Page 6 of For Fake's Sake and other stories

“Cockblocked by my mother again,” he mutters under his breath.

“Don’t be rude, Blinkers. Introduce me to your boyfriend.” He grins at Kit, then looks at Jack as if he’s something nasty the cat dragged in.

I tug Kit’s arm and do probably the dumbest thing ever. “He thinks you’re my boyfriend. Can you play along just until we can get away from him? I’ll explain why later.”

He peruses me while he mulls over my proposition. “Yeah, why not? It could be fun.”

“Thank you. I owe you big time.” I turn back to Monty and give him my biggest fake smile. “Monty, this is Kit, my boyfriend.”

I ignore Jack’s cocked eyebrow and take Kit’s hand, which is warm and smooth and so much bigger than mine. My heart is beating so fast I wouldn’t be surprised if it burst from my chest. I can’t work out if it’s nervousness or excitement. Either way, the man I’ve been dreaming about is here, and he’s holding my hand.

“Kit, great to meet you. I was just saying to Blinkers I’d added you as his plus-one for the school ball.” Monty extends his hand, so Kit has to let go of mine. God, Monty is such a dick. He’s gripping Kit’s hand too hard; an exchange of power goes on for a moment. Monty lets go first. Wow, round one to Kit.

Kit sits on the bench, pulls me next to him, and wraps his arm around my shoulder. Okay, Ollie, calm down. This is going to be fine. “I hope you’ve got all the boring talk over with. I’ve got plans with Ollie.”

“Yes, yes. I think so. We’ll be meeting regularly. I’m coaching his speech and need to make sure he doesn’t embarrass us on the stage that night. Blinkers spent a lot of his school time hiding away. Didn’t you?” Monty brays his donkey laugh again. “Used to love all the tricks we played.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. Ollie has done well for himself,” Jack says. Kill me now. He’s going to tell him things I don’t want Monty to know.

“Has he now? You haven’t told me what you do, Blinkers.”

“Oh, not much. I work in finance. Quite boring.” It’s made me a shit ton of money, though.

“You were such a swot at school, always with your head in a book. What is it? You look like an accountant.”

“Investment.” Jesus, what’s with all the questions?

“What do you do, Monty?” Kit asks. He must have picked up on how much of a nosey arse Monty is.

“I run the family business, took over from my father when I finished uni. Estate agency. It makes me a tidy sum. I’m on the school committee as well, always keeping in touch with the old place.”

I look at my watch and sigh. Kit stands. “We need to go. We’ve got a table booked at the Compton Arms, and I can’t wait to get one of the burgers. You ready, babe?” He turns to me with a smile that makes me want to climb into his lap forever.

“Yeah, I’m starving. Jack, you coming?”

My best friend is still trying to work out what the hell is going on. “I don’t want to be the third wheel.”

“Come on, Jack,” Kit says.

“See you later, Monty. I’ll call when I’ve written my speech.”

We leave him gaping, no doubt wondering what has just happened.

This is unbelievable. Seeing Ollie where we first met is a shock. I’ve been back enough times looking for him, but he was never here, and I’d given up on seeing him again. I want to grab Ollie and run just in case he disappears again.

Jack explains that Ollie goes by a different name now. No wonder I couldn’t find him. But I can’t blame him for that. If I’d been bullied at school because of it, I would’ve done the same. What surprises me is my sudden elevation to boyfriend status, but I like it.

What I don’t like is the boorish arsehole who belittled Ollie the first time we met, and he’s still as ignorant and rude as he pushes Ollie for more information. Ollie’s shrinking inside himself. It’s time to get out of here. After making the excuse of a dinner reservation, we hurry to the door. When we get outside the bar, Ollie looks at me nervously, chewing on the corner of his mouth.

Jack bends double at the waist, slapping his thighs. “Oh my god, you two. I can’t believe you’ve been pining for each other. This is brilliant!”

“I’m so embarrassed.” Ollie shakes his head, his cheeks flaming red. “That was really kind of you, Kit. You saved me a ton of questions and grief from him.”

“Hey, no problem. I’m glad we met again. I’ve been looking for you, you know.” I don’t want to leave him again, and I am hungry. “Let’s all go for dinner. I didn’t lie about the table at the Compton. I’m friends with one of the chefs and said I’d call in. The burgers are amazing.”

“Awesome.” Jack claps his hands. “I’m starved. C’mon, Ollie.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’ve heard great things about this place. It’s my treat, though, a thank you for helping me out,” Ollie says.

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