Free Nuptials for Sale by Virginia Jewel Page B

screwdriver at him, but missed. 
    Mike just laughed.
    “Seriously, Mel, how many times at school did we say that you two were going to end up together?” Tommy, another college friend, asked from the dining room.
    “Okay, that’s enough talking.  Get back to work so that we can actually move around in this place.”  Josh shouted at the guys. 
    “I’m going to go change.  Is it safe to go into my room?” I asked, but quickly added, “I mean, our room?” I grimaced at Josh, acknowledging my slip.
    “We haven’t touched the bedroom.”  Josh answered quickly.
    “Josh wouldn’t let us into the love nest .”  Mike teased from the floor.
    After I changed, I headed back out to help. 
    “What can I do?” I asked while the guys sat in various spots assembling furniture.
    “You could order us a pizza and get us a few beers from the fridge,” Josh said without looking up.
    “Be careful now, Josh.  You don’t want to start expecting her to wait on you hand and foot.  Trust me, that doesn’t last long.  Before you know it, she’ll be telling you exactly where you can stick those beers!”  Tommy said with a chuckle.  He’d been married for several years.  In fact, Josh and I had been in his wedding.
    “Women don’t like to be ordered around,” Mike added, “except in the bedroom.  Right Mel?” he winked at me.
    I ignored them.  “What kind of pizza do you want?”
    When the pizza arrived, I stood on the box in front of the door and handed the deliveryman his money.  The four of us sat on the floor and ate. 
    “So how come you guys never told us you were dating?” Tommy asked before shoving another piece of pizza into his mouth.
    Josh shrugged, “I don’t know.  I guess it never came up.”
    “It never came up!  Are you serious?  You’ve been talking about this girl since the day I met you.”  Mike reached for another beer.
    I glanced over at Josh, but he avoided my gaze.
    “We didn’t say anything because we didn’t want it to be weird between all our friends if things didn’t work out.”  I answered the guys.
    “Well, it’s about time you did work it out.”  Tommy smiled at me. 
    The guys managed to get all the new living room furniture put together and drag out several pieces of the old stuff before leaving.  It was nearly midnight when they left and I was exhausted, both from the long day and the pressure of keeping up appearances around them.
    “I don’t know how we’re going to get through this,” I said as I plopped down on the new couch.
    “We’ll get the rest of this stuff out of here tomorrow, and then we’ll be able to arrange everything the way we want it.”  Josh fell down next to me on the couch.
    “That’s not what I’m talking about, Josh.  How are we going to keep up the appearance of a happily married couple?” I sat up and asked him.
    “It’s not that hard.”
    I looked him.
    “Not that hard?  Are you kidding me?  What are we supposed to do when people come over?  How are we going to hide the fact that we sleep in separate bedrooms?  What are we going to do when your dad comes to visit and we don’t have a guest room for him because we each have our own room?  When this whole thing is over with, how are we supposed to fake our way through a relationship around our friends and family?”
    “I don’t know, Mel.  I guess we’ll just do our best.”  He had his eyes closed and was leaning back against the couch.
    “No, Josh.  We need to figure this stuff out now!  We need to figure out a plan for how to make this work and then how to get out of this.”
    He groaned and said, “Would you just relax?  I figure we can fake our way through a year or so and then just get out of it.”
    I stood up.  “A year?  Holy shit, Josh!  You want to stay married for a whole year?”
    His eyes opened and he said loudly, “What’s the big deal, Mel?  It’s not like you haven’t already been living with me for a year