Page 72 of Faking the Book Boyfriend

I pinch my eyebrows together. “You’reVal? Gemma’s best friend Val?”

He chuckles. “She didn’t tell you that her best friends are men, did she? Classic Gemma.”

She shrugs. “I don’t see you as men. You’re sexless to me. If you didn’t bang all my sorority sisters when you guys visited me in college, I wouldn’t be sure either of you had a penis.”

The blond lets out a laugh as he holds out his hand. “I’m Christopher Johns. Everyone calls me CJ. And to be clear, I have a penis.” He leans forward and loudly whispers, “And it’s really big.”

Gemma gently kicks his shin. “No way it’s big. Your hands are tiny.”

He narrows his eyes at her. “That’s a myth. Hand size means nothing.”

She grabs my hand, which is admittedly unusually large, and holds it up in front of them. “Let me assure you, not a myth. He’s got the biggest…hands, I’ve ever seen.”

She bats her eyelashes at them.

I feel like I’m in theTwilight Zone, but I hear Cheetah, Layton, and Ezra all laughing behind me. Val laughs too before offering to buy drinks for everyone.

I shake my head. “We already have a few bottles at the table.” I motion toward the booth. “Come join us.”

They walk toward the booth, but Gemma pulls me to stay put. She wraps her arms around my waist and looks up at me with nothing but warmth in her eyes. “I missed you. How about a fresh start for us?”

I breathe a sigh of relief. “Yes. Please.”

“No more lies.”

I agree, “No more lies.”

She squeezes me. “I missed your big hands on my body.”

I run them over her ass and hips. “How about I keep them on you all night long to make up for lost time?”

She smiles. “I’d like that.” Moving her hands up to my neck, she pulls me down and mumbles, “Lips too.”

Her soft lips meet mine. I can taste vodka on her breath, but she seems happy, so I am too.

After breaking the kiss, I ask, “Did you start drinking without me?”

“We did a few shots before we came. We’re ready for a good time.”

“I didn’t know that your two best friends were men.”

She blows out a breath. “I guess I didn’t mention it. Sorry. Honestly, it’s no different for me than if they were women.”

I’m trying to play it cool. “When you walked in, I thought you were trying to get me to do the why choose trope.”

She lets out a laugh. “If I did, it definitely wouldn’t be with those two.” She makes a look of disgust. “Ugh. Gross.”

I suppose that makes me feel better.

We walk over to the table. I sit and pull her onto my lap. She happily obliges.

Layton holds out his hand. “I’m Layton, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

Gemma proceeds to do the whole long handshake routine that he does with their coach on the field.

He smiles at her. “I love that you know our handshake.”

She giggles. “I’m a big fan. I love watching you guys play. CJ, Val, and I go to a bunch of games every year. A few more drinks, and I’m going to ask you to record a video for my grandmother. She’s obsessed with you.”

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