Page 24 of Shy Girls Can't Fake Date

Squashing my repulsion, I wave back. “Bye, boyfriend.”

Parker chuckles, reversing the car out of the driveway and giving me another wave before driving away.

Oh boy. What did I get myself into?

I move into the house and find Mom on the phone in the living room.

“Oh, she just walked in,” Mom says into the phone. “I’ll put you on with her.” Mom lowers the phone. “Hi honey. It’s Tess.”

“Ahhh.” I struggle for an excuse to avoid the call before Mom places the phone in my hand. She walks away, leaving me to speak with my sister.

I lift the phone and ensure I have a chipper tone. “Tess, hi.”

“Hey Kikki. I just wanted to actually talk because I know you were peeved yesterday.”

“It’s cool. I was just in a bad mood because I’ve had a crush on him for so long.”

“I know. It was safe to crush on him from afar.”

And now I’m going to be up close and personal with him thanks to Parker. “Mm-hmm.”

“I get that you’re heartbroken. I’ve been there before. But as someone who’s been through my share of torture when it comes to love, I just want you to see the possibility of this being a blessing in disguise.”

I’m glad we’re not on video chat because my eyes roll so hard. “Yeah, maybe.”

“Was school easier today?”

“Yeah. Josie and I spent lunch in the library.” And then I had the weirdest proposition of my life.

Tess sighs with relief. “Good call. You don’t need to make yourself suffer.”

“That was the plan,” I say, thinking over my deal with Parker.

“Are you excited for spring break?”

“Yeah. We were talking about doing things differently this break.”

“Oh, yeah? What are you and Josie getting up to?”

“Umm. I’ll let you know when we finalize everything. We just have a bunch of ideas at the moment.”

“Well, tell her hi from me. It’s too bad our breaks don’t line up.”

“Mmm. Yeah, bummer.” I check the doorway to see if Mom is in the hallway. “I gotta go. Mom’s calling me.”

“Okay, Kikki. Glad you’re feeling better.”

“Yeah, thanks. Bye, Tess.”

After goodbyes and I love yous, I hang up on my sister, exhausted from lying.

I venture into the kitchen to check if I have the ingredients for cookie dough cups.

Mom walks in when I’m scouring the pantry. “Who drove you home tonight?”

I almost drop the container of flour. “Huh?”

“I peered out the window,” Mom says. “Who’s car was that?”

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