Page 18 of No One Else

5

Evan

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IDODGE LUKE’S FLURRYof kicks with a quick sidestep, counterattacking him with an uppercut of my own. Instead of going for a new move, he repeats the same kicks, just like I knew he would, which sets me up for an even bigger combo.

“Fuck,” Luke groans over the headset, as my player raises his arms momentarily in victory on the screen. “How can you always tell what I’m going to do?”

I grin to myself, staying silent on the matter. If he knows how I’m predicting his moves, I can’t keep beating him.

My phone buzzes on my nightstand, and I catch Natalie’s name when I glance over at it.

I drop the controller to grab it, looking at my notifications to find a text from her.

Natalie:We never set up a time to meet next for the project. I’m busy the rest of the week but I’m free tomorrow night after work.

“Hey man, what happened? Why didn’t you block that?” Luke asks. I glance up at the screen to find him pummeling me.

“What? Oh, yeah. Give me a minute.”

A second text comes through from her.

Natalie:Unless you have plans with Sarah or something.

I groan, flopping back onto the pillows. I’ve dug myself in a nice, giant hole with the whole fake girlfriend thing. The ball of guilt in my stomach flares at the reminder and I close my eyes till it passes. I hate keeping up the lie like this, but I’m afraid to kill it just yet. I need to get her to the point where we’re totally back to normal, and then I’ll gradually phase Sarah out.

The last time we met had seemed pretty good, at least until the end. I know she’d meant well with how she was describing me, but could she have painted a duller picture? I want her to see me as exciting, not dependable. Girls don’t go out with guys because they’re dependable. They like bad boys. Ones that, I don’t know, ride motorcycles or something. And smoke and have tattoos and wear a lot of leather. I could do those things... right?

Who am I kidding? I don’t want to do any of that. Motorcyclists are statistically more likely to get in a crash and the one time I’d tried a cigarette back in high school I’d spent nearly a minute hacking up a lung. Plus, I don’t even like getting shots. Why would I willingly put myself through the agony of a tattoo?

A leather jacket, though. That’s intriguing. She’d asked the other day if I’d left my coat at home and I’d lied. The truth is I’ve outgrown my old one and haven’t replaced it. Coats are expensive. I can get by with a long-sleeved shirt and cheap hoodie for the most part. I just avoid being outdoors whenever it’s too cold.

I bring up the browser on my phone and type in leather jackets. The first one that comes up is five hundred dollars, the second three-fifty. Holy crap. Is that for real? Who knew being bad was so expensive?

“Are you still playing?” Luke asks, frustration in his voice.

Oh, shit. I totally forgot about him. “Sorry, something came up. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” My head’s not in the game anymore.

“Everything okay?”

A twinge of guilt runs through me at his concern, but I push it aside. I can only focus on one thing at a time. And God knows he was his fair share of distracted when he first started things with Charlotte. “Yeah, I’m good. See ya.”

I click off the headset, looking at Natalie’s texts. Should I play hard to get? Act like I’m not interested so she’ll be intrigued?

I dismiss the idea immediately. It’s just not me. Being a bad boy. Playing hard to get. It’s not who I am. I’m already in deep enough with the Sarah thing. I can’t add more to my plate. And besides, if she doesn’t like who I am, what’s the point of all this?

Me:I’m free tomorrow.

Her reply comes in almost instantly.

Natalie:Great. See you at work. :)

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