Page 79 of The Fake Out Flex

She comes over to me and slides her fingers against my cheek, lightly running her thumb over my scar.

Tingle, tingle, tingle.

"You don't need pots and pans and ovens to make food. That's so 1950s. All today's modern gal-on-the-go needs is one of these." She waves her phone in front of me. "Why, in just a few taps, I can make whatever food you like magically appear."

I grin. "And by whatever food you like, I assume you mean…"

We say burgers at the same time.

"I placed the order right before you got here. Should be arriving in about ten minutes."

Our eyes meet. Hers sparkle in the soft glow of string lights she's hung up along the wall above her posters.

"Wanna watch a game?" she asks predictably.

"Can you ever not have a game on in the background?"

She reaches for the remote control, then tilts her face at me. "I could. But why would I want that?"

I chuckle. "Fair enough."

While Evie browses for a game to put on, I notice a familiar sight on the desk in her work nook. I wander over, thread a piece of material around my finger, and spin around.

"You making bracelets again?"

"Oh. Yeah." She settles on a game and walks over to me, eyeing all the fabrics strewn over the desk. "I tried getting back into it during my, uh, first viral moment, but I didn't enjoy it. To be fair, I wasn't enjoying much at the time. Even burgers weren't hitting the same."

"Yikes. That's some serious stuff."

She bumps into my side, and it takes all the restraint I have in me not to wrap my arm around her and keep her there.

"But lately…" She shrugs. "I don't know. I seem to have gotten back into it."

"That's really cool." A few finished bracelets are laid out. Her style has changed since high school, and these look nothing like the one she gave me.

Should I mention that? Slip the topic we haven't even come close to broaching once into the conversation like it's no big deal?

No. I can't do that.

Because it is a big deal.

I stalk over to the window, needing to put some space between us.

I'm not even sure if I properly thanked her for making it for me. I'd like to think that I did, but so much about that night is a blur, I honestly can't remember.

And then to top it off, I disappeared the next day without saying goodbye.

That I do remember, and I hate myself for doing it.

But amidst all the chaos, with my dad kicking the crew out of the house, and Dawn in hysterics, my brothers and I had to do what we were told.

Shut everything down.

Act normal.

Don't speak to anyone.

And in my case, leave for training camp as if everything had been pre-planned, like our entire world hadn't just been changed forever.

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