My parents called to tell me they were heading to my childhood friend’s house to meet his blind date. My childhood friend, Hugh, was fast asleep beside me. I thought it was a joke. "Hugh," I whispered, "they said they found you a blind date." He grunted, pulling me closer into his arms. "Cora, sweetheart, pick out an outfit for me in a bit, would you? And help me with my hair." When I froze, Hugh cracked open an eye and let out a cynical laugh. "What's wrong with you? We're just hookup buddies. You didn't actually think I was going to marry you, did you?" 1 My mind blanked. All I could do was fumble awkwardly. I couldn't bring myself to look at Hugh. I pushed him away, snatching my clothes from the floor and pulling them on haphazardly. "Cora, look at me." Hugh propped his chin on his arm, a playful glint in his eyes. "You didn't really think we were boyfriend and girlfriend, did you?" The words "hookup buddies" echoed in my head. My hands trembled so badly I couldn't fasten the clasp on my bra. Hugh threw back the covers, revealing a lean, sculpted torso, and knelt on the edge of the bed. With practiced ease, his fingers found the clasp and secured it. I kept my head down. "Who's the blind date?" I managed, forcing a bitter laugh. "Please don't tell me your parents just grabbed some random person from a singles' mixer." I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, at the constellation of red marks scattered across my skin. My legs still ached. Hugh, now only in a pair of grey sweatpants, moved behind me and buried his face in the crook of my neck. "It's Isla." He arched a brow, those handsome eyes of his crinkling. "You remember, the senior from the art department in college. Isla." He let out a low whistle. "To be honest, just thinking about seeing her again… I'm actually a little nervous." My hand, holding a tube of lipstick, froze. Of course, I remembered. Hugh had a massive crush on her, but before he could confess, she’d moved abroad. I thought that was all in the past… Hugh’s eyes were fixed on me. He pursed his lips. "Cora, don't get any funny ideas. We grew up together, practically in diapers. And yeah, you're… beautiful, no doubt. But I see you as one of the guys. "You're my perfect partner—for meals, for road trips, for bed…" His words hit me like a physical blow, a chill spreading through my entire body. I stared at his smiling face and managed a weak curl of my lips. He went on. "Besides, I know everything about you. What you'll wear on any given day, right down to the matching underwear set. It's… kind of boring, you know? Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and see you sleeping next to me, and I get this jolt of fear—what if that joke our families always make comes true? What if we actually got married? My whole life would be over before it even started." He shuddered dramatically, as if the mere thought was terrifying. I dug my nails into my palm, fighting to keep the tears from falling. "I have to go." I wrapped my coat around myself and fled like a deserter. 2 I thought Hugh and I were dating. We did everything other couples did. We ate together, went on dates, hung out with friends where, during a game of Truth or Dare, we'd casually kiss and say "I love you" without a hint of irony. Hugh would pick me up from work on rainy days. He'd secretly hold my hand under the table at family dinners. I never knew that the six months I thought were a budding romance were just a game of house to him. "Cora?" My mom tapped on the car window, her face etched with concern. I snapped back to reality. I saw my own tear-streaked face in the rearview mirror and quickly wiped it clean before getting out. "Mom!" I threw myself into her arms, hiding my face in her shoulder with a forced laugh. "I missed you." She was holding a bag of groceries, and she took my arm, breathing a sigh of relief. "Honey, why were you just sitting in the car? You scared me. Didn't you see that news story about someone…" I nodded along. Suddenly, her tone shifted. "Oh, by the way, Cora… Hugh's blind date is coming over soon. Your uncle and aunt are taking this very seriously. I hear Hugh has been planning this for a long time. He said he was worried the girl might feel awkward, and having another girl there might help her relax." She looked at me, her expression pained, hesitating. "I've been best friends with his mom for so many years, so when we go over today…" I knew what she was trying to say. "It's okay, Mom," I said, forcing a smile. "Just break the ice, say nice things. I get it." She gave me a look filled with pity. Of course, she understood. A photo of Hugh and me sat on my bedside table. Every gift he’d ever given me was carefully stored away like a treasure. My notebooks were filled with his name, a testament to a love I couldn't hide. How could she not know? We walked home in silence. As we opened the door, I said suddenly, "Dad's retiring next month. Let's move to Florida." I looked at my mom's stunned face and tried to sound playful. "You've always said you wanted to retire there. I don't have any big dreams anyway. I can be a dance teacher, stay by your side. That's all I need." 3 Sitting in Hugh's living room with my parents felt different this time. Every other time, we were laughing and fooling around. The last time, we'd used "playing video games" as an excuse to sneak off to his room and kiss. This time… "Oh, Amelia, you have no idea the lengths this boy went to for this girl, Isla," Hugh's mom said to mine. "I told him, 'Just ask her out!' But no, he had to insist on framing it as 'dating with the intention of marriage.' He made his father pull all sorts of strings just to get her to agree to meet today as a blind date." I looked around the meticulously decorated house, filled with bouquets of roses. The table was laden with fruits and sweets. Even their little dog was wearing a bright red sweater. And there was Hugh, checking his reflection over and over, making sure he was perfect. The bitter irony was that just last night, we were tangled in his sheets, and he was kissing the small birthmark on my waist with such tenderness. The underwear he was wearing right now? I bought it for him. "Ah, it's such a shame, though…" Hugh's mom squeezed my mother's hand wistfully. "We always said we'd be in-laws one day. We even made a childhood pact for them!" She glanced at me. "I truly adore Cora. She's not just beautiful, she has a wonderful personality, so bright and cheerful…" I kept my eyes down, not daring to respond. I was afraid one wrong move and the tears would start falling. "Mom!" Hugh frowned, clearly displeased. "You said it yourself, that was your generation's thing. You and Aunt Amelia are close, why don't you two get married? What does it have to do with me? What century are we living in, still clinging to those old ideas?" He had no regard for the adults' feelings. Then he turned to me, his tone harsh, as if I'd put his mother up to it. "Cora, where's the bracelet my mom gave you?" When I didn't answer, he strode over, grabbed my wrist, and pushed up my sleeve. "The one they gave you as a token for that childhood pact. I'm afraid Isla will get the wrong idea if she sees it…" The words hung in the air. My dad and his, who had been sipping tea, froze. My mom, who had been arranging flowers for him, stopped cold. The atmosphere turned instantly sour. My mom stared at me, the vase and clippers in her hand clattering onto the table. She started to get up, but Hugh's mom pulled her back down. Then, she stood up herself, placing herself firmly in front of me and giving Hugh a hard shove. "Hugh! What do you think you're doing? Putting aside the fact that nothing's even started between you and this Isla… that bracelet? You were the one who got on your knees and begged Cora to wear it when you were seventeen!" It was like a switch flipped in Hugh's mind. He remembered. He remembered that year when another boy confessed his feelings to me. Panicked, he’d gotten drunk, stolen the jade bracelet from his mother's jewelry box, and shown up at my house in the middle of the night, crying, pleading, even kneeling, begging me to wear his family heirloom. He tugged at his collar, took a deep breath, and forced a smile at me. "I'm just a little tense. I… it's not right to take back a gift… you can keep it." "It's fine. I'll give it back. I'll go home and get it now." I stood up, cutting him off, my voice steady. "I'll be quick. I won't hold things up." Before anyone could react, I grabbed my bag and walked out. 4 When I returned with the bracelet and was about to knock, a chorus of cheers from inside stopped me— "Welcome—" Hugh's smile froze the moment he saw me. "What are you doing here?" He clearly hadn't expected me to come back, let alone to actually return the bracelet. When I held it out to him, his face was a mask of disbelief. He finally took it, pocketed it, and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Cora, for the sake of our… partnership, don't you dare cause any trouble today. Isla's a sensitive girl. Don't say the wrong thing and upset her." I didn't want to even look at him. Isla was a girl, but wasn't I? I looked at the person I had loved for my entire youth, and a bone-deep chill threatened to swallow me whole. Ten minutes later, Isla arrived, escorted by the matchmaker. The adults chatted amiably. This was why my parents had to be here—to subtly lay out our family's finances and future prospects for the matchmaker's benefit. Throughout it all, Hugh sat beside Isla, his every gesture radiating care. At nearly thirty, he was acting like a green, infatuated teenager. I was completely irrelevant, which suited me fine. I was just looking for a chance to slip away. But then, Isla turned her gentle gaze on me. "You must be Cora. I've heard so much about you. The goddess of the arts department, wasn't it?" Startled to be addressed, I waved my hands dismissively. "Oh, no, not at all. That was just everyone fooling around in college." I hoped the attention would quickly shift away, but Isla persisted. "Not at all! I remember you performed a classical dance at the university ball. The next day, the entire ground floor of your dorm was flooded with flowers for you." Before I could speak, she tugged playfully at Hugh's arm. "You two are childhood friends. How did you not end up together? I remember you were inseparable. Everyone thought you'd get married." Every eye in the room turned to me. I don't know how to describe it, but this seemingly harmless woman radiated a strange hostility. "Her?" Hugh looked at Isla, handing her a freshly peeled apple. "To you, she might be a girl, a goddess even. But to me, she's just a tomboy. My best friend, the one I grew up sharing everything with." A memory seemed to surface, and he chuckled. "You have no idea. When Cora cried as a kid, snot and tears would just stream down her face. If I didn't wipe it for her, that big glob of snot would've gone right into her mouth." He warmed to his theme. "And when she was fifteen, she fainted during gym class from running and started talking nonsense, flailing her arms around like a maniac…" "I have to go, I have something to do." I stood up, barely containing my fury, and forced a smile at the adults. "You all enjoy your chat." Isla looked at Hugh with a troubled expression. "Did I say something wrong to upset your little sister?" Hugh glared at me, as if blaming me for ruining the atmosphere. Before he could speak, I cut him off. "I have a date with my boyfriend tonight. If I don't leave now, I'll be late." 5 "Since when do you have a boyfriend?" I had one foot out the door when Hugh grabbed my arm. "How come I don't know about this?" My face flushed hot in front of everyone, especially Isla. I wrenched my arm free. "Why do you care if I have a boyfriend or not?" I snapped. "My own parents haven't even asked. It's none of your business!" "Hugh!" his father said in a low, stern voice. "Sit down! What kind of behavior is this?" I took the opportunity to bow to the adults. "Goodbye, Uncle, Auntie." From behind me, Isla's sweet voice piped up. "Cora is so beautiful, and she's always performing on stage. She must have plenty of admirers… It's perfectly normal for her to be dating. I even saw what looked like a hickey under her scarf earlier."
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