Page 32 of Not Fooling Anyone

“Your what now?”

I relay what happened last week, Travis’s expression growing only more confused.

“Wait, so if you’re only pretending for this thing at the Psych lab, why were you getting in his car?”

I scratch at the back of my knee, suddenly itchy. “We were invited to this study group. I couldn’t say no.”

He huffs out a disbelieving laugh. “You voluntarily hung out with people?”

I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m not that bad.”

“Um, yes you are.” He laughs again, but something about his statement strikes a nerve.

After hanging out with Ethan all those days last week, spending the weekend by myself had felt… lonelier than usual. I’d expected to see him at Marty’s when I’d gone to work on the books Saturday morning, but he wasn’t there.

“What’s this Ethan guy’s last name?” Isaac asks, returning to his laptop. “I only saw him from far away.”

“Hudson.”

Travis turns to me, lowering his voice. “I’m surprised you’re doing this. Are you all right?”

I squint my eyes dramatically at him. “Are you questioning my mental state?”

His mouth quirks on one side. “I mean when you’re with him. Are you… safe?”

“Yes.” The answer comes with no hesitation. Somehow, despite meeting him only a week ago, I already know that.

His brows lift in surprise at the immediacy of my reply. Or maybe the content. I’ll be the first to admit that trust doesn’t come easy to me. It’s even hard to let my guard down completely around Isaac, and he and Travis have been dating for five months.

“Oh my God, is this him?”

I glance toward Isaac, who has Ethan’s Facebook profile pulled up on the screen. “Yeah.”

“Damn, girl. That’s your fake boyfriend? You need to hurry up and make him your real one.”

Travis moves in closer to look, turning sharply back toward me. “Lexie, he’s a fox.”

Oh, no. That’s Travis’s top honor of hotness.

“He’s okay looking, I guess.”

Isaac turns to me, his expression clearly conveying his disgust with me. “You need your eyes checked? Look at these.” He scrolls through Ethan’s pictures, stopping on one of him shirtless at the gym, his arm slung over the shoulders of another guy I’ve seen there before. “Hello, how are you not jumping all over that?”

I can’t tear my gaze away from the screen, studying his broad shoulders. His heavy pecs. His ridged abdomen. He even has a dark trail of hair along his abs leading directly…

I turn, breaking contact. I already saw it in person. It’s not like the sight is new.

And you were scared to look at it then too.

Shut up.

“Looks aren’t everything,” I comment. “And he wouldn’t want you ogling him, anyway.” Actually, knowing him, he’d probably love it.

“Is he a douche?” Isaac asks, still clicking through his pictures.

“No, he’s nice.” The way he’d bought me that ice cream as an apology. How he’d stood up for me with Savannah. Insisting I don’t owe him anything when we both know I do.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Travis staring at me, but I don’t meet his eye.

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