Page 41 of My Fake Relationship With the Popular Boy
I shrugged. “Yeah, well… It’s not like this is a serious relationship, anyway.”
“What do you mean?” Madison asked.
“It’s more of a fling than anything,” I said. I desperately hoped that I was remaining accurate to what I had told Eli because he definitely told Sabrina, and I wouldn’t put it past Madison and Sabrina to compare notes. “Just for the summer, you know?”
“Well, you better watch out,” Madison said. “It may start out as a fling, but it’s so easy for feelings to get a little too strong. And then, the next thing you know, you can’t bring yourself to end it.”
I obviously knew that wouldn’t be an issue, but I couldn’t tell her that. At least, not with my real reasoning.
“I’m not too worried about that,” I said. “Jaxon and I aren’t going to the same university and I’m not interested in a long-distance relationship, so it will have to end.”
“Wait, what do you mean?” Madison asked, her eyes squinting in confusion.
“Well, I know it doesn’t guarantee that feelings won’t be involved but I have to do what’s best for me and?—”
“No, no, not that,” Madison said. “The first part. Aren’t you going to Queen’s University?”
“Yes,” I said slowly. Why would she be confused about that? We’d accepted our offers there together.
“Jaxon is going there too,” Madison said. It was my turn to frown in confusion.
“What? Of course he isn’t,” I said. “He’s going to the University of Ottawa. He made a whole post about it when he got his offer.”
Madison shook her head. “No, Violet, he changed his mind at the last second. He decided he didn’t want to move so far away from his family. Didn’t he tell you?”
“It must have slipped his mind with the grad trip and everything,” I stumbled out. Of course, I shouldn’t have been surprised he didn’t tell me. It wasn’t like I was his real girlfriend or anything. He didn’t owe me information about his life. “Imean, the deadline was only a few days ago, so it makes sense. How did you find out?”
I held my breath as I waited for her answer, just praying that she wouldn’t say Jaxon told her. I had no idea how I would go about explaining why Jaxon had told her that information but not me.
“Yeah, I guess we’ve been pretty busy since then,” Madison said dismissively. “I only know because Sabrina told me the other day. She was excited because it means all of her friends are going to university together. Isn’t that great?”
“Brilliant,” I said, though my voice probably lacked enthusiasm. I was too shocked to even fake it or try to mirror the giant smile on Madison’s face right at that moment.
“You can move over to the pedicure seats,” my nail tech said.
I got up and walked the short length of the store, my thoughts in turmoil as I did so. Jaxon going to the same university as me changed everything about our arrangement. I thought I would be able to just escape this weird ruse once high school ended, but with Jaxon around for the next four years, it would keep going in some form. We’d have to pretend to be exes, right? I didn’t know how to do that! And what if our friends expected us to hate each other even more after we broke up than we did before? From what I could tell from TV shows, that was expected. Would Eli feel weird being in the middle of all that?
Madison sat down in the spot next to me a moment later and immediately started fawning over the massage chairs. I had to admit, they were pretty cool, but I was having trouble fully appreciating it right then.
The door jingled as somebody walked into the store. I didn’t pay it any mind until an all too familiar voice broke through the room.
“How are you lovely ladies doing today?” Jaxon asked. He came over to my chair and kissed my cheek, while Sabrina andEli walked by us to look at nail polish colours. “Hi,” he said sweetly.
He had a couple of big shopping bags in his hand but I couldn’t tell exactly what they were. I guess that was what was so important that he did that morning.
“Hey,” I said. I frowned as I looked at him. “What are you doing here?”
“Madison shares her phone location with Sabrina,” Jaxon explained. “We finished all the shopping we wanted to do so we thought we’d come surprise you.”
“Is this your boyfriend?” the nail tech asked me.
Still utterly confused by the turn of events, I just nodded yes.
“He’s cute,” she said. She said it in a quiet voice like it was a secret, but Jaxon was standing right beside me and obviously heard it.
Without thinking, I just smiled and said, “I know, right?”
I was immediately embarrassed by the words and the way I sounded like I really thought it. While most people wouldn’t find it weird, I knew Jaxon would — and based on the way he was grinning from ear to ear, he knew that I meant what I said.
