Page 35 of Fake Game

“And?” The singular word feels like tar as it passes through my lips.

“And I don’t want to lead someone on,” he sighs.

“Your funeral,” Aleks and Stevie say simultaneously.

“Fuck off,” he grumbles, taking a sip of his beer.

And then, my brain malfunctions.

Aliens come down from some alternate universe and zap me, frying any sensibility and making me say something that is so out of pocket that I honestly wish the ground would swallow me up and chuck me on some distant planet to die.

“I’ll date you.”

Everyone’s silent. There’s just the sound of the grenade Aleks’ character launched exploding.

“What?” Jackson looks at me like I have three heads—which I might, you know, if the aliens are involved.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Stevie leans forward and curls her hand around my shoulder. “Not bad at all.”

“That’s a fucking awful idea,” Jackson exclaims, and my insides shrivel up and die. He sounds absolutely appalled by the idea, which is just fabulous for my self-esteem.

I square my shoulders, letting his insult roll off my back as I drain the last of my seltzer.

“Rude. I’ll have you know that I am a delightful girlfriend.”

“Delightfully awful.”

“I’m going to be honest, I’m on the same page as Jackson here,” Aleks interrupts. “Not the best idea.”

I glare at him for the betrayal, but he’s still zoned into the game.

“Don’t give me that look,” Aleks drawls.

Okay, apparently he has the peripheral vision of a freaking shark.

“All right, go on then. Throw in your two cents,” I huff.

“You’re a little,” he tilts his head side to side, “pink.”

Jackson snorts and I grit my teeth.

“What’s wrong with that?”

This time, Aleks does give me a glance. He even goes so far as to pair it with a weak smile. “I’m not sure dating you would be a solution to the issue. You’d probably freak his family out and make it worse.”

“Yeah, Sparkles, you’re not really their ideal type,” Jackson tacks on.

Okay, I’m alittleoffended.

“Whatever, it was just a joke.” I attempt to brush the entire conversation under the rug.

Aleks, however, doesn’t seem to get the message.

“Although,” he drawls as his gaze returns to the game. Aleks manages to get a few shots off at Jackson’s character before losing him to a flash bang. “Maybe if you dated Deer, your family would be so appalled that they wouldn’t care if you didn’t date at all, so long as it wasn’t her.”

And now I’m a little more than a little offended.

“That’s also not a bad idea, babe,” Stevie chimes in.

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