Unexpected

“How could I let myself fall for him? What if this is still just a dare for him?” Sammy asked herself while sitting next to her long-time best friend and recent fake boyfriend Bryan. She couldn’t help but look up at his perfectly chiseled face as he laughed along with their friends at the movie they decided to watch. While holding his hand she found herself thinking back to when this whole mess started at her birthday party five months ago…

           Sammy woke up already feeling hot and sweaty from the heat coming in through the window, sitting up to stretch, she realized that it was the day she had been waiting for, her twenty-first birthday. She was the last of her friends to turn twenty-one and was starting to get impatient. She quickly made her way to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day knowing Bryan, her best friend since the age of 3, would have a big day planned for her. As she was finishing her hair and makeup, her bedroom door swung open and Bryan came dancing in yelling “happy birthday day Sam!!” He proceeded to run across the room and bring Sammy into a big bear hug lifting her off her feet. In between laughs Sammy asked “what do you have planned today?” Bryan gave her a devilish grin and said “oh nothing ...just the BEST birthday party you could ever imagine tonight! Hurry up and finish getting ready so we can start the day!” Sammy threw her hair into a messy bun and followed him out the door.

           Once in the car, Bryan drove to Starbucks and ordered Sammy’s favorite drink for her, then headed to the mall. After a few hours of walking around, shopping, and meeting up with some other friends, Bryan said “okay, it’s time to PARTY!!” They all headed over to his house where many of their friends were already waiting.

After a few rounds of drinks in celebration of Sammy finally being of age, someone had the bright idea to play truth or dare. All of the friends sat in a circle and took turns, when it came to Bryan’s turn, he of course chose dare. “I dare you to kiss Sammy and take her on a real date” Lexi said. “Bet!” replied Bryan as he crawled across the circle grabbing Sammy’s face and planted a big kiss on her lips before she could process what was said. As he pulled away, they looked into each other’s eyes and he whispered “next the date” making Sammy blush.

As the party started winding down and people started leaving, Bryan told Sammy they would go on their date the next day. Sammy crashed on his couch that night and the next morning they went on a date for breakfast. While waiting for the server to bring their food, they started talking about the kiss from the night before and eventually one of them brought up the fact that they were both single and lonely. “Why don’t we pretend to be a couple for a while to make our crushes jealous?” suggested Bryan. Sammy wasn’t too sure of this idea but agreed to it…

Shaking her head to come back to the present, Sammy realized that the movie was over, all of their friends had gone home or fallen asleep leaving Bryan and Sammy awake all alone in her basement. Turning to look at him, she decided that now was as good a time as any to talk about their relationship. “Um, Bryan?” “Yes Sam?” Bryan replied while pulling her closer into his chest and wrapping his arms around her to cuddle. “I need to tell you something and I’m nervous about it so I’m just going to say it fast. I think I’m falling for you and am not sure if you see this still as a dare or why we have continued to pretend and I am really starting to freak out...” Bryan didn’t let her finish her thought, he grabbed her face and passionately kissed her. Pulling away, he looked into her eyes and explained “Why do you think I agreed to the dare in the first place at your party? I have loved you since middle school but didn’t want to ruin our friendship.” “So does that make us an official couple?” Sammy asked. All Bryan did to reply was kiss her again and then cover them with a comfy blanket and asked “what movie does my girlfriend want to watch next?”

A few months passed by and Sammy found herself falling more in love with Bryan than she ever thought possible. They had decided to move in together about a month ago and everything was going great. One morning as she woke up in their now shared bedroom, she started stretching and realized something new on her hand. Rubbing her eyes to elevate the morning blurriness, she realized it was a diamond ring. Turning over to ask Bryan what was going on, she noticed he wasn’t in bed anymore instead, he was kneeling on the ground next to her. Sammy started to cry immediately as she figured out what was happening. “Samantha Grace Thompson, will you make me the happiest man in the world and become Mrs. Williams?” “Yes, of course I will baby!” was her reply. Smiling ear to ear, they both embraced each other in a hug. “I can’t believe I get to marry my best friend,” Sammy thought to herself as Bryan pulled her out of bed and down to the kitchen where he had already made a beautiful breakfast for her.

After breakfast, they called Lexi to tell her the news. “Aren’t you glad I am good at reading people and dared you guys to start dating? I am so happy for you guys and can’t wait for the wedding!” Hanging up with Lexi after talking for a while, Bryan looked at Sammy and said “let the wedding planning begin!” THE END