The first bell rang, and Jimmy hopped up from his seat, giving me a smirk. “Unless you need anything else, your majesty, I’ve got to head to math. Am I dismissed? Or do I have to play your love slave all day?”
I shook my head, my cheeks going hot at the words love slave. “No, I’m good. I’ll catch up with you later.”
His eyes swept over me one last time, and then he smirked again. I watched him leave, feeling warm from my head to my toes. When he was gone, I turned back to see Raquel watching me from across the table.
“What?”
She cocked her head to one side. “That was just pretend, right?”
I scoffed and began to pick up my things. What a strange question. “Duh. I’d never be with a guy like Jimmy for real.”
“All right, just making sure.” She pressed her lips together in a thoughtful frown. “Because that was a little intense. If you keep that up, you’re going to have no problem fooling the rest of the school.”
My heart gave one last little flutter. Yeah, that had been intense, but it was only the beginning of our fake relationship. We still had a long way to go.
How much more intense could it get?
8
Jimmy
The clash of iron was like music to my ears. Sitting up from the bench, I flexed my muscles, grunting with satisfaction. My arms were definitely getting swole during the off-season. Baseball season was only months away, but I was in the best shape of my life. Coach Samms was already impressed with my stats. I was his ace. Things were looking good.
As long as Mia could stick to her part of the bargain.
I fought back a grin as I remembered the way she’d freaked when I’d kissed her ear in study hall today. She could consider that payback for what she’d put me through the last few days. The way she’d shivered had almost made me burst out with a laugh, but I’d managed to hold it together. Impressively, so had Mia. That girl was made of stronger things than I’d realized. Just like I hadn’t realized how incredibly soft and enticing her body could feel next to mine...
“Hey, Alston, what’s with the grin?” Taggish whipped a towel at me, hitting me squarely on the thigh and leaving a welt. “I don’t suppose it has anything to do with your new girl?”
The handful of guys pumping iron after school stopped to join in the fun. They hooted and hollered at me, wagging their eyebrows suggestively. I brushed them off and laid back down on the bench. They could tease all they wanted—it didn’t get to me. I’d pitched a no-hitter in freezing rain last spring. I’d taken a baseball straight to the temple in middle school. This was nothing.
“Hey, Morton, bet I can beat your max reps in my sleep,” I said, pushing up on the barbell.
Taggish’s grinning, shaggy blond head appeared above me, and he placed his elbows on the bar, forcing me to drop it back in the rung. “Dude, I didn’t know you were after Mia Jackson, but I guess it makes sense. You always did have a thing for cute, sassy blondes.”
I rolled my eyes. Taggish had no clue what he was talking about. Mia was more than sassy. She was a walking pain in my rear.
“Don’t be renting your tux out just yet, bro,” I said, adjusting my grip on the bar. “There’s no wedding bells in our future. I just needed a change of pace. Mia’s good as any.”
The boys didn’t need to make a bigger deal out of this than necessary. What Mia and I had was temporary. Period. Once she got what she wanted, I’d be free. No one should get attached. Least of all, me.
“Hey Jimmy, can we talk?”
The sudden sound of Mia’s voice in the weight room caused me to sit up in a panic. How long had she been standing there? On the way up, I banged my head on the bar, causing stars to burst in front of my eyes.
Instant karma.
I groaned and rubbed my head, squinting under the bright lights. “Mia?”
She stood smirking just a few feet away, her hands planted on her hips. “Yeah, it’s me, your change of pace. Don’t worry, I’m not here to kidnap you for our wedding. I just wanted to talk.”
I gave Mia a sheepish smile. Apparently, she’d been standing there long enough. “I think I can handle that.”
Taggish chuckled behind me, obviously enjoying my humiliation. The jerk could’ve given me a warning. I was already in the dog house, and it hadn’t even been on purpose. I really did stink at this relationship stuff.
Mia led me out of the weight room and into a nearby empty exercise studio. As I shifted uncomfortably near the door, her gaze took in my sleeveless tee and jersey shorts, moving up to my bare arms, where it paused for a moment. If I had to guess, I would’ve thought she was measuring me for a Snow Ball tux or something. Girls around here went kind of crazy about Sweet Mountain High’s winter dance. When Mia finally made eye contact with me, her cheeks turned pink, and she blew out a puff of air.
“I want to thank you for what you did in study hall today.” She crossed her arms. “You really saved my bacon with Lindsey. I think she swallowed her tongue.”
Surprise washed over me. I’d really been expecting a lecture about my speech back there, but this was totally different.
“No problem.” I leaned my elbow up against an elliptical and gave her a smile. “Interested in a replay? It doesn’t have to be in study hall. I could kiss you again. Here. Now. Practice makes perfect, you know?”
I was only joking, but it was fun to see Mia’s face turn white before she pulled herself together enough to glare daggers at me.
“Stop that. No one’s around. You can stop being charming, for once in your life.”
I laughed and ran a hand through my hair. Normally, I wouldn’t tease any girl like this, but there was something about Mia that had always set me off. Even as kids. I couldn’t help myself.
“Sorry. It’s hard to turn off.”
“Actually, that’s partly why I’m here.” She pulled a tiny notebook from the back pocket of her jeans. A golf pencil, identical to the one sitting on my nightstand at home, was stuck in the spirals. Flipping through the pages, she stopped when she got to the one she wanted. “If we’re really going to do this, then we’re going to need to get on the same page. So, I’ve made some notes on how you can be a believable boyfriend during this arrangement.”
I couldn’t help but snort and shake my head. She couldn’t be seriously trying to brief me on the finer points of being in a relationship. I might have been relationship-challenged, but I wasn’t a beefhead. I knew how to yuck it up for the kids. I could smile and hold hands and exchange goo-goo eyes with the best of them.
She cleared her throat, oblivious to my reaction. “Hold my hand once in a while. Take me on dates. Tuck a curl gently behind my ear. Look at me longingly. Save me a seat at lunch. Wait for me at my locker. Lame relationship stuff like that. I think we’d better plan on making some appearances together at events, or people will start to question. And then there’s the issue of your flirting—”
I held up my hand. “Stop. Just stop. There can’t be anything wrong with my flirting. I’m a natural.”
She grimaced up at me. “Well, that’s kind of the problem. If you’re going to go out with me, you can’t flirt with everyone you meet.”
“I don’t flirt with everyone.” My elbow slipped from the elliptical, and I stumbled a bit. “That’s a gross exaggeration.”
She smiled smugly. “Your reputation precedes you. According to certain sources, you could charm your way out of a snake den. Honestly, though, I’ve yet to be impressed.”
A dry laugh burst from my lips. Mia was so ridiculously confident in her criticism of me that it was kind of cute.
“Fine, whatever. I solemnly swear that I will no longer flirt with anyone who isn’t five-foot-five with crazy blonde curls and isn’t currently blackmailing me. Happy?”
“Good.” She sharply nodded her head. “That’s all I was asking for.”
I scoffed again. This chick was unbelievable. Dad would like her take-no-bull attitude, especially when it came to his son
. He was always saying I needed to be taken down a peg or two. But I couldn’t let her get all the punches in today.
Two could play at this game.
“In that case, while we’re at it, I’ve got some notes of my own.” I stepped toward her until there was hardly any space left between us. Her caramel brown eyes grew wide behind her glasses as she looked up at me, her gaze darting back and forth between my eyes. “If we’re going to fake date, then you’re going to need to learn how to look at me without wrinkling that cute little nose of yours in disgust every time you see me.”
I bit back a grin as she made a face in response, and her nose wrinkled.
“I think I can handle that,” she said. “Anything else?”
“Just one more.” She flinched the slightest when I reached up to cup her chin but didn’t pull away. Her skin was unbelievably soft and smooth. “And you’re going to have to learn to act like you want me every time I touch you. Honestly, though, I don’t hold out much hope for you. You might be a reporter, Mia Jackson, but you’re definitely not a very good liar.”
I stared down at her as she parted her lips to wet them with the tip of her tongue. A shock of electricity hit me squarely in the gut. I had the sudden urge to trace the pad of my thumb over the soft curves of her mouth. Not even I could deny she had a beautiful mouth. A mouth that was quick to insult and boss me around. A mouth that I should seriously stay away from.
“I can do that.” Her voice was small. For the first time since Friday, she looked totally unsure and fragile. “I know I can.”
“Good.” I gave her a half-smile and dropped my hand from her face. “Because you wanted a fake boyfriend, and now you got him. Be ready at nine on Friday night. We’ve got plans. Consider this our first official date.”
She raised her eyebrows. “And where exactly are you taking me?”
“That’s for me to know.” I shrugged as I walked backward toward the exit. “And you to find out. But trust me, this will cement our relationship as real in the eyes of everyone in Sweet Mountain High.”
I should’ve been insulted by the disbelieving look in her eyes right before I left the studio, but I laughed it off. I had a feeling that would drive her crazy. Mia liked to dish it out, but time would tell if she could take it as well.
It sure would be fun to find out.
9
Mia
The cheesy macaroni I’d left on the table was still untouched when I came down the stairs of our home. Shaking my head as I picked up the plate, I walked into the living room to find Dad snoozing in front of the TV. He looked shrunken; the clothes that once fit him now baggy on his stomach and waist. I set supper on the coffee table in front of him and shook him gently.
“Hey, Dad, I brought you something to eat.”
He opened one eye and gave me a sleepy smile. “Is that my sweet, darling, little Mia?”
I laughed a little. “Dad, I’m seventeen. I don’t think I can be called your little Mia anymore.”
He pushed his lips together. “You’ll always be my little Mia. Look at how well you take care of your father. There’s not a luckier man in the world.”
I sighed softly and grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch to place over him. If I were really a better daughter, I would say something about the five empty beer bottles on the table next to him and the fact that he hadn’t seen any of his old friends for weeks. And I’d tell Mom in our weekly phone call that Dad was struggling.
But I just couldn’t. Not if it meant losing Dad and having everything in my life uprooted once again. I’d survived my parents’ divorce. I didn’t think I would survive that.
“Remember, I’m headed out in a couple of minutes.” I glanced up at the clock on the fireplace mantle. Jimmy had said to be ready at nine on Friday. It was five minutes till and already my stomach was feeling all sorts of queasy. “Please make sure you eat something tonight.”
He narrowed his eyes at me and rubbed a hand over his unshaven chin. “Going out with that pastor’s boy?”
I nodded, suddenly feeling unsure. Dad had never given me any grief over going out with friends before, but a boy was totally different. I’d mentioned my date with Jimmy yesterday, but should I have asked permission? Was this the one time Dad was actually going to be a dad again?
He smiled then and reached over to pat my hand. “Have fun, sweetie.”
A strange combination of relief and disappointment swept over me, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. The doorbell sounded, and my palms immediately went all sweaty. My date was here. At my house. Waiting for me. With a last goodbye to my dad, I went to open the door.
The first thing I saw was Jimmy’s green eyes, looking at me in that frustrating way—as if he knew a secret that I didn’t. He leaned on the doorframe, his leather jacket opening to reveal a gray button-down shirt that half-exposed his sculpted and bare chest underneath. A thin, gold chain hung around his neck. His hands were stuffed in the front pockets of his light-washed jeans. I gulped at the sight of him, not entirely sure where the feeling in my face had gone.
“Hey, my beautiful fake girlfriend,” he said, his eyes glittering with a teasing expression. “Ready to hit the pavement?”
Jimmy calling me beautiful, made my cheeks flush. I held my cold hands up to them, cursing my body’s involuntary reaction. It was all an act. Nothing to get all swoony over.
“Depends. Are you finally going to tell me where we’re going? I need to know if I look okay or if I should change.”
I hadn’t been sure what to expect. I wasn’t exactly an expert when it came to dating. In fact, I had zero experience in that department. Jimmy had given me zero clues all week, even when I tried to pester him between classes during our fake girlfriend-boyfriend circus act.
Raquel had been absolutely no help. She’d never been on a date, either. So I’d gone with what felt right for a date with a bad boy—a cheetah print skirt and cream-colored top, paired with bright red heels that matched my glasses.
He grinned and raked his gaze over me, causing my reddening cheeks to go into overload. “Don’t worry. You look pretty hot.”
Despite the happy feelings currently buzzing around my head like an annoying fly, I scoffed at him and grabbed my purse before closing the door behind me. “For your information, I wasn’t sitting around at home worrying if I’d look hot enough for you. But I figured a cheetah print skirt wouldn’t be appropriate for some places, so that’s why I asked.”
“It’s fine.” He shook his head and gave out a low chuckle. “It’s more than appropriate. In fact, it’s perfect.”
He fell in step next to me as we walked down the stairs toward his maroon Honda parked on the curb. Our shoulders bumped, and I was suddenly back to feeling queasy. What had I gotten myself into? I was about to get into the car of an eighteen-year-old bad boy who started fires in his downtime. And I had no idea where he was taking me. Was my position on the newspaper worth all of this?
Absolutely.
I tucked my chin in with that solid reminder of why we were here in the first place. Invisible battle helmet on. Anything Jimmy threw at me, I could take. All for the sake of following my dreams.
“I suppose you’re going to want me to open the door for you and everything?” He shot me a teasing grin as we neared the car. It was hard not to smile back. My body’s reaction to him was almost automatic. “Is that on the good-boyfriend list of duties?”
It was hard to miss the sarcasm in his tone. I held his gaze as I reached for the door handle and pulled it open. “I think I can get it for myself, thanks.”
He chuckled and threw his hands up. “Hey, that’s fine with me. I like a woman who can handle herself.”
With a sigh, I sat down in the passenger seat and buckled myself in. We just needed to get this date over with as soon as possible. If what Jimmy said was right, and this date cemented our couple-ness for all of Sweet Mountain High, then this time spent being teased by Jimmy would be worth it. Until then, I woul
d just have to bite my tongue as best as I could without maiming myself.
Jimmy really brought out the sassy in me.
“It’s just a short drive to the other side of town.” He slid in behind the wheel and spun the pair of miniature baseballs hanging from the rearview mirror before winking at me. “I realize, thanks to the copious notes you’ve given me this week about the duties of a boyfriend, that I’m not an expert on the whole field of dating. But I figure most dates involve food, so I made a pit stop for sustenance on the way here. Hope you don’t mind.”
Reaching behind his seat, he pulled out a greasy brown paper bag that emanated the most heavenly of smells. I had to shut my mouth to keep from drooling. He set it on the console between us and then handed me a cup with a straw.
“Fries and burgers from Fullers. The vanilla shakes are compliments of my dad. He makes them every Friday night with his old-fashioned blender thing.”
I gazed in amazement at the food selection in front of me. I’d expected Jimmy to just phone in this whole date thing, so this was a pleasant surprise. My appreciation grew even more as I sipped on the vanilla shake, and my eyes grew wide.
“This is freaking amazing.”
I could’ve sworn I saw shock cross his face.
“You really don’t mind it? Most girls I know like to be wined and dined.”
I leaned into my seat and put my head back on the headrest. “Not this girl. I’m a cheap date. Give me burgers and shakes any day. Fast food is my life.”
He grinned and shook his head as he started the car. “First off, if and when you meet my dad, never compare his shakes to fast food. He is completely convinced that in another life, he would’ve been an ice cream connoisseur or something, so that would be offensive. And…you’re welcome.”
I couldn’t help but smile as I drank my shake and dove into some greasy, hot fries. As far as dates went, this seemed like a pretty good way to start. It was exactly what I needed to set my stomach at ease. The familiar feel of the warm food went down easily and took the edge off the anxiety I’d been having during our entire first week of fake dating.
My Fake Boyfriend Page 5
