Page 11 of My Fake Relationship With the Popular Boy
He swung open the door and looked both ways in the hallway. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he said, “Great doing business with you.”
As I walked away, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had just a deal with the devil — and that I was so going to regret it later.
four
“You’re quiet tonight.”
I looked up from the menu I’d been studying for the past five minutes. My father was sitting across the table from me, a concerned look on his face.
“Just tired I guess,” I said with a wry grin.
“You work too hard,” he said. He shook his head. “Sometimes, I wonder if that school puts too much pressure on you. I know private school education is better but…”
“It’s not the school,” I said immediately. I hated for him to have any doubts about me going to Bayshore, given all the sacrifices he made for me to be able to do so. “It’s just the way senior year goes. But it’s okay, it’s almost over.”
And the end of school would come with the end of the ridiculous agreement I’d made with Jaxon the day before. I was already dreading going to school on Monday and having to explain to everyone that I was in a relationship with Jaxon Andrews of all people. Years of purposely falling under the radar would all be ruined right at the tail end of high school, all because Jaxon caught me at a moment of weakness.
“Just make sure you don’t wish it all away,” Dad said. “Or let it fly by without loving it. These are the times that you remember for the rest of your life.”
Dad said stuff like that a lot and I didn’t totally understand why. I doubted that twenty years from now, I was going to reminiscing about all the crappy people I was forced to see every day for four years.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said softly. Dad’s face remained twisted in a frown.
“Hey, I have an idea,” he said. “Is Lewis working today? Why don’t you ask him to join us?”
Lewis had worked at Bev’s Diner, the best restaurant in town, for all of high school. Since Dad and I consistently came here for dinner at least once a week, Lewis often joined us at the end of his shift. He and Dad had always gotten along great.
“Um, no, I don’t think he’s working today,” I said. I rubbed a hand on the back of my neck and looked away guiltily. I hated lying to my dad but I also didn’t want to have to tell him that Lewis and I weren’t speaking anymore. I definitely couldn’t tell him what Lew said — it would break his heart as much as it broke mine.
“Are you sure?” he asked. He leaned out of the booth to look around the restaurant. “I could have sworn I saw him earlier.”
My stomach twisted in a knot. All I wanted to do was spare his feelings, but I couldn’t do that while avoiding Lewis.
“Um, well, actually…”
“Oh, there he is!” Dad said. He returned to his previous spot. “He just went into the kitchen. I guess he’s working the evening shift, but I’m sure we could get him to sit for a few minutes. Tess won’t mind.”
Tess was Lewis’s boss, who just so happened to go to high school with my dad. Our town wasn’t extremely small but a lot of the people who lived here stayed here for their whole lives,so it wasn’t uncommon to have connections like that. Dad could usually convince her to give Lewis extra long breaks whenever we were there.
“Dad,” I said. When he finally looked at me, the smile slipped from his face.
“Everything okay, squirt?” he asked. I smiled a tiny bit at the old nickname. I hadn’t heard that one in a while.
“It’s just that…” I cleared my throat and tucked my hair behind my ears. Who knew it would be so hard to tell my dad that Lew and I were friends anymore? It was only because Lewis had been my friend for so long. He’d grown up with me. “Lewis and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms at the moment.”
“What?” he asked. “Why not?”
“We, uh, had a fight,” I said. “The other day. A bad one.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” The genuine sadness in his voice broke my heart. “Do you think you’ll be able to work through it?”
“I don’t know,” I said. Then, because I knew it was probably best not to give him false hope, I added, “Actually, no. Definitely not.”
“Must have been quite a fight,” Dad said quietly.
“It was,” I said. I wracked my brain for something happier to tell him to lessen the blow a little. “But not everything’s bad!”
He raised his eyebrows at the strange change in my tone.
