Page 22 of Boyfriend Maintenance

After a few minutes, I reemerge from the restroom and head to the bar for another drink. Open bar? Hell yeah, I’m taking advantage. Emmy isn’t at our table and I don’t see her, so I head out to the terrace.

There are a lot more people mingling around and fortunately I don’t see Emmy trapped into conversations without me. Unfortunately, I can’t find her. So help me, if she left me here, I’m going to be pissed. But then, across the open space, I see her in the very corner. At first, I think she really is hiding. My anger from the possibility of her leaving me shifts to anger at the possibility that someone upset her. I start toward her. But as I get closer, I notice she does something on her phone. Is she texting someone? She’s moving around the space strangely, like maybe she keeps dropping cell service. Whatever she’s doing, I don’t think she is texting because she’s using her pointer finger in a swipe up motion.

Standing just out of her view, I study her. She’s fucking gorgeous, but she’s acting strangely right now. I don’t know if I should laugh or be concerned. Just then, someone comes up next to me and shoves his hands in his pockets. I notice he’s a little taller than me.

“She’s a nut. But I love her.” His voice is full of affection. I look to him and immediately I know this is Levi. They’ve got the same dark hair and strikingly similar facial features.

“You must be Levi. Congratulations on your engagement.” I turn my gaze back to Emmy. She’s standing still now. Feverishly tapping her screen.

“Thank you, and you must be Jake.”

I nod.

“You two have created quite a stir tonight.”

I cock an eyebrow but remain focused on Emmy. “Really? I haven’t gotten the feeling anyone really cares we’re here except for your parents. Hell, Cringey Craig hasn’t even bothered us.”

Levi laughs, I assume at my use of the nickname. “Kitty has a knack for stirring shit quietly. Craig is preparing himself. He’ll circle then pounce soon enough. You’ve been talking to Becca I see, since I’ve known only her to use that nickname for him.” I grunt in response.

What the fuck is she doing? She’s got to be playing a game or something.

“The more interesting topic here is the fact that you clearly know about Craig, yet I don’t know anything about you. Emmy tells me about a lot of shit. And she hasn’t mentioned you.”

I turn to him to show him the respect he isn’t showing me. But he’s playing big brother right now, I get it. “I work in her building, so it’s not really something we want getting out so soon. So, we’ve kept it on the down low.”

He pinches his lips but nods.

“What the heck is she doing?” I finally ask.

“What do you mean?” He is looking at me again. So, I turn my body slightly toward him. Maybe I’m being rude, but his tone was confused.

“I mean, what is she doing over there in the corner? She’s acting funny.” I cross my arms. Clearly, I’m not the only one who just saw her fist-pump the air.

He looks at me with confusion. “She’s playing Digibot Go. It’s like her favorite game and current obsession. How do you not know this?”

Shit.Clearly, he isn’t in on our little agreement, I’ve got to turn this around.

“Well, we’re still learning a lot about each other, maybe she wasn’t ready to tell me about Digibot Go yet.” I’m grasping. I’ve got no reason, other than the fact that we really don’t know each other at all.

“My sister is a huge nerd and has never hidden the fact.” If it’s possible, he just used his big bro superpowers and grew a few intimidating inches. “The only reason I can think of that might make her hide such an important thing about herself is if she felt unsafe or judged by someone.” Now he’s glaring at me.

“Look, I love nerdy and I’m happy to hear she’s got a thing for Digibots, but she isn’t hiding that part of herself from me because she’s scared I’ll judge her.” He deflates a little. “Honest, I dig your sister and all her quirks.” He’s almost back to normal height when his name is called from across the terrace. He lets out a breath through his nose. Before he leaves, he delivers one last warning.

“Emmy is one of a kind. She’s amazing and deserves anything that makes her happy. You better not make life hard on her. You got me, Jake?”

Raising my hands in agreement, I say, “I got you.”

He nods and walks away.

I shake it off. Clearly, I did not make a good impression on the brother. Then I realize that I did not make a good impression on the stepmother or father. Great. Good thing this whole thing is fake or else I’d be in a world of hurt if my girlfriend’s family hated me after one night.

Chapter 11

Emmy

“So,just a heads-up, I’m pretty sure Levi doesn’t approve,” Jake says as he approaches me, just as I’m sliding my phone into my clutch. While he was gone, I avoided Craig and snuck out onto the terrace through the other set of doors. While I was avoiding further mingling, I decided to check my phone. Okay, that’s not true. I was checking out Digibot Go. Turns out there was a Digibot club on the far end of the terrace. There was a siege happening, I couldn’t resist. Only thing, I was pretty much on top of the club, so every time I moved the little notification to “walk closer” kept popping up. I probably looked like someone tied to a shitty cell service carrier.

“Oh, you met him? I haven’t gotten to talk to him yet. What happened?” I frown. I honestly thought he and Levi would get along.

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