Page 52 of Faking It With the Small-Town Bad Boy

“Seems like a poser to me.”

I cock my head slightly, surprised that I agree with Percy Elrod more

and more these days. “I guess that’s true. He did things like that a lot,

though. I paid for dinner while he was unemployed, but he would

hate it if I made a big deal about paying. So, I started giving him the

money that Dad would pay me for helping him in the shop from time

to time. Ryan didn’t like looking weak.”

“It’s not uncommon,” Percy whispers.

I kick myself out from under the car and sit up on the rolling board,

rocking my ankles back and forth while I scoot in a methodical

pattern, forward and backward. “What do you mean by that?”

“By what, Leah?”

“About looking weak. Do you feel that way sometimes?”

He nods slowly, clutching the broom a bit tighter. “Constantly.”

“But why?”

“Is this another question-and-answer game?”

“No, this isn’t about us pretending to date. This is about you.”

“What about me?”

I do everything but throw my hands up and scream at the metal tin

ceiling over our heads. “Come on, Percy. Just talk to me. Tell me the

truth. I’m curious. You don’t have to deflect.”

“I’m not deflecting. I’m stalling and hoping you lose interest,” he says

with a grin. I can see the partial truth in his joke, though. He’s trying

to be honest with me, but it’s like he doesn’t know how to do that.

When he sees I won’t back down, he adds, “Fine, fine. I get it. Sorry.”

“It’s okay, just talk to me, though. I don’t want to push you, but I

thought we were going to support one another here. Why won’t you

let me do that?”

“Because it’s hard, Leah. It’s not a simple thing to tell a woman,

especially one as confident and successful as yourself, that I feel like

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