Page 33 of Play Pretend

“You’re confusing me,” I grumbled. “I’m not doing it.”

“But—”

“She just wants a date to deal with her family,” I blurted. “They’ll be here in a few weeks, and she wants someone to be her date while she spends time with them.”

Trin tilted her head to the side, her eyes narrowing. I could see all the gears in her mind working overtime as she thought about every outcome. I held my breath as I waited. Sometimes I swore she was clairvoyant—she saw things no one else could.

Finally, she let out a long breath, her chin dipping in a confident nod. “You should do it.”

“Even the stuff with her family?”

A shoulder rose and fell. “Yep.”

I tapped my finger on my desk as I sifted through my racing thoughts.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

What if I didn’t like her, like Trin said? I’d feel obligated to be her fake boyfriend in front of her family. But I knew I couldn’t fake my feelings for her—if I didn’t like her, everyone would know.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

But what if Ididlike her? What if I fell so hard for her I ruined whatever bit of civility we had?

Tap.

I might’ve already ruined it when I turned her down, though.

I scrubbed my hands over my face, letting out a long, low groan. “I can’t believe this is my life,” I said. “This is unbelievable.”

Without a word, Trin jumped from her chair and raced from the room. I stared at the empty doorway, my jaw slack.

So much for her helping me with this decision.

Never in my life did I think I’d have to fight this hard with myself to not date a cute girl. Maybe because I was older now, or maybe because I had more to lose, I didn’t know, but I couldn’t let this blow up in our faces. Because my reputation was hanging on by the thinnest thread in existence, and Willow’s wasn’t even formed yet.

If I did this, I’d have to do it correctly. Nothing I ever did was half-assed, and being her fake boyfriend would be no different.

God, why was this so difficult?

I didn’t have feelings for her. Even though I’d almost asked her out, it was because she was there. She was available. It wasn’t because Ilikedher. She was my annoying neighbor, always on my back about something.

But she was also my fantasy when I tried to fall asleep every night. I looked forward to hearing whatever album she was playing when I got home after a long day.

It was her I looked forward to seeing on our way out of the house every morning. It was her I wanted to bicker with, because, while it was annoying, it was harmless.

It was fun.

It was…

Her.

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