Page 27 of My Fake Date With My Childhood Friend
“Okay, that’s fine,” I replied awkwardly. I didn't like a couple of photos like that, but it was true that most other people posted them, so I should too. Even if I had Joseph and Nikki blocked,someone was bound to show them these photos, and that made it worth it. Anything to make them angry.
He moved closer and hesitated for a second before sighing.
“All right, let’s get this over with.”
He kissed my cheeks and raised the phone for a selfie, then clicked the button to take the photo.
I definitely felt butterflies in my stomach when he pecked my cheek, but I was trying hard to push them away. I shouldn’t have been enjoying this. Alexander kissed my cheek every year at New Year’s Eve and it was never a big deal. My brain was just confused because we had to pretend to date. That was it, yeah. It was all in my head. It was fake, and I had to remember it.
We took a few more photos like that before I finally called it.
“We have a party to get to,” I reminded him.
“Just a couple more photos,” he asked.
“We need to go!” I insisted. I started walking backwards in the direction of the checkout aisle, keeping my eyes on him.
“Let me just get some shots like this!” He said. While pushing the cart forward at a snail's pace, he started taking some more photos of me. I tried to smile naturally and not look like I was using up all my energy to avoid anything. Maybe I should have been more focused, though, because Alexander's face suddenly morphed into one of concern, and he opened his mouth to warn me about something behind me, but it was too late — I spun around to see what it was and ran straight into Nikki.
“Oh my gosh!” I exclaimed in surprise. I put a hand to my rapidly beating chest. “Nikki! What are you doing here?”
Nikki's eyes were just as wide with surprise, and she looked from me to Alexander and back again.
“I didn't see you there,” she said. She pointed behind her. “I just came around the corner. I mean, I didn't—” She cleared her throat and looked away uncomfortably.
“Yeah, I didn't see you either,” I said flatly.
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air.
“We were just getting some drinks for a Christmas party,” Alexander said, holding up a couple of bottles of pop.
“Fun,” Nikki said, eyeing them carefully.
A second later, Joseph came around the corner, eyes trained on the label of a cookie box.
“Hey, babe, do you think...” He trailed off as he looked up and saw the situation before him. “Oh, hey, Penny. Alexander.”
My stomach turned, and I started to feel sick. Why was Joseph everywhere I went?
Alexander dropped the bottles back into the cart and wrapped an arm around my waist.
“I was just telling Nikki here that Penny and I are off to a Christmas party,” Alexander said. He leaned his chin against it. “We're just so excited for this first Christmas as a couple, you know?”
“I see,” Joseph said. His eyes darkened and I could feel the anger radiating off of him. I guess our plan was working.
“Yeah, it's going to be the best Christmas ever,” I said. I grabbed Alexander's spare hand and gave it a squeeze. “He just gets me, you know? It's nice to spend the holidays with a boyfriend I love.”
“You loved me,” Joseph growled.
“I thought I did,” I sighed. “But then I started dating Alexander and realized what love actually feels like.”
Joseph's anger was palpable, like a storm gathering power. His breathing was heavy and fast, his face was red, and his fists were clenching and unclenching at his sides. I was a little worried about his possibly punching one of us.
“Good for you,” Nikki said sarcastically. She tapped at Joseph’s arm insistently. “Can we go now?”
Joseph looked at her with what I thought was supposed to be a glare, but Nikki seemed unfazed. She just raised her eyebrowsat him. Joseph turned to us again. Joseph's eyes met mine, and for a second, I thought I saw something change in them. But then it was gone, and he nodded stiffly before pushing past Alexander and leading Nikki down the aisle we were just leaving.
Alexander quickly grabbed our cart, and we walked away as fast as we could without actually running. The silence between us was still heavy. We went through the self-checkout at lightning speed and headed out into the cold night.
