Page 54 of Revved up & Ready

Hanna: I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but it’s not like you’ll care now that you have a sexy motorcycle racer boyfriend. Kelee and Jared are getting married there! Don’t tell anyone I told you though!

Instead of the gut drop I used to feel about Jared and Kelee’s relationship, I’m overcome with petty amusement. He refused to visit my friends here because hedoesn’t like the heat. And now he’s getting married in Palm Springs—in July.

Laughter bubbles up, uncontrollably. I wipe tears from my eyes, trying to catch my breath.This is hilarious.Either he’s so in love with his fiancée that he’ll endure anything to make her happy—which, fine, good for them—or Bea’s right, and he’s obsessed with me.

It’s not lost on me that I’ve spent a significant amount of energy making him jealous, too. But no matter how it started, pretending to date Cam is helping me move on. He treats me better than Jared did, and even just pretending to be with him is raising my standards for the next guy.

Mynot-boyfriend enters the room then, plopping down next to me on the bed. If he feels awkward about me lying here in my towel, he doesn’t show it.

“You’ve got to share this joy with me, sunshine,” he says. “What’s got you laughing so hard?”

“We are definitely winning the breakup,” I say, laughter returning. I fill him in quickly. Jared’s taken up enough of my life already. Even though he’s the reason we started this arrangement, talking about him now seems like a waste of valuable time with Cam.

“Think I could talk you into going toVoyeur Caféfor a drink with me?” Cam asks.

It’s not a date, but my heart flutters anyway.

“You’re lucky you came in when you did,” I answer. “If I’d had the energy to change out of this towel into pajamas, the answer would have been no.” I lie, and for once he doesn’t catch me. “Give me fifteen minutes.”

We’re going to the bar our best friends own, which doubles as a coffee shop during the day. It’s not a dressing-up situation. So, I end up in a floral-print midi-length dress with a thin cream-colored sweater over top, deciding it could lean casual or dressy.

When I meet him in the living room, he looks nicer than usual too. He’s wearing an olive-green linen button-up with charcoal-colored pants, and his hair is combed into place instead of left in a wild tousle.Oh, my word.Isthis a date?

That question is answered the moment we step insideVoyeur Café. A short girl with perfectly coiled dark brown curls rushesstraight into Cam’s arms.

She giggles as he picks her up in a tight hug.

Whelp. I hate this.

Jealousy I don’t deserve burns the back of my throat.

He’s never had a girlfriend before, but he has to know—

He sets her down unceremoniously, and she stumbles to regain her balance. Fixing her hair, she scoffs at him and then addresses me. “He’s so dumb,” she says conspiratorially.

Cam steps behind me, draping an arm across my stomach. “Sadie, this is Skye. She’s a pain in my ass and Luke’s little sister. Skye, this is my girl, Sadie.”

His girl.Maybe my jealousy was premature.

“I’ve been wanting to meet you for so long,” Skye says, surprising me.

Before I can respond, Allie appears. “Okay, perfect. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner. Skye can stay with you guys.”

“Yes,please,” Skye says, pointing at her big brother. “I’m only in town one night, but their couch sucks.”

“I guess our couch is comfier than—” I start.

Allie cuts me off, “Not yourcouch. Don’t you guys have an extra bed now that you’re together?”

It’s a logical assumption, but it’s not true. At all. Shit.

“Actually, how does that work since you were roommates first? Which bedareyou guys sleeping in?” Allie asks.

Cam and I both answer, “Mine,” at the same time.

We’re caught. This is it. What will Allie think when she finds out I’ve been lying to her? What will Skye think? She just met me, and—

“This is pretty much theonlything we disagree about,” Cam laughs. “My bed is better—it’s bigger, softer, and my bedding’s much nicer—”

---