworks. Chemistry. He pulled his arm around my waist drawing me closer.

I could kiss him forever. I wondered if this was how it felt to be in love.

How could something as awful as my boyfriend cheating on me would turn into me finding love in the most unexpected place? Alexander Rigby was everything I wanted and more in a boyfriend. If I hadn’t gone through all that, I wouldn’t have ended up here, in the arms of the boy I always wanted.

In some weird way, it made it all worth it.