Page 79 of Fake Game

No one speaks. They’re all waiting to see if she’ll answer. My back molars grind against one another as I watch them place Deer under the microscope.

She’s not some prey to be cornered, and I’m not going to feed her to the wolves.

“You don’t have to answer that.” I take her hand that is gripping my forearm and squeeze it reassuringly before stealing a look around the table. “I brought her here to meet you out of respect, not for you to interrogate her and ask private questions.”

“Jackson, you can’t spring a girlfriend on us and not expect us to ask questions.” Mom frowns.

“They’re not even hard questions,” Auntie An sniffs.

Sure, for normal people—but Deer doesn’t fall into that category.

“Did you get raided by the police?” Angela flips her tablet around, broadcasting to the entire table theGamer Weeklyarticle about Deer’s swatting.

“Police?” My grandparents share a concerned look.

“Fucking hell,” I mutter lowly as I rake a hand down my face. This is quickly taking a turn from great to awful.

“Egg custard, anyone?” my dad cuts in with a cheery voice.

We all stare at him as he indicates for the server to place a couple of silver platters on the table.

“Honey,” mom’s warning tone rings out.

My dad waves her off, plucking a custard and putting it on her plate. “It’s the first time you’ve met the girl. You don’t want to scare her off when all you’ve wanted is for him to find a girlfriend.” He spins the lazy Susan, bringing the dessert over to me. “Ever had an egg custard, Deer?”

Her shoulders relax slightly, and she smiles. “No, I haven’t.”

“They’re not that sweet, but I think you’ll like them.” I grab two of the custards, putting one on her plate before popping the other on mypo po’s.

“Thank you.” She picks it up and takes a bite, her eyes widening. “Oh, wow.”

“Good?”

“Mhm.” She takes another bite, some of that sparkle returning to her eyes.

I smile at her, reaching forward and tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. My fingers ghost the shell of her ear, and I freeze, catching myself. My fingers curl back in on themselves like she’s burned me.

My other palm starts to sweat, and I realize I’m still holding onto her hand—but I don’t let go.

All my wires are getting crossed from this fake girlfriend thing.

The table remains under a hushed silence, unspoken questions floating around us. My aunts whisper to their husbands, while my mom pointedly ignores my dad. Angela is distractedly scrolling through her tablet, glancing up at us every once in a while—I don’t even want to know what she is looking up; it will just give me a headache. Overall, everyone seems to have accepted my father bulldozing the conversation in a new direction.

Po poleans into me and I angle my head down, making it easier for her to whisper whatever it is she wants to say.

“I’ll cancel your dates.”Po poflicks her eyes between Deer and me. “For now.”

The smallest sigh escapes me as relief floods my body. I have no idea how we pulled this off, but we did.

“Do ze, po po.”

“Don’t thank me, thank her.” A smile tugs at the corner of her wrinkled cheek. “She cares about you; I see that.”

I glance at Deer, at this woman who is slowly turning my world upside down. I’m sure she cares about me as a friend, and I won’t deny that I’m protective of her myself. But I’m starting to think that maybe I don’t dislike that sugary personality of hersas much as I thought. Maybe I’m developing a sweet-tooth—just for her.

TWENTY-ONE

DEER

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