Page 149 of Fake Game

“I’ll call my parents and—”

“No. I want to go back.”

“Deer, you don’t have to push yourself for me.”

“I’m not. I want to try again.” She turns to Francis, placing a hand on the center compartment to get his attention. “Take us back to The Bay, please, Francis.”

“Yes, miss.”

She sits back in her seat, collecting herself. I watch the way she steels her gaze forward and rests her palm on her chest, breathing slowly.

As soon as we pull back up to the restaurant, she’s up and out of the car before I get a chance to ask her again if she really wants to go through with this. The bodyguard we left behind watches her closely.

“Okay, let’s do this.” She smiles and anyone else looking at her would think that she is completely fine, except I can see that the sparkle in her eyes is missing. The light just doesn’t quite reach the surface; it’s left bubbling underneath, suffocating under the cloudy water.

My heart clenches, guilt squeezing it as I follow suit and get out of the car.

I hold my elbow out for her to hold onto, and when she does, there’s no hiding the way her hand tremors slightly.

I moved my parents’ reservation from the main dining room to one of the private rooms at the back of the restaurant. Normally, it would take months to get this particular reservation, but Parker’s grandfather knows the owner and wasable to pull some strings to get it switched around. I don’t like asking for favors, but for Deer, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make sure she feels her most comfortable.

My mother’s eyes light up when we enter the room, and Deer’s entire demeanor changes into a practiced persona as she gives her a hug, exchanging greetings, before handing her a small black box wrapped with a white ribbon.

“For me?” My mother’s eyes widen as she pulls out the pair of Chanel earrings, holding them up to the light. Try as she might to hide it, I can see how impressed my mom is by the gift.

“Of course. I saw them the other week and just knew they’d look perfect on you.”

My girl knows what she is doing.

Angela tries not to appear overly enthusiastic about seeing us, but I can see the quiet awe in her eyes whenever she looks at Deer—it seems she’s also taken a real liking to her since their first meeting.

Dad watches us all with a knowing smile, and I take my seat next to him, Deer on my right.

We fall into easy chatter, with Deer leading most of the conversation as she asks my parents a litany of questions about themselves while also making sure Angie doesn’t get left out. Her voice never wavers; it’s that same practiced tone she uses when she streams.

You wouldn’t be able to tell how anxious she is just by looking at her. No, the only way to realize it is in the way her eyes dart every time a server walks into the room, tracking them, and how her shoulders stiffen whenever a loud noise from the main restaurant bangs too close, or if you somehow glimpse the fingers of her left hand tapping silently in a wave motion on her knee under the table.

It takes me a second to realize that throughout the meal she has been artfully weaving all conversation away from herself—never outright denying any questions but skirting around them in a way so she can always redirect. She keeps talking so that no one notices that she isn’t eating much of the food, moving the truffle shrimp on her plate in subtle intervals.

“Here, let me show you.” My mother searches her handbag for her wallet and proceeds to pull out a small, two-by-two-inch passport photo of my chubby five-year-old face. “Look at him!”

I groan.

“Oh my Gods, stop.” Deer carefully plucks the photo from my mom and holds it reverently. “You’re adorable.” She turns to me with a grin, and for the first time tonight, I see those sparkles gleaming in her eyes.

“Sure, sure. Let’s put that back.” I gently knock her hand away.

“No, look at you. Those cute little chubby cheeks.” She tilts her head. “What happened? How’d ya get all scowly?”

“It’s called resting grump face, RGF,” Angela chimes in.

My phone begins to buzz in my pocket, and I feel around for the power button to reject the call while still keeping my attention on the table.

“RGF? I like that.” Deer winks at my sister before handing the photo back to my mom. “Did you come up with it yourself?”

“Yup, I did.”

“Impressive.”

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