Page 36 of Nothing Like the Movies

“How new? Are we talking a couple days, a couple weeks…?” His voice trailed off as if he expected me to jump in and answer.

And I was not prepared to do that.

Partially because he didn’t deserve to know anything about my life—the dick—and partially because I had no freaking idea how long my fake boyfriend and I were supposed to have been fake-dating.

Gah.

“I’m not doing this,” I said, raising my eyes and glancing his way. “I need to study.”

God, those glasses.

“Yeah,” he said, slow-nodding as he put his book in his backpack and zipped it up. “So you should maybe just answer quickly. How new?”

“No,”I snapped. How did he think he had any right to ask any question about my life? “My love life is none of your business.”

“Oh,love life?” he asked, narrowing his eyes as his mouth got that old familiar teasing smirk. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and said, “You consider himlove lifematerial?”

I closed my book and shoved it into my bag. Stood, because I needed to get out of there. “I’m going to go study. Have a great night.”

I grabbed my backpack and took one step before he ran over and grabbed my arm. “Wait, Liz. I’m sorry.”

I couldn’t take a deep breath as he looked down at me, so close, as his fingers burned their impressions into the skin he was touching. He smelled the same—how does he smell the same—and my heart started racing.

Dark eyes slid over my face, making me feel weak—weak too weak oh God—before he said in a deep, quiet voice, “It’s none of my business, and I didn’t mean to be an asshole.”

I breathed in through my nose, hating the way my heart raced as I smelled the Altoids on his breath. “Okay.”

“You ready, Lizard?”

I gasped, jerked out of the moment by Clark, who had somehow appeared out of thin air.

“Y-yes,” I said, hating the way my voice wavered as Wes dropped his hand, and I stepped away from him and closer to Clark.

“Ross was pissed you skipped study hall, bro,” Clark said,grinning at Wes like they were besties as water literally dripped from his long hair. “He was all ‘where the hell is Bennett?’?”

“I texted him—we’re good,” Wes said, a crease forming between his eyebrows.

“That’s great news, because now that we’re on your jock twenty-four seven, I don’t want you to get suspended and ruin the fun.” Ever since I’d told him that it was fine for him to like Wes—that it wouldn’t bother me in the least if he fanboyed over my ex (as long as he kept up our charade), because I was totally over him—Clark was an absolute goof. His baseball obsession made him behave like an adolescent superfan. “Are you going to In-N-Out?”

“What?” Wes asked, looking from Clark to me as if he was confused. I imagine it seemed a little bonkers that my “boyfriend” was a Wes stan and not the least bit jealous of our past.

But then our eyes met and held for a second, and I wondered if Wes was remembering how we once called the In-N-Out closest to campusourIn-N-Out.

Doubtful, I thought, turning my gaze toward Clark.

“Some of the guys are going to get food,” he explained, “so I was going to grab Liz and head that way, since I drove here. You can catch a ride with us.”

Noooooooo. No!I said, “I kind of wanted to go home now, so… maybe…”

“You want me to drop you off?” Clark asked, totally missing my attempt for us to ditch Wes.

“Yeah, if you’re too tired, you should absolutely go home,” Wes said, nodding and looking like he definitely didn’t want me to go.He seemed downright smug when he said, “It’s just burgers and fries, Buxbaum. You won’t missanyexciting moments.”

You’d like that, wouldn’t you?

“Actually, Iama little hungry,” I said, not at all interested in going but very definitely interested in not letting Wes Bennett dictate what I was doing. I lifted my chin and said, “I guess we could go for a little bit.”

“Awesome,” Clark said, beaming, oblivious to the way Wes smirked at me like he knew what I was thinking, and the way I glared back at him like I was trying to make him spontaneously combust with the heat of my hatred. “Let’s go, kids.”

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