Page 27 of The Problem with Perfect

He chuckles. “Aww, babe, I think you did a great job.” He wraps his arm around her shoulders and looks at us. “It’s basically like she said: bumped into each other at a party and knew immediately we were meant for each other.”

I grit my teeth and take a long pull from my beer, trying to tuck away my irritation. Part of me wants to tell Stace about Connor and me, tell her we slept together right before the two of them started dating and he never communicated to me that he started seeing someone.

But my emotions feel too fragile, too brittle, like they might snap apart in my hands if I handle them without care. So I do what I’m good at—what I’ve always been good at: I stuff them down deep. Don’t cause any problems, don’t make waves.

Instead, I smile along, listening as Rusty asks more questions and Stace and Connor share more about themselves and their senior year. Eventually, we make our way out to the patio and cook burgers, and Connor and Rusty start talking about the brewery and how the construction is coming along. All in all, it goes a lot smoother than I expected.

Connor and Stace seem happy.

Rusty and I seem happy.

But beneath it all, everything feels like a lie.

Because it is.

chaptereight

Rusty

When I see Boyd’s name on my caller ID, I groan.

I know exactly why he’s calling, and it’s my own fault that I’ve let it get this far. I should have called him as soon as I agreed to this whole farce, but I’ve been allowing myself to get distracted. Part of me is tempted to let it go to voicemail, but instead I tilt my neck from side to side and answer.

“Hey, Boyd.”

“Why am I getting text messages that you’re dating my sister? This is some kind of joke, right?”

His voice is tight, and I can just picture my best friend on the other end of the line, his dark brow furrowed and his eyes ablaze. Boyd is a loyal friendandbrother, so it isn’t surprising that he’s calling me.

“It’s not a joke, but I’mnotdating Bellamy.”

There’s a pause, and I take advantage of it, launching into an explanation I hope will appease my friend.

“It’s why I left that message yesterday. I wanted to give you a heads-up. We’re just…pretendingwe’re dating. Apparently there’s a guy and she told him we’re dating for reasons that are too ridiculous for me to say out loud, so I agreed to be her boyfriend while he’s in town.”

More silence.

“It’s really just to fuck this guy off, Boyd. I promise, it’s not a big deal.”

He sighs, and I know what remains unspoken is what’s running through my own mind right now: if itactuallywasn’t a big deal, I wouldn’t be needing to tell Boyd that. My hope is he understands I’m not poaching on his sister, to use my sister’s terminology.

Bellamy is beautiful, without a doubt, and maybe in another life that would be enough to cloud my judgment, but there’s a line you don’t cross with friends. You don’t date their sisters.

That thought makes me laugh.

“I’m failing to see the humor in this.”

“No, I’m…I’m not laughing at you, I’m just…I really do get what you’re going through. How you feel is how I felt when I found out about my sister and Jackson.”

He hums but doesn’t say anything else. That’s Boyd; he’s not quick to speak. He’s an internal processor and usually takes a bit more time than I do to think through the important parts of things and come to a conclusion. I’m more impulsive. It’s been my greatest strength and my greatest weakness in equal measure.

“I’m gonna need more information than just ‘we’re pretending to date,’” he finally says.

I blow out a long breath and explain the whole thing, about Bellamy and Connor and his fiancée and what she said at the bar. I don’t tell him about seeing her naked, though.

Well,nearly naked—like that’s so much better. I figure that’s one of those details friends don’t need to share.

“Okay well, if it’s really all fake, I just want to make sure you treat her with respect. Bellamy is one of the best people I know, and I don’t want you corrupting her.”

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