Page 25 of Once Upon a Fake Date

But I didn’t want to involve her in this. Not when she was so happy now.

“Besides, there’s no fucking way I’m letting Duke hurt you. Not anymore. I’ve got your back, Audrey. That’s what best friends are for, right?”

I blushed. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Best friend,I reminded myself. He was my best friend. I couldn’t like him. Not like that. But when he stood up for me and proclaimed things like that, butterflies erupted in my chest.

Still, I couldn’t take him up on his offer. I’d have to find another way.

After we finishedup at dinner and Parker walked me home, I went inside the sorority house, dropped onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling. The semester had just started, and it was already off the rails.

I knew what I needed right now, more than anything: my sister. Part of me missed when she’d only been a bed away instead of a floor. Taking two stars at a time, I headed to her room, barging inside without knocking. “Ella?—”

She let out a small moan, and oh, God. I shrieked, covering my eyes. Cam was here.

What was I thinking coming into my sister’s room when she had a boyfriend?

“Oh.” Peeking out from behind my hands, I felt a little better when I noticed he still had his pants on. Ella was in his lap, and he had his hands on her shoulders, massaging them. “Hey, Cam,” I said, and he nodded.

“Audrey. What’s wrong?” Ella frowned at me as I started frantically pacing back and forth across my floor. I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging at the strands. “What happened?”

“The other lead dropped out of the musical. He’s on academic probation, so they won’t let him perform. And if they don’t find someone to replace him, I’m stuck with Duke,” I finally said, blowing out a puff of air, my bangs rising from the motion.

“Really? Is there no understudy?”

“There is.”Duke. “But since we’ve barely started running lines, he already volunteered to fill the roleofficially.” I rolled my eyes. “Like I want to kiss him on stage.” Wrinkling my nose at the thought of ever kissing him again, I finally had to shake my head like I could get rid of the mental picture. “Anyway. I don’t know what to do.”

“Is there nothing that Dr. Woods can do?”

If only I hadn’t already tried that. She was the department chair, the one who taught my class, and in charge of the spring musical.

“No. And Duke won’t leave me alone. He keeps trying to get me to agree to get back together. I don’t know what to do, and Parker?—”

Said he’d star in the musical with me. Which was insane. Even if it was the answer to all my problems.

“Parker?” Ella asked, raising an eyebrow. “Are you guys…?”

“No.” I felt my cheeks warm. “Never mind. That doesn’t matter.”

“Well…” My twin frowned. “I wish I could help more, but I don’t have any suggestions.”

I sighed, and Ella opened her arms, enveloping me in a hug.

“Thank you. That’s all I needed,” I murmured into her hold. I didn’t need someone to fix it. I just needed someone to listen to me.

And I needed my sister.

“I’m always here for you, Ro. You know that.”

I squeezed her tighter. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” she whispered back.

Saying goodbye, I went back to my room, knowing exactly what I needed to do.

Tell Parkeryes.

The next day,as if he’d somehow found out my schedule and knew exactly where I’d be, Duke was standing outside the theater building, leaning against the wall as I came outside. Campus was quiet since the next class had already started, so there weren’t too many people lingering around the building.

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