Page 62 of The Fake Dating Plan

She sounded stilted. As if there was more she wanted to say.

“Spit it out.”

“Gia. Isn’t she your girlfriend?”

“Ex.”

“Like me?”

Nothing like you, but I didn’t know how to say it without making it sound like I was declaring Emilia to be more than whatever this was.

“My relationship with Gia was vastly different from my relationship with you.”

“I see.”

“It’s not like you think.” God, I hated explaining myself. “This is not over. Our tryst is not over. Not by a long shot.” I kissed her to let her know exactly how I felt about her. She responded to it with fervor and lust that matched my own.

“Do you understand?”

She gave me a breathy, “Yes.”

A few minutes later, Gia and Francie were back in the living room. Gia kept staring at Emilia and me—particularly Emilia—as we sat opposite the two of them. An awkward silence passed when no one wanted to be the first to say anything. Is this how they wanted to play this? Fine.

“I didn’t know you two were friends,” I said.

Francie, who had been peering at us, said, “We knew each other from high school. We were friends at one time.”

“Sure.” Gia and Francie were far from people likely to have similar interests, let alone be friends. Francie was a hiker, and Gia would rather eat dirt than climb a mountain.

“We accidentally met while I was on my way back here. Got to talking, and now we’re here.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Hi, Gia,” Emilia said. Gia smiled at her. It was a knowing smile.

“You two know each other?”

“I’ve modeled some of her jewelry,” Gia said. “It’s really beautiful.” Her gaze wandered to me. “I didn’t know you two were dating.”

“It’s a recent development.” I jumped in before Emilia said anything to her. There was something about Gia I didn’t trust. Maybe it was her demeanor, the way she kept staring at Emilia.

Another awkward bout of silence passed. Emilia began playing with her phone. Francie stared at the ceiling. Finally, Gia said, “I think it’s time I go. I have friends I’m meeting in a few.” She bid us farewell, happy holidays, and left. Emilia left to freshen up.

“What were you thinking, bring her here?” I said to Francie when we were alone.

“I didn’t know you two dated! She only told me that after we caught you and Em getting it on.”

“Not caught. Intruded. You intruded.”

“We were here first.”

“It’s my home.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Make sure to tell her friend not to spread stories about me.”

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