Page 39 of My Fake Date With My Childhood Friend
I was in a really weird period of my life right now, but I was glad that Alexander was by my side, helping me with everything. He was a gem, and I definitely couldn’t have done this without him. For the first time in a long time, I really thought about him and how much I liked him. He was cute, but that was just the beginning of it. I liked him because he was different. He was interesting, smart, and funny, too. He didn't care what other people thought about him, which was something I admired.
“You really like the dress?” I asked him as we turned onto our street.
“I do,” he said. “It looked fantastic. And as a bonus, you'll make Joseph rue the day he ever cheated on you.”
I sighed and rested my chin on his shoulder. “Somehow, I don't think that will ever happen.”
“I don't know how,” Alexander said in a raspy voice. “If I was him... there wouldn't be a moment that went by that I didn't regret it. It would be the biggest mistake of my life.”
fifteen
I splashedsome cold water on my face as if that was going to wake me up from the dream I had been living in for the past week. I couldn’t wrap my brain around anything that had been happening since Alexander, and I started fake dating. It was like a switch had flipped, and I was back in everyone’s good graces.
Of course, there were two people determined to ruin my good mood, and those were the two that I, unfortunately, kept running into.
I barely reacted when the bathroom door swung open. It was between classes, so it wasn’t surprising that I wouldn’t be the only one there. I didn’t even take note of the person who came in until she sauntered up right next to me, invading my personal space and leaving me no doubt of who she was.
“Penny,” she said coldly.
“We need to stop meeting like this,” I said flatly. Was she watching me and following me when I was alone in the bathroom? Because honestly, what were the chances of this happening twice in as many weeks?
“Is Alexander taking you to the dance?” Nikki asked. She tilted her head, letting her ponytail swing to the side.
“I don’t know many girls who go to the dance with a boy that’s not their boyfriend,” I said. “Then again, I guess you wouldn’t know anything about that, seeing as how you made out with mine.”
I pushed past her and ripped a long piece of paper towel out from the machine before aggressively drying my hands. The paper was rough against my skin, but I ignored the pain in my rush to get out of there as soon as possible.
My phone kept buzzing in my pocket and driving me insane. I finally dropped the paper towel in the garbage can and ripped my phone out of my pocket, half expecting to see some sort of emergency. Instead, all the messages were from Joseph:
Hey
Hi
Please answer my call.
Why aren’t you answering my calls?
Please pick it up.
Check your voicemail.
Penny, why are you like this? Just hear me out.
Penny, please call me back.
Hi.
This was getting pathetic. He needed to take a hint. I was actually close to blocking his number. I never called him back since the day he called, and ever since then, he has been bombarding me with texts, iMessages, and voice notes.
I spun around.
“You know, if I was you, I would worry more about your own relationship instead of mine,” I said, “because your boyfriend is blowing up my phone non-stop.”
“He is not!” Nikki snapped, crossing her arms.
“Except he is.” I turned the phone screen towards her so she could see the influx of messages. “So, if you don't want to end up in the same situation as I did, you better talk to him because he didn't exactly become loyal overnight.”
Nikki stared at me silently for a minute. I would have thought she was about to cry if I didn't know better.
