Page 18 of Revved up & Ready

“I like that plan for you,” she says, matter-of-factly.

“Does that mean you want to help?” I ask, unable to drop the idea.

She gasps, hooking one arm with mine and pointing across the street with the other. “Look, it’s my friend.”

There’s no one across the street, though—only more mid-century houses with neatly landscaped lawns. “Where, exactly?” I ask.

“He’s the little black cat running across that driveway,” she points again. “Sometimes he visits me in our backyard.”

“Have you figured out where he lives?” I ask.

“No idea,” she says. “He doesn’t have a collar, but he’s always around.” When the cat disappears from view, she picks up her pace again, but leaves her arm looped in mine.

“Did you name him?” I ask, enjoying her closeness.

“He’s notmine. I can’t name him,” she says, staring at the road beneath our feet.

“You absolutely did name him.”

“No, I didn’t,” she says, fully turning her head away.

“I can tell you’re lying,” I laugh, tugging her closer with our joined arms. “What’s his name? I need to address him properly if we ever run into each other in the yard.”

“Fine,” she sighs, but it’s a playful sound. “I call him Boo, ‘cause he spooks so easily.”

“Cat named Boo. I can get behind it.”

She nods but shifts the subject, tugging lightly on my arm. “I still don’t understand how I could help you with your reputation.”

Grateful I wasn’t the one who brought it up this time, I answer,“People believe I’m a fuckboy. I’ve—”

She gasps, “Oh, I wouldn’t say—”

“It’s okay,” I reassure her, guiding her closer to the sidewalk as a car approaches. “I said it, not you.”

“Well, I don’t like it.” Her lips pull into a frown. “It’s obvious that’s not who you are.”

“Was it obvious before we met?” I ask.

She bites her lip, looking away.

“It worked for me in the past, and I leaned into it—built a whole career around it. It’s been a long time since I did anything deserving of the reputation—at least not the slutty part,” I explain, wanting her to understand how different I am from my online persona. “But people still believe it. I’ve never had a girlfriend. If it looked like I was with you, it would show that I’m not reckless. I’m steady and committed. I moved out here to get away from the people I partied with and have a home base close to my best friend. What if it looked like I moved in with my girlfriend, too?”

She stares up at me for a while before a slow smile turns up the edges of her soft lips. “That would be very domestic of you,” she says, eyes sparking with mischief. “Very steady, notfuckboy-ishat all.” The word fuckboy comes out in a rushed whisper, like she hated it in her mouth. “And, not to brag—actually,yesto brag—I am amagnificentgirlfriend. I am sure I could be a magnificent pretend girlfriend.”

She’s considering it.She’s actually considering pretending to date me.“I’ve never been a boyfriend of any kind before. Maybe you could teach me how to act like a good one.”

“That could be fun. I’ve never had agoodboyfriend before,” she says, followed by an excited gasp. “I should put that on my list. Hold on a sec.” She stops walking, pulling her armfrom mine so she can type on her phone screen for a few seconds before indicating we can start walking again.

“Gonna let me in on whatever that was?” I ask, tilting my chin toward her phone.

“Ooh!” she squeals. “Have I not told you about my list yet? Do you want to hear?”

Seeing her joy return is a relief. Her sadness felt unnatural. “More than anything,” I say.

She giggles, as if I’ve made a joke. “I’m on a bit of areinventing Sadiekick right now,” she begins. “My life got a little stale.” She rocks her head side to side, scrunching her nose. “Okay,a lotstale. So, I made this list of things I’ve never done, and I’m trying to do as many of them as possible.”

“I’m in,” I say, looping her arm back through mine.

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