The Anti-Relationship Year

by Katie Wismer

  He spun the steering wheel to maneuver them out of the parking lot, the half-smile still on his face. “I’m taking that as a yes.” He headed in the opposite direction of the highway, the radio playing lowly in the background. Jo leaned her head against the door to look out the window as they wound along the curving backroads, lush trees of vibrant red and gold framing them on either side. Most of the houses were fully decked out in Halloween décor—spiderwebs, scarecrows, skeletons who looked like they were scaling the side of the house.

  Grey’s warm hand slid into her lap, his fingers gently pressing into the skin above her knee. Her body flooded with heat at the contact, but still, in the very back of her mind, in a voice barely louder than a whisper, the words when things don’t work out played over and over again.

  Not if.

  When.

  The thoughts lingered in her mind long into the afternoon, even once they made it downtown and wove through the sea of food trucks, colorful umbrellas, and bustling crowds. They stopped at one of the picnic benches beneath the rows of string lights after Grey grabbed two hot ciders. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just watching the people around them, until he nudged her foot under the table.

  “What’s going on with you?” he asked. “You shut down.”

  “Sorry.” Jo twisted the cup around in her hands. “I had a fight with my roommate right before I left, and I feel really bad about it.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “What was the fight about?”

  Jo sipped her drink and glanced back at the snaking line to the nearby candy apple truck. “I’ve been canceling a lot on her lately—more than I realized. And today it was something important, and I just completely forgot. Which is shitty. Really shitty. And she’s pissed.”

  He leaned back in his seat. “You had plans with her today? You should’ve told me. We could’ve done this another time.”

  Jo shrugged. “I didn’t find out until you were already outside.”

  Grey paused, his mouth setting to the side as he considered this. “What were the plans?”

  “I was supposed to help her pick out a dress for this thing.”

  “Down here?” He gestured around them.

  Jo nodded, and he flapped his hand, gesturing to her phone on the table. “Then tell her to come meet us, and we’ll both help her find something.”

  A slow smile crept onto Jo’s face. “You want to help my roommate pick out a dress?”

  “I want to be the knight in shining armor who mends the relationship between you and your roommate so I can hold it over you forever,” he said matter-of-factly.

  Jo snorted, but picked up her phone. “Of course.” She paused. “Would you really not mind?”

  “Stop stalling. Here, I’ll call her.” He pulled the phone out of her hands and started scrolling through her contacts. “What’s her name?”

  Jo set her cup back on the table and covered her face with her hands. “Kayleigh.”

  “Aha.” Grey held the phone up to his ear and winked. “Hello, Kayleigh. Sorry, this is Grey. I believe I intruded on your plans today. So I’d like to propose you come join Johanna and me downtown. No, really, it wouldn’t be any trouble.”

  There was silence on the other end of the phone for several seconds. Grey drummed his fingers on the table and shrugged. Jo couldn’t make out whatever she said next, but judging by the grin that appeared on Grey’s face, it was a yes.

  “Perfect. I’ll send you our location. We’re right over by the food trucks. Great. We’ll wait here for you. See you soon.” He hung up the phone and handed it back to her.

  Jo narrowed her eyes but couldn’t quite hide her smile as she took the phone. “Do you have any idea what you just got yourself into?” she asked.

  He shrugged, reached across the table, and slid his fingers through hers. “Just doing my part for the good of society. Saving the world one roommate relationship at a time.”

  Jo wasn’t sure if Kayleigh really couldn’t decide on a dress, or if she was making a point and trying to punish Jo for canceling on her so many times. Either way, Jo bit her tongue as Kayleigh carted yet another mountain of options back to the dressing room. Jo’s feet were starting to ache from standing so long. Grey chuckled lightly, his lips brushing the back of her ear as he trailed his knuckles over her shoulder and down her arm. She leaned back into his chest and sighed.

  “If you decided to sneak out the back door and leave me here, I wouldn’t blame you,” she said.

  He locked his arms around her shoulders and rested his chin on the top of her head. “How much do you want to bet she ends up picking that first one she tried on?”

  “I’m sorry.” She turned around to face him. “I know this isn’t exactly what you had in mind for today.”

  “Why are you apologizing? I’m the one who suggested it.” He wrapped his arms back around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. “How about you and I go for a drive once she finishes up here? At this rate, we might catch the sunset.”

  Jo snorted. Their date had started at noon. “I’d like that.”

  “Okay!” The curtains to the dressing room flew open with a grand whoosh. Kayleigh stepped out with a shimmery white dress in hand—the shimmery white dress she’d tried on an hour and a half ago. “I think I found the winner.”

  “Pay up,” murmured Grey.

  Kayleigh’s nose scrunched up at the sight of the two of them tangled together. “You two should just go get a room or something already. I can handle this from here.”

  Jo supposed that was as close to a thank you as she was going to get. She detached herself from Grey and went to give Kayleigh a hug. “I’m glad you found something you liked,” she said.

  Kayleigh huffed a bit, but returned the hug. “I’ll see you back at the room?” she asked.

  Jo nodded.

  The sun actually was starting to set as they made it back to Grey’s car. Instead of heading back to Jo’s dorm, he went the opposite direction, toward the coast. Jo propped her arms on the car door and rested her chin against them, her gaze trained out the window. The lights of the city faded behind them, giving way to a sea of lush, green trees and bright red leaves. Shades of pink, blue, and yellow rippled along the clouds lingering in the sky, the colors reflecting off the asphalt, still slightly damp from the rain earlier. A rock song on the radio played in the background, and Grey hummed along, drumming his fingers absently against the steering wheel as they followed the curving road out of the city.

  “What are you thinking about?” he murmured.

  Jo leaned her head to the side and smiled. “That I wish I had my camera.”

  “We’ll make a special trip for that next time.”

  “Oh, next time, huh?”

  “I’m still on a trial period?” He brought his hand to his chest and shook his head. “I’m hurt, Jo.”

  She snorted. “No you’re not.”

  “No I’m not on a trial period, or no I’m not hurt?”

  She propped her feet on the dashboard and leaned back in her seat. “Doesn’t it ever get exhausting?”

  His eyes flickered away from the road to look at her, just for a moment. “What does?”

  She waved her hand in his general direction. “Trying to be funny.”

  He laughed as he turned back to the road. “I don’t know if I should be offended or not. You realize you’re in my car, right? I could kick you out at any moment.”

  “You won’t.”

  “And why is that?”

  She shrugged. “You like me too much.”

  She expected him to laugh again, but he just reached over, his hand finding hers. “That I do, Johanna. That I do.”

  Kayleigh was wearing the dress when Jo stepped back into the dorm, twirling around, a different shoe on each foot. Pink tinged her cheeks when she spotted Jo standing in the mirror behind her. “I can’t decide on the shoes,” she explained, lifting the skirt a little higher, revealing a simple nude pump on one foot and a s
trappy black stiletto on the other.

  Jo gestured to the black ones. “Those are more fun.”

  “That’s what I was thinking.” Kayleigh leaned down to undo the clasp and grinned up at Jo through her hair. “How’d it go with Grey?”

  “Oh, you know,” said Jo breezily as she collapsed onto her bed.

  “You know, I thought he’d end up being a douche. But I actually kind of like him.”

  Jo snorted. “Gee, thanks.”

  “That’s the best compliment that roommate stealer is going to get from me.” She paused, then added, her voice a little quieter, “I’m sorry about what I said earlier.”

  Jo rolled her head to look at her as Kayleigh shimmied out of the dress, draped it carefully over the back of her wardrobe door, and slipped on some sweats. “Well, you’ve got me for the rest of the night. Wanna get drunk and watch trashy TV?”

  Kayleigh’s eyes widened. “Wanna go get chicken nuggets first?”

  Jo closed her eyes and threw her head back against the bed. “Yesssss.”

  After grabbing shoes and bags in a flurry of movement, they hurried out of the suite, passing Liv and Addie doing their makeup in the common area.

  “Where are you two going?” asked Liv.

  “Sorry!” Kayleigh grabbed Jo’s hand and pulled her into the hallway. “Roommates only!”

  Jo burst into giggles as they tripped over each other, landing in a tangle of limbs together on the floor. The door across the hall opened, and Miller’s head popped out. He took in Kayleigh and Jo laying on top of each other and smirked.

  “Carry on.” He nodded and slipped back into his room.

  “We should get those fried macaroni bites too,” Kayleigh whispered.

  “Maybe some tots,” Jo added.

  “Milkshakes?” said Kayleigh.

  Jo nodded vigorously. “Definitely milkshakes.”

  Kayleigh’s hand tightened around Jo’s. “If we hurry, we might be able to get that happy hour deal.”

  Jo sprang up from the floor, dragging Kayleigh along behind her. “My car is in the lot out back!”

  Kayleigh immediately took over the radio as they slid into Jo’s Jeep and hurried down the road, her car dinging in protest until they both put their seatbelts on.

  “Are we thinking throwbacks?” asked Kayleigh.

  “Definitely.”

  The drive-through line was nearly wrapped all the way around the restaurant when they pulled up, and Jo’s eyes flickered to the clock. Just ten minutes left before their happy hour ended.

  “I think we’ll make it,” said Kayleigh, leaning back in her seat and propping her feet on the dash. The brake lights in front of them cast a red tint to her skin. When she turned to look at Jo again, a mischievous smile had crept onto her face. “So are you going to share any of the juicy details about Grey, or am I going to have to pull them out of you?”

  Jo rolled her eyes and crept the car forward. “Maybe there aren’t any juicy details.”

  “With a guy that hot? There absolutely must be. Is he a good kisser?”

  Heat crept up the back of Jo’s neck as a few choice memories rose up in her mind—Grey’s hands expertly gliding up her shirt, his tongue sweeping into her mouth, his body tightening against hers. She coughed. “Yeah. Yeah, he is.”

  Kayleigh snorted out a laugh and pointed at Jo’s face. “Damn, I wish I had a guy to kiss me so good that I looked like that. Have you guys had the awkward what are we talk yet?”

  Jo tightened her hands around the steering wheel and grimaced. “No. But we’re not even hooking up yet, so like it can’t be just that…” She glanced at Kayleigh sideways. “Right?”

  Kayleigh shrugged. “Don’t look at me. Though, if he was just trying to get into your pants, the guy is putting in a lot of work, so I doubt it. He seems really into you.”

  “Do you think it’s weird that we haven’t talked about it yet?”

  Kayleigh paused, considering this. “How long have you guys been seeing each other?”

  Jo grimaced again. “Like two months.”

  Kayleigh scrunched her nose. “Maybe you should just, like, casually bring it up. Make it a joke, you know? Maybe he’s just assumed you guys were already.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” echoed Jo as she pulled up to the speaker. She checked her phone as she rolled down her window and waited for the person to take her order. There was a text from Grey from around the time he’d dropped her off. Her stomach fluttered the way it always did at the sight of his name on her phone.

  Today was fun. When can I see you again?

  A small smile crept onto her face.

  The speaker crackled outside her window, and Kayleigh immediately leaned across the seat and called out, “Yeah, we’ll take one of everything!”

  8

  Senior Year - March

  Jo showed up to the showcase five minutes before the doors opened to the public with partially wet hair and hastily scrawled eyeliner. But her photos were now perfectly edited and uploaded to her portfolio, and that was all that mattered. She’d shimmied her way into a sleek, black dress that cut off mid-thigh. The neckline slashed across her chest, the thin straps overlapping on a single shoulder. She’d gone with her basic black heels that were comfortable enough to stand in all night and pumped enough product in her hair that hopefully it would still look decent once it finished air-drying.

  The theater’s lobby was packed with rows of tables, sectioned off for each senior’s display. She hurried over to her spot at the end of the first row and turned on her monitor. The first page of her portfolio flickered into view, and she quickly dusted off the surrounding table and laid out her business cards along the shimmery gold decorations she’d picked up that morning.

  The boy next to her had a massive poster board set up like this was some kind of science fair. Samples of his multimedia work were spread out across his station. Jo wasn’t sure exactly what he did, but from a brief glance, it looked like a combination between photography, newspaper papier-mâché, and something that looked like concrete. Jo craned her neck, looking for Miller, but couldn’t make him out among the rows of heads and projects. She was pretty sure the people who were just here for their minors had been placed in the back.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she smoothed her hands over her dress. She wasn’t sure what she was more anxious about, seeing her parents or Sandra Simone—if Sandra even came by her booth. Maybe that would be worse, to know her idol had been in this very room but hadn’t gotten the opportunity to see Jo’s work.

  Jo pressed play on her monitor so her portfolio would constantly be revolving across the screen. She busied herself by sweeping the room, taking in the other seniors’ projects as best she could from her vantage point, hoping if she kept her brain distracted enough, there wouldn’t be enough room left for nerves.

  At first when the doors opened, the guests just barely trickled in. After about fifteen minutes, more people arrived, and the room came to life, buzzing with conversations and movement, the narrow aisles between booths filling with bodies. Several people stopped by Jo’s station and took her business cards, complimenting her work and asking about her post-grad plans. Some left their own business cards, saying they’d be in touch. She smiled politely and forced herself not to fidget or look around the room, but the anxiety was a constant presence, like static on her skin, as she desperately waited for the right person to appear.

  Jo didn’t recognize her at first. She was in a sleek red dress, her dark hair twisted into an intricate bun on the top of her head, and bold, gold hoops dangled from her ears. She gave a small smile and nodded as she stepped in front of Jo’s screen and watched as the pictures cycled through. She didn’t say anything, not until the very last picture flashed across the screen and the montage started again.

  “I’m Sandra Simone,” the woman finally said.

  “I know,” Jo said without thinking. “I mean—I’m a big fan of your work.”

  That same small smile crossed
Sandra Simone’s face as she leaned forward and gingerly picked up one of Jo’s business cards. The paper suddenly looked flimsy and unprofessional now that it was between her perfectly manicured fingernails. “Are you free tomorrow, Johanna?” she asked.

  Jo hesitated a moment too long before stuttering out, “Yes, I’m free.”

  The woman gave a single, satisfied nod. “Good. Come in for an interview at my office. Two o’clock.”

  Jo stared at her in shock, but forced herself to respond. “Absolutely.”

  And with that, Sandra Simone laid her own business card on Jo’s table, turned, and disappeared back into the crowd. Jo’s heart continued to thunder against her ribs long after she was gone, and she steadied herself back against the table with trembling hands. She felt like she needed someone to pinch her. Hell, she needed someone to punch her.

  “Hey, Jo!” A face swam into view—red cheeks, nervous smile. Gracie. She hesitated a few feet away from Jo’s booth in a lacy white dress and matching sneakers, awkwardly shifting her weight back and forth.

  “Gracie?” Jo’s voice rose into a question, but she quickly masked it with a smile and waved the girl over. “What are you doing here willingly? Did Sanders offer extra credit or something for showing up?”

  “No.” She shifted again, her eyes darting from the portfolio on the screen to the business cards to Jo’s face. “I just…wanted to stop by and say hi, I guess. And see how your portfolio turned out. Did you add any of the yoga ones?”

  “Yes!” Jo grabbed the remote and quickly shuffled to the new additions, her chest warming at Gracie’s words. She barely knew Jo, but she’d still come by to support her. “Here they are.” She landed on a shot of three people by the lake, the sun reflecting off the water just so.

  Gracie leaned in, tilting her head to the side as she examined it. “Oh my God. It looks even better than I thought. Do you think you could show me how you edited it like this?”

  Jo smiled. “Anytime.”

  Gracie’s gaze landed somewhere behind Jo’s head. Her cheeks immediately turned scarlet, and she dropped her gaze back to the floor. Jo pressed her lips together to keep her smirk in. At least she knew where Miller’s booth was now.