Page 40 of The Boyfriend Swap

Perry sighed. “While I was engaging in holiday cheer with your aunts, uncles, and cousins, you were working. On Christmas Eve. You looked pathetically sad and I felt sorry for you. So…being the nice guy I am, I took pity on you by playing my role as a flaky actor and trying to help you escape your dad’s claws so you could enjoy the holiday instead of working. But it seems your definition of ‘winning’ is slaving away at work with your dad and ‘losing’ is having a good time. So you’re right, you win.”

I opened my mouth, certain a biting response would find its way off my tongue, but nothing came out.

Gesturing toward the door, Perry said, “You can let yourself out.”

He turned his back on me, making it clear a response was unwelcome, and I was relieved because I had nothing to say.

Robyn

“I’m stuffed,” Will said, patting his stomach. He sat on the edge of my bed and continued to rub his tummy in small circles. We’d finished Hanukkah dinner and excused ourselves from the table to get ready to meet our friends at the bar.

I stood in front of him and gave his leg a light tap. “You mostly ate stuffed vegetables. It’s like Chinese food. You’ll be hungry again in thirty minutes.”

“Even if I can’t eat again until New Year’s Eve, it will be worth it.” His eyes glowed. “Those sfinz things were like crack. I couldn’t stop at just one.” He shrugged sheepishly. “Seriously, I was expecting potato pancakes, which would have been fine, but what we just ate…” He pointed downward as if we could see the kitchen through my hardwood floor. “That was insane.”

Will at the dinner table was like a little boy with a new train set. It was endearing. Watching him spoon more and more food onto his plate made me hungry, and I wound up eating way more than I usually did. Although when I thought about it, Perry fanboyed my mom’s cooking too and it never rubbed off on me. I brushed the thought aside in favor of a mini history lesson. “What you just experienced was a Sephardic Hanukkah meal. Potato pancakes is an Ashkenazi tradition, but it’s more well-known.” I walked over to my vanity and fiddled with my large collection of bangles before slipping on my Pandora charm bracelet instead. I’d keep the jewelry simple tonight.

“Maybe I should know more about your background since we’re supposed to be dating and all.”

When I felt Will’s breath against my neck, I whipped around in surprise. I hadn’t heard the bed move when he got up.

He smiled apologetically. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t,” I stuttered. I tucked a hair behind my ear and took a timid step back. When the knob from my dresser pressed against my back, I jumped again.

Will chuckled and put a hand on my shoulder. “Easy, partner.”

Even though I hadn’t technically done anything wrong, I felt deserving of a scarlet letter for the schoolgirlish way I was acting. Poor Perry deserved better. I walked back to my bed to put some distance between Will and me. “What were you saying about my background?”

“Only that I should probably know more about you if my friends are supposed to believe you’re my girlfriend. Until this weekend, I didn’t even know you were half Jewish.”

“We really don’t need to lie to your friends. It’s not like they hang out with my parents after work.” Putting on a charade in front of more people seemed like more work than was necessary.

“It’s a small town. You never know when they might run into each other. And besides, I haven’t practiced my improv skills in a while.” He grinned. “It will be fun, Snow.”

I shook my head at him. “If you say so.” I wasn’t sure I’d describe pretending to be a couple as fun but let it go. “I wouldn’t worry too much about not knowing my life story. Even real couples don’t know everything about each other immediately,” I said. I jumped again when I heard a knock on my open bedroom door.

Jordy leaned against the wall, his broad frame blocking the “Without music, life would be a mistake” poster I’d hung a decade ago. “What do you mean ‘real couples’? Are you guys not a ‘real’ couple? What am I missing?” He glanced from Will to me with furrowed brows.

My shoulders tightened and a bead of sweat formed on my upper lip. How long had my brother been standing there? For a moment, I debated confessing everything to him. It might be nice to relieve myself of the guilt. But it wasn’t fair to burden another person with my secret. He was waiting for an answer, his arms crossed as he continued to gaze at us with focus. I opened my mouth even though I had no idea what I was going to say.

Will approached where Jordy was standing. “You’re not missing anything. I haven’t had a chance to tell my high school friends I’m dating Robyn. And your sister here…” He looked at me with bright eyes. “She’s worried they won’t believe us since we didn’t hang out much in school. I told her it doesn’t matter what they believe since it’s the truth.” He tapped me on the nose playfully before facing Jordy again.

Jordy nodded in understanding. “I bet my sister still can’t believe it herself. Considering…” He winked at me.

I glared at him. I had no interest in rehashing the details of my high school crush. It was painful enough the night before. I was also more comfortable giving my brother the look of death than making eye contact with Will. Once again, he’d saved the day as if it was in his job description.

Will glanced at his watch and back up at me. “We should get out of here soon. Almost ready?”

Still speechless, I answered with a nod of my head.

“Have fun,” Jordy said.

“Thanks,” Will and I said in unison.

Jordy stepped out of the room, and I closed the door behind him. Will and I looked at each other with wide eyes. I was still shaking with residual fear of getting caught, but when Will burst out laughing, I joined him. When I collected myself, I said, “That was too close for comfort.”

“You were right,” he said.

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