Page 45 of Fake It Till You Break It
“I’m kidding.” I shoved myself upright. “I’ll just pick you and Aly up at your house, and we’ll meet Theater Boy whereveryou want. If you’re really feeling appreciative, then you could offer to finish the dishes yourself. For the next ten years.”
With a raised brow, Mia crumpled a napkin and threw it at my face. “Nice try. You’re giving me a date, not your kidney.”
“Hey, my weekends are very valuable.” I caught the napkin with one hand and shrugged. “Still, can’t blame a guy for trying. Ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
After I set the alarm and locked up, I stepped outside where Mia was waiting for me by the steps. I dug my keys out of my pocket to unlock the car.
“Jake?”
“Hmm?”
She leaned back against the metal banister—hands gripping the rail—as she stood a step above me so our faces were almost level. She made a face before she finally got the words out. “Thank you.”
Laughing, I leaned forward. My left hand was right next to her right hand. Our thumbs were almost touching. “You’re welcome. Now, was that really that hard to say?”
She let out a deep breath and braced her hand against her heart. The spark was back in her eyes now. “Just never make me say it again. It left a nasty taste in my mouth.”
I waved the bag of cookies in her face. “Don’t worry. These will wash it out. Just do me a favor and don’t eat in the car, okay?”
She laughed and grabbed the bag from my hand. Leaning forward, she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. Barely an inch or two from my lips. “Careful, if you keep doing all this stuff for me, everyone’s going to think that you actually like me or something.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “’Course, how could you resist me?”
Mia was just joking, but the truth hit me like a mound of bricks. A punch to the gut.
To be honest, I didn’t even notice her walk away and get into the car. Not until she honked on the horn to get my attention. I was too busy reeling from the earthshaking fact that she was right. I liked Mia. Ilikedher. No strings attached. No mothers involved. I justlikedher. That’s it. Always have.
And I just promised to help her date another guy.
Well, shit, now what?
MIA
“I’M EXCITED. IT’S BEENa while since I’ve gone on an actual date.” Aly’s blue eyes sparkled as she dabbed a bit of perfume on her neck. “Even if it’s totally fake.”
“Uh-huh.” Frowning, I attempted to curl the strand on the left side of my head. God, this sucked. My attempt to get that casual, tousled, all-I-did-was-brush-my-fingers-through-my-hair-but-doesn’t-it-look-gorgeous hair was failing miserably. All I could manage was to curl my hair in stiff swirls around my head.
“It was nice of Jake to help you out.”
“Yeah. He can be all right sometimes.” Great, now my hair was frizzy from my frantic combing. I picked up the brush and pulled my hair into a high ponytail. There was no way I could save this mess. I applied a little bit of cherry lip gloss to my lips instead.
Grinning, Aly patted the top of my head. “I’ve never seenyou so frazzled about getting ready. You must really like Ben to be doing all of this.”
I swatted her hand away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
My hand smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles on my jean skirt and flowy cream lace blouse. I didn’t want to be overdressed, so figured the skirt would be a good choice. Casual, sweet, but still gave Ben something to look at. Plus, I lotioned my legs like crazy so I knew they looked silky smooth.
To be honest, I wasn’tthatexcited about the date. More nervous and apprehensive. But I figured at least I’d finally know what it would be like to actually go on a date with Ben. Plus, it actually helped my nerves a lot that Aly and Jake would be with me.
When Aly and I came downstairs, Jake was already waiting for us at the door. His hands were shoved into his khaki pockets as he kicked the ground with his left gray loafer. The nice canvas ones that he bought at the outlet in Houston. He must have bought four pairs of the same shoes in different colors that day. I thought he was crazy, but now I had to admit, they looked really good. Especially because he paired them with a blue collarless polo.
I was so busy looking at his outfit that I didn’t notice it at first. But there it was. His quick glances in my direction as we all walked out to his car. Once. Twice. Plus, there was definitely aflicker of admiration that crossed his face. No matter how much he tried to hide it.
A warm feeling spread all over me, and I had to purse my lips together to hide my grin. Why did I care about what Jake thought about me? I never had before, but it felt nice to be admired. Even if it was just by Jake.
GOD, THIS WAS PROBABLYgoing down in history as the most awkward date ever. The definition ofAwkward Date.
Well, the date started off fine. We met up with Ben in front of Tony’s Slice to eat before the movie. And Ben was handsome and sweet. And taller than I remembered. Like he suddenly grew outside of school. Or maybe we had never stood this close together before.
