"Because it's already been a week and you're still not talking to Gray. You need to fix things with him. I swear he's getting grumpier by the day. It's driving me crazy!"
He winces. "That sounds like a bummer."
"Oh, you have no idea."
An audible sigh escapes his lips. "But every time I try to talk to him, he walks away or simply ignores me." His eyebrows pinch together. "I don't think he'll ever forgive me."
"He's just being an idiot. Which is why you need to come over tonight." So you and I can spend more time together, and you'll fall in love with me in no time. "You need to put more effort into groveling."
He smirks, his cerulean eyes gleaming in amusement. "You make it sound like we're a couple."
"Maybe you should have asked Gray to pretend to be your girlfriend then," I joke, keeping my voice low.
"Huh. Why didn't I think of that?" We bust up laughing. "Come on, let's walk you to class." Taking my books from my hands, he hooks his arm over my shoulders and ushers me away from the locker.
His clean, soapy scent envelopes me, and it's all I can do not to sniff him like a dog.
Duane is a touchy "boyfriend." He has to have his hand on me all the time. Either he's holding my hand or resting his hand at the small of my back or hooking his arm over my shoulders. Butterflies flutter in my stomach every single time. And it's getting harder and harder to pretend like I'm not at all affected by his touch. Especially when he kisses my cheek or forehead as a form of goodbye.
Like right now as we stand outside my next class where I try not to gawk at our clasped hands.
"Do you really think it's a good idea to show up at your house tonight? You think your brother won't throw me out?" he probes with a cute crease on his forehead.
"Well, I can't promise that. But I can promise that I'll at least try to stop him. Does that sound better?"
"Maybe a little," Duane chuckles nervously.
"It's going to be fine," I assure him, squeezing his hand. "Dinner is going to be so uneventful it will be boring. But if the worst happens, I'll have your back. I promise."
He opens his mouth to respond, but then his eyes wander over my shoulder, the expression on his face telling me he just decided against whatever he planned to say. Then before I know it, his lips descend and slant over mine.
It's just a quick kiss, maybe three seconds tops, but it knocks my whole world off just the same. My lips throb from the contact, my heart going haywire in my chest, my knees threatening to give out under me.
My eyes are wide as saucers as I stare up at him, hope flickering alive in my chest. "W-What was that for?"
He looks over his shoulder then grins at me sheepishly. "Heather walked past and I just...blanked. Sorry, Beanie. I didn't mean to."
Disappointment hits my gut like a suckerpunch. He kissed me not because he wanted to. He kissed me because he wanted to make her jealous. Isn't reality check a giant bitch?
"Right," I say tightly, clearing my throat. "Guess I better head inside before Mr. Ronson gets in." I step inside the classroom without waiting for his response, the loud thud of the door behind me seeming like the sound of my heart hitting the floor.
*******
"I'm glad you decided to join us for dinner, sweetie." Mom smiles at Duane from across the table as she scoops chicken casserole into Dad's plate.
"It's been a while," Dad nods in agreement before frowning a moment later. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen you around lately. Been busy at school, son?"
Gray visibly stiffens, his lips flattening into a thin line.
"Something like that," Duane says with a chuckle, sending my brother a wary glance.
Which is completely unnecessary. Gray isn't stupid to make a scene in front of our parents. He doesn't want them to know about the current rift between him and Duane.
Still, I have to make things less awkward. "You know how it is, Dad. School is crazy as it is, but paired it with lacrosse? Duane is practically a busy bee. Right?" I elbow Duane—who's sitting right next to me—with a laugh.
Gray snorts loudly, drawing everyone's attention.
I cast him a glare, and it doesn't escape our parents' sharp eyes. Their gazes bounce between the three of us, sensing that something is amiss.
"Everything okay?" Mom asks with a slight frown. "Is there something the three of you need to tell us?"
"Nothing," I say, keeping my tone casual. "Gray is just being annoying. Just ignore him. I usually do."
It's my brother's turn to glare at me. "Really? You want to go there?"
"Oh, get over yourself. You're making a big deal over nothing." Seriously, he's the only one making the whole thing hard for all of us.
"Because you're being stupid!"
"And you're an idiot!"
"That's enough," Dad snaps in an authoritative voice. "We're having dinner and the two of you are being disrespectful. You can talk about whatever issue you have with each other later. And no yelling. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Dad," Gray and I mutter at the same time as Mom huffs out a frustrated breath.
Beside me, Duane is squirming in his seat, clearly feeling uncomfortable.
Great. I promised that dinner would be uneventful, yet I was the one who broke that promise. I just couldn't help myself and had to run my mouth. And here I thought I could use the opportunity to make Gray and Duane reconcile. Instead, I made things worse.
Damn Gray for being such a jerk. He's making it easy for me to be pissed at him. I thought he'd be over it by now, but he's still acting like a big baby. Like Duane hurt him or something. It wasn't as if his best friend went behind his back. Duane gave him a heads-up, didn't he?
"So, dinner was going to be uneventful, huh?" Duane gently bumps his shoulder against mine.
The tense-filled dinner is over, and now we're sitting outside on my front steps.
I wince. "Sorry about that. It was totally my fault. I couldn't shut my mouth fast enough."
"Nah. Gray didn't have to antagonize you like that." He falls silent for a moment. "The two of you are fighting. Heather is going after you. And it's all because of me. Nothing is worth all this trouble. Shit, I feel like a selfish prick." He blows out a breath and stares out into the empty street. "Are you sure you don't want to drop our arrangement?"
"Didn't we already have this conversation?"
He groans. "Allie, I'm serious."
"And who says I'm not?" I give him a stern look. "Listen, you need to stop this blame game you've been playing with yourself. I told you I'd help you and that's what I'm doing right now. So enough with the self-guilt, okay?"
He said nothing is worth all this trouble? But what he doesn't know is that he is.
"But what will happen when we 'break up?' People will talk." He scowls. "I don't want anyone talking shit about you."
When we "break up?" Translation: when he and Heather are finally back together.
I huff out a fake laugh. "Don't worry about me. I can salvage my reputation by getting a new boyfriend. You know, to let everyone know that our 'breakup' doesn't affect me. They won't think I'm a pathetic loser then."
Duane doesn't seem to share my humor though. He remains quiet for a long moment before turning to me with an unreadable expression on his face. "Why? Do you already have someone in mind?"
"Justin," I murmur without thinking.
With a frown, he probes. "Justin? Justin who?"
"Just a boy I met. I didn't even know why I said his name." Crazy, I wasn't even thinking about Justin Samuels.
"So where did you meet this Justin?"
"At Indie's Dad's bookstore." I shake my head, waving a hand dismissively. "Forget I mentioned him. Just...let me handle it when the time comes."
And I really hope it won't come to that.
CHAPTER 8
"Sounds like an interesting dinner to me," Indie comments as we settle down on a grassy area of the quad. "I wish I was there to witness it."
"I really wish you were there," I gr
ipe as I chew the food in my mouth, watching the two boys a few feet from us goof around with each other.
It's lunch break, and instead of having lunch in the cafeteria like we usually do, we simply grabbed some food there and headed outside. Gray looked like he wanted to join us, but our argument over dinner last night had stopped him from tagging along.
Honestly, I was tempted to invite him.
"I needed someone to stop me from going off on Gray. Ugh, Indie, it was a complete disaster. I was supposed to act as a bridge between them, not worsen the situation."
"Oh, come on, Allie. Give yourself a break. It's not your fault that your brother is being stubborn right now."
I pull my bottom lip between my teeth. I don't want to rope my best friend into this, but... "Think you can use your girlfriend tricks and convince Gray to talk to Duane?"
She lifts an eyebrow, barking out a laugh. "Girlfriend tricks?"
"You know what I mean," I huff.
"Believe me, I already tried doing that—and without using any girlfriend tricks—but he still wouldn't budge. I told you, he's stubborn as a mule."
"What am I going to do then?"
"Nothing. Just let it blow over."
"What?"
Why is she saying that? She knows how near-desperate I am to fix the problem.
"Hon, you need to stop stressing yourself over it. It's their issue, let them handle it." Sipping on her soda, she tips her face up to the sun as if to soak its rays up, the ends of her long auburn hair almost touching the grass.
I exhale a breath. "It's just...I'm trying to help Duane, yes—but it's not only that. I'm doing it for myself more. Gray is icing me out, too. So I figured if I could make him talk to Duane, I could make him talk to me, too. I know I find him annoying most of the time, but he's my brother and I miss him."
"Oh, All." She gives me a sympathetic look. Then her face brightens a beat later. "Wait, I think I have an idea."
My ears perk up. "Spill."
“Brad is having a party at his house tomorrow night.”
"Um, and? What does Brad's party have to do with my problem?"
"We should go. He gave me the invite this morning."
Funny how they're sort of friends now. There's no bad blood anymore between them. Indie has moved on with Gray. And surprisingly, Brad is still in a happy relationship with Daphne Lynch, who happens to be Heather's best friend and another Four Blondes.
"Again, and?" I probe.
"We're going to make them hang out with each other there, duh."
I scoff. "While among a hundred other students Gray can see as better choices? Yeah, good luck with that."
"Oh, have a little faith, my dear," she says airily, making me chuckle.
"Well, unless…"
"Unless, what?"
I waggle my brows at her. "We'll lure them into an empty room then trap them there. And we won't let them out until they talk. What do you think?"
Indie blinks at me. "I think you're getting good at this scheming thing. It hasn't even been long since you devised the plan to egg Brad's car. Should I be scared?"
I grin at her. "I know, right? Good times."
She shakes her head, but she's smiling. "Okay, so we'll go the seven minutes in heaven route." She throws her head back as she cackles. "Oh my God, they're gonna freak!"
"Oh, I know!" I snap my fingers excitedly. "We need to set up a hidden camera—one with audio!"
She immediately stops laughing. "You really are starting to scare me."
Immensely pleased with myself, I pop a jalapeño popper into my mouth and grin widely.
*******
When lunch break ends, I make my way to the second floor for my next class but stop midway up the stairs when I hear two voices from the landing.
"Because I expected you to pursue me! You should've fought for us instead of getting a second-class replacement."
The female voice has my brows drawing together. Is that Heather?
"Don't call her that," an angry voice responds, making me stiffen.
Duane.
Why is he talking to Heather? And in the stair landing of all places? Is he...getting back together with her right now?
Walk away. Save yourself from the hurt of seeing them together.
But instead of listening to my inner voice of reason, I decide to be a masochist and move a couple steps forward until I get a side view of their faces.
"Allie isn't a second-class replacement. Jesus, Heather." He runs his fingers through his hair, clearly frustrated.
"She is, compared to me," she scoffs.
"That's what you like to think. But Allie is so much better than you. Better than you'll ever be."
Butterflies swarm in my belly at Duane's words. He thinks I'm better than Heather? Did he really mean it or did he just say it to make her jealous?
An ugly look takes over Heather's face. "How could you say that? And how could you date someone like her? She's no one."
Duane scoffs. "Cut the bullshit. You know there's nothing wrong with her. You're just jealous that I managed to move on fast."
"You're right. I'm jealous," she practically shrieks. "Why didn't you try to win me back?"
"You dumped me, remember? You said I was too clingy. That I was asking a lot of your time."
My eyes flare wide. That's the reason why she broke up with him?
"What a cold-hearted bitch," I mutter under my breath.
"It was a mistake and I've regretted it ever since." She steps closer, sliding her hand across his chest. "Cut the bullshit, you said? Then break up with her. Come back to me. You and I both know that's where we're heading, anyway."
I whirl around and hurriedly descend the stairs, unable to listen and watch anymore, ignoring the growing ache in my chest.
Because I know what's going to happen next. They're going to pick up where they left off. They'll be the 'It' couple who everyone envies once again.
And me? I'll be back on the sidelines, pretending that seeing them together doesn't hurt.
Which is why I'm in a somber mood the rest of the day, dreading seeing Duane and Heather walking through the halls, acting like the loved-up couple they used to be. While my ears are alert for even the tiny bit of gossip about them.
But I don't see or hear anything. And Kiera, who's always the first one to know about these things, just smiles at me when I walk past her at her locker. Her smile isn't even full of malice or sympathy. It's warm and genuine.
Does it mean nothing happened?
But I saw the two of them talking—
"Hey."
I nearly squeak out in surprise when I see Duane standing in front of my locker. What is he doing here? Isn’t he supposed to be with Heather right now?
“Sorry, did I startle you?” he chuckles softly, stepping aside so I can deposit my books.
“Just a little. So, um, I guess congratulations are in order?” I keep my front casual as I open my locker and put my books back.
“Congratulations? For what?” Confusion lines his voice.
Keeping my eyes trained inside my locker, I say, “You and Heather. I saw the two of you talking at the stair landing a while ago. You’re back together now, right? We don’t have to fake date anymore?”
“You saw us?”
“Yeah. But don’t worry.” I force out a grin, careful not to meet his eyes. “I quickly turned around when I saw you. You know, to give you both some privacy.” When he doesn’t respond, I hurry on, “So I was correct, right? You got your real girlfriend back. Mission accomplished.” I flick my tongue over my lips. “Which means—”
“We’re not back together,” he cuts me off.
I snap my head to him. “What?”
Instead of answering me, he says, “Do you have plans with Indie today? I’m in the mood for some ice cream. I was hoping you’d want to join me.”
“But what about Heather?”
“What about her?”
“Didn’t you guys—”
I blink.
He grins. “So, ice cream?”
*******
I’m lost in my own thoughts as I sit at a corner table in The Ice Cream Shop while Duane orders at the counter. When he asks me what I want, I tell him to get whatever he’s having. My mind is preoccupied with unanswered questions.
He said he and Heather aren’t back together. But why? It’s pretty clear that she wants him back. She said breaking up with him was a mistake, and she practically told him to dump me so they could be together again.
But why isn’t Duane “breaking up” with me? Instead we’re getting ice cream like nothing happened. Unless...
Hope flares inside me. Did he change his mind for some reason? Did he realize he didn’t really want her back?
Oh please, let it be the case.
“Allie?”
I have to blink a couple times to register the boy standing in front of me, and a couple more times to realize that I know him. “Justin Samuels?”
A smile tugs at his lips. “Or just Justin. You don’t have to include my last name.”
I let out an embarrassed laugh, my cheeks reddening. “Sorry. I’m a little preoccupied.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” he chuckles, shoving his hands in his pant pockets.
He’s wearing a navy blue polo shirt bearing Maple Grove Prep's crest, which tells me he just got out of school.
“Come here often? Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in The Ice Cream Shop before.”
“Funny, I was about to tell you that I’ve seen you here with Indie once or twice. And right at this table.”
“Oh.” I blink before registering a throat-clearing sound nearby.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Duane is now standing next to Justin, holding two cups of what look like rocky road ice cream with sprinkles and cherry on top, an unreadable look on his face.
“Right. Um, Justin, this is Duane. Du—”
“Her boyfriend,” Duane cuts me off, his gaze never leaving Justin.
My eyes pop wide as I stare at him.
Justin looks to me with a small frown. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”
Risking It (Fake Boyfriend Duet Book 2) Page 4
