Page 17 of The Pucking Kiss

“Oh, what?” my interest in him deepened. “I didn’t know that you were an only child. Me, too.”

“No offense,” he laughed. “But you definitely look like one.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” a hint of annoyance dripped into my tone. He couldn’t go two minutes without saying something mean to me.

“You know, the weird vibe you got going on. You really fill the stereotype that only children are kind of maladjusted.”

“Maladjusted?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Well, takes one to know one. I’m sure you’re not as perfect as everyone thinks you are as well.”

I expected him to come up with an equally witty response, but instead, he just got really quiet for a few moments, and his expression darkened.

“Maybe.”

“Where are your parents?” I asked out of curiosity. Even though I had been infatuated with Bryan for years now, I had never gotten close enough to him to know personal details about this life. As messed up as this sounded, this “arrangement” between us felt like the perfect way to do just that.

“I live with my mom,” he replied, his expression still stormy. “And she’s not around much.”

“Oh,” I muttered, surprised. “Is she busy?”

His face twisted into a smile, but it did not reach his eyes. “She’s the busiest woman in the world. Even busier than the president, probably. She doesn’t have any time for her only child.”

I picked up some resentment for his mother in his voice. Knowing how sensitive of a topic parents could be, I tried to rack my brain for the perfect words to comfort him.

“Um…” I stammered, “Maybe she’s…”

“She’s a high-level executive at a tech company,” he told me with a dead-eyed expression. “Loves her career. Probably didn’t even want to have a child, but whoops, I guess condoms fail sometimes.”

A small blush colored my cheeks at his words. He was talking so bluntly. That was part of Bryan’s charm – he did not shy away from anything ever and spoke his mind.

“You don’t know that,” I tried to comfort him. Even though he was sitting right next to me, I felt too shy to reach out and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure she loves you.”

“I’m sure she loves money,” he said, looking around his giant house. “Can’t you tell just how much time she spends decorating this place?”

“In this day and age, financial independence is a real privilege,” I tried to lighten the mood, “Besides, I’m sure you don’t complain too much when she’s buying you whatever you want.”

Bryan rolled his eyes sarcastically, “Yeah, material things. What a great substitute for a mother’s love.”

I had never seen this side of Bryan before. He had always been so good at covering up his backstory that you would never be able to tell that he had some problems at home. But now that he had given me a sneak peek, I felt curious to know more. It was like his jagged edges only made him appear more interesting to me.

“What about your dad?”

He let out a loud but mirthless chuckle, and his expression changed into a mixture of sadness and anger. His fingers folded into a fist, and I wondered if I had gone too far with my questions.

“Weren’t you here to teach me math? I wasn’t aware you were going to interview me about my entire life.”

I bit down on my lip. “It doesn’t hurt to know. Technically, since you are going to be my pretend boyfriend, I should know things about you.”

“Boyfriend,” he groaned, burying his face in his hands. “Oh, god, don’t even remind me.”

“Hey,” I spoke up, feeling offended, “You agreed to this.”

“Yeah, I did,” he said, though his tone was tinged with regret. “But it’s just that people in school have been talking about you a lot. What did you even do?”

My heart sank at his words, and I felt the familiar melancholic pull as I thought back to my situation with Kathy. “Let’s just say some people really make it their life's mission to ruin your life once you have a falling out with them.”

“Your life sounds way too dramatic. I didn’t think you had it in you, Raggedy Romai.”

“God,” I quipped back, “Can you please stop calling me that? I’m your girlfriend now.”

---