Page 65 of Dungeons and Drama

“So, what happened back there? Why did you tell her we’re going as friends?”

“Because we are.”

“I know. Of course I know that.” He blows out a breath and runs a hand through his hair. “But she didn’t. That was the whole point.”

I drop the handle of the sweeper and turn to him, hands on my hips. “No,the whole point was for you to date her. Right? And I saw a perfect opportunity for that to happen. Let me guess, she asked you out after I left?”

He takes a step back. “How good is your hearing?”

“I didn’t need to hear. I knew.”

He puts a hand on the back of his neck. “She asked me to go to her school’s homecoming. It’s next weekend.”

I wasn’t expecting that part. It’s irrational, but it hurts more than if they were going on a regular date. I fight to control my expression. “And you said yes?”

He hesitates. His gaze sweeps over my face before dropping to my mouth and then the ground.

“I did.”

“Good. I’m happy for you.” My voice is so calm. I might be tired, but I can still pull off this last conversation. “So, we did it. It’s happening. This thing we agreed to ended up being really successful, huh?” I look around, realizing where we’re standing. “And it all started here, in this aisle. I guess this is a fitting place to call it off.”

“Call what off?”

I frown. “Everything. The flirting, the pretending, the dance.”

Nathan shakes his head. “But what about Paul? What about tomorrow?”

“I can handle Paul. I never should have let him get to me the way he did, but I don’t care about his opinion anymore.”

I assume Nathan’s going to look relieved, but instead his expression hardens. “I’m not going to abandon you.”

“It’s fine,” I say, but my throat is tight and I have to turn away before he can read my expression. Really, I’m only upset with myself. I have no one else to blame for getting into this ridiculous situation. I’m the one who convinced him to start this.

“No.” His voice is fierce now. Agitated. “The dance istomorrow—I’m not backing out on you the night before. Your father would never let me step foot in this store again if I did.”

“Oh…fair point.” I chuckle humorlessly. I wish he had a different reason, but he’s not wrong about Dad. He’d be livid if he found out I was suddenly dateless.

Nathan puts a hand on my arm. “I’ll be there tomorrow at five to pick you up, okay? But we’ll drop all the other stuff and just be our regular selves. Friends. Assuming you still think of me as a friend?”

“You’re my annoying coworker sometimes, but yeah. We’re friends.”

“Good. And you still won’t tell me what you’re wearing tomorrow?”

That makes me smile for real. “No, that’s staying a surprise.”

“Fine.” He looks at me another second and then turns away. He only makes it a few steps before he comes back. “You might not care about Paul anymore, but that guy still annoys the crap out of me. I may have to slip back into my boyfriend role one more time if he starts bothering you tomorrow.”

I laugh lightly. “I won’t argue with that.”

In fact, I wouldn’t be opposed to slipping Paul twenty bucks to come around just so Nathan will brush one more kiss against my temple. But I know that’s not what either of us needs. Nathan has been dreaming about Sophia for months and now—because of my plan—he finally has her.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Done! You look beautiful.”

Hoshiko steps back and looks me up and down. Homecoming is tonight and my parents agreed that she and I could spend the whole day together getting ready. We did each other’s nails and hair, and we’ve spent the last hour up in my room, dancing to Taylor Swift while we did our makeup and finished getting dressed.

“Thanks, but you’re going to put the rest of us to shame,” I tell her.

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