by Amity Hope
My feeling of relief was short-lived.
Luke was resting against my locker. He was tapping away on his phone. A moment later my cell vibrated in my back pocket. It didn’t matter that I chose to ignore it. I could ignore my phone, but I couldn’t ignore him. He felt the weight of my gaze. His eyes met mine across the sea of people.
He did not look happy. And an unhappy Luke, I knew, had the potential to lead to an incarcerated Meg.
I had to do some damage control.
I swerved my way through the crowd as I squeezed a smile onto my face.
“Luke,” I said softly, “I didn’t know you’d be waiting for me.” I wanted to tack on It wasn’t covered in the rules.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He moved toward me and tossed his arm around my shoulders. “It would’ve been nice of you to at least say hi this morning.” There was an edge to his tone, warning me I had better make time for him tomorrow morning. “Meet me in the parking lot after school?”
I agreed, and he released me. I felt oddly pleased that his tone implied it was a request, not a command.
“Good. See you then.” He gave my shoulder a final squeeze before disappearing into the crowd.
By lunchtime the school was buzzing with news that made my knees quake.
“Did you hear there’s a reward?” Francesca leaned across our lunch table. “I heard Mrs. Dahlberg talking to Mr. Thomas. So far the Parent Teacher Association has put together a thousand dollars for any information leading to the vandal.”
“I really messed up,” I said in a low voice.
She scowled. “Do you think he’ll tell?”
I shot a quick glance toward Luke’s table. He was listening to his friends’ banter as he attacked his cheeseburger. He didn’t look my way, and I quickly returned my attention to Francesca.
I shook my head. “No. It’s not like he needs the money. He really wants to play out this dating charade. I think it means more to him than a thousand dollars ever would.”
“So as long as you do what he says, your secret is safe.”
Was a single hour going to pass by when I was not reminded of the enormous hole I’d dug myself into?
Francesca leaned back in her seat. Her smile turned mischievous. “You’re lucky I’m such a good friend. I could sure use a thousand bucks.”
My eyebrows puckered together. “That’s not funny.”
Her grin broadened. “It’s at least a little bit funny.”
Chapter Five
Luke
Jaclyn was the first person I spotted staring us down as we walked out of school together holding hands. I hadn’t trusted Meg to make it out to the parking lot without a chaperone. Her twitchy behavior throughout the day had me convinced she’d bolt. I was there the moment she slammed her locker door shut.
“Jaclyn definitely noticed us,” I said, more to myself than Meg.
“What? No gloating?” she scoffed as we pulled out of the lot. “I thought you’d want to rub it in her face that you’re supposedly seeing someone else.”
I shot her an irritated look. “Thanks for thinking so highly of me.”
“Are we just going to wait until the parking lot clears out before you bring me back?”
“Actually, I thought we could drive around for a while.”
She frowned. “Why?”
It grated on me knowing that this girl seemed determined to hate every second she had to spend with me. I didn’t want her to, like, love me. But it bothered me more than I would care to admit that she didn’t even like me.
I was determined to change that.
“If we’re going to pretend to be dating, we need to get to know one another. I can’t be dating a girl and not know a damn thing about her.”
She slumped down in her seat. I didn’t give her a chance to argue.
“Where do you live?”
“I’m not involving my parents in this,” she warned. “There’s no reason for you to know where I live.”
“I can’t date a girl and not know where she lives.”
This was met by a moment of silence. I braced myself for another argument. Despite the kiss I couldn’t stop thinking about, I was wondering if this whole situation was going to be worth the trouble Meg could certainly bring.
“Cherry Lane. I had better not see you there.” She narrowed her eyes at me and then whipped around, dangling off the arm rest as she dug for something behind us.
“Did you just unzip my backpack?” I was more amused than irritated.
She flopped back down in the passenger seat. A lock of hair floated in front of her face. With a puff, she blew it out of the way.
My ratty green notebook was clenched in her hand. She flipped until she found the page she was looking for, and then pulled a hot pink pen out of her purse.
She verbalized her command as she scribbled it across the page.
Luke cannot go to Meg’s house. Ever.
“Bossy, aren’t you?”
“Me? You’re mad I spent the morning with Francesca and Kylie.” The pen flew across the page again. Never mind that I was driving, she held it up for me to see. “Does this rule fit your requirements?”
Meg must devote every morning to Luke.
“It’s perfect.” I grinned, refusing to be baited by her sarcasm. “You have lunch with your friends. Mornings should be mine.” I craned my neck. “What else are you writing?”
“I’m playing catch-up because your rules are severely lacking. This,” she said, “is for last night.”
Luke cannot kiss Meg whenever he wants.
I chuckled. “Okay. Kiss only as needed. Kinda like taking an aspirin.”
She gave me the evil eye before saying, “Where are we headed?”
“Nowhere in particular, just thought we could drive around.”
“Sounds spectacular.”
“Do you want anything? I could get you a latte? A chocolate malt? Green smoothie?”
“I’m good.”
We drove in silence for a few minutes as I navigated the downtown traffic.
“So what’s our story?” she demanded. “How did we end up together?”
I tossed around some scenarios in my head. “Okay. Got it. You and your Rebel caught my interest. I asked around to see if you had a boyfriend. When I found out you didn’t, I asked if you’d be willing to meet me at Maebelle’s. You agreed. It fits perfectly with our meeting last night. We started talking, found out we had a lot in common.” I glanced at her to see if she approved so far. She nodded and I continued. “We left Maebelle’s and went for a drive. Before the night was over, I asked you out. This relationship is just starting, but it’s going to get serious fast.”
She made a noncommittal sound. “What could we possibly have in common?”
I reached over and squeezed her knee. “Come on, babe, we can figure something out.”
“First of all,” she slid my hand away, “do not call me babe.”
The irritation in her voice surprised me. “Why not?”
“It’s tacky.”
“How is it tacky?”
“What did you call Jaclyn?”
“Babe.”
“What about the girls before her?”
“Babe.” I winced. It was possible this little spitfire had a point.
“See? Tacky. You are not going to add me to a long string of ‘babes.’ It’s demeaning. I mean, could you possibly use a more generic nickname?”
“Right,” I agreed, proud of myself for seeing her point of view. “Because you, you need to stand out.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“You need a nickname all your own.” I liked the idea, myself.
“Not really. I don’t—”
“I’ll work on it.” I tossed her a reassuring wink.
“Fabulous.”
“What sports do you like?” I asked.
She hesitated. “I hate sports. All sports.”
“Even baseball?”
“Even bas
eball,” she confirmed.
“That’s too bad. I live for baseball. I’ve been throwing the ball around since I was a toddler.”
“Well, then, you’re lucky you get to play, aren’t you?” she asked. “Not everyone is given that chance.”
“Yeah, well, if my dad has anything to say about it, I won’t be playing for long,” I admitted. “He thinks baseball is a waste of time. He stopped coming to my games after Little League. As soon as my high school career is over he expects me to drop the game.”
I glanced at her. She quirked an eyebrow as if to ask, Why should I care?
Less than twenty-four hours in and I realized fake-dating might be more exhausting than dating for real.
I tried again. “What do you like?”
“Spending time with my friends.”
“That’s not very helpful.” I thought for a moment. “Do you surf?” Surfing wasn’t great around here but an hour or so down the coast it wasn’t too bad.
“No. Do you?”
“Not anymore, but I’d resurrect my interest if it would help our cause.”
We were headed out of town on a southbound road. I knew we had to have something in common. I also realized that Meg was not likely to help me figure out what that something was. When she started to fidget, tapping her hands on her thighs, I gave her a questioning look.
“You’re right. We should be able to think of something,” she said.
“Okay?” Her sudden agreeableness was confusing.
“Movies? Books? Music? What do you like?”
“This is why I thought it would be a good idea to go for a drive. We can talk. Figure this out.”
“Uh-huh.” Her tapping became more intense. She squirmed in her seat. “You know what? I’m hungry after all. I’m actually starving. Can we head back to town?”
“Now?” I had dated some confusing girls, but Meg was starting to top the charts. “You weren’t hungry ten minutes ago.”
“I was nervous ten minutes ago. Slow down.” She pointed to a splotch of gravel that spread off from the road we were traveling down. “You can turn around there.”
I didn’t slow down. “What is with you?”
I could almost feel Meg’s anxiety hanging in the cab of my Navigator. The look she wore was awfully close to panic. Was she suddenly afraid of me?
“Turn around,” she begged.
“Okay, fine,” I agreed. “I’ll turn at the next approach. There’s one right after the overpass.”
We coasted past the cement supports that bookended each side of the road, hoisting the overpass into the air. The supports were made of wide expanses of cement block. They made a perfect canvas. Apparently they made an irresistible canvas.
“What the hell,” I muttered. I had driven under this overpass dozens of times. I might have even spotted the mural before. The difference was, until a few nights ago I had no idea who this artwork belonged to.
No wonder she wanted me to turn around.
She closed her eyes and blew out a strained sigh.
“You little criminal.”
“Shut up.” It wasn’t a great comeback, but she went with it.
“You…you are something else.” Laughter rolled out of my mouth.
“Stop talking.”
“Oh, Meg. You have been a busy, busy girl,” I teased.
“I hate you. Do you know that? I really, really do.”
“Nah,” I disagreed. “I don’t think so. I think you’re mad at yourself right now. You’re just taking it out on me.”
“So,” she said flatly. “Movies? Books? Music? What do you like?”
“Back to that?” I wasn’t stupid. “You wouldn’t be trying to keep me from asking how much painting you’ve been doing, would you?”
She tossed her hands in the air. “That’s it. Those are the only two.”
My words were slow, deliberate, amused. “You little liar.”
“I’m not lying. I’ve just painted the two. I guess you must be super lucky. You’ve seen them both.”
“I’m lucky all right.” I didn’t even try to shake the smug grin I wore. “Do you always create the same design? Makes it pretty easy to spot.” The heart with detailed angel wings sprouting from it was identical to the mural on the school.
“Yes, always,” she said. “You’ve proven your point. You have dirt on me. You practically own me. For now, I am your puppet.”
My laughter faded. She sounded so dejected. “Aw, come on. Don’t be so pissy about this.”
“Don’t be pissy? Under the circumstances is there any other way for me to be?”
“Let’s talk about music,” I suggested, hoping to bring us back to safer emotional ground.
“Good idea.”
By the time we headed back to town we had decided on movies and music we could both get by with pretending to have a common interest in. It was enough. I knew my friends would never question it. Meg was gorgeous, and that would be enough of an explanation for them. My parents and Jaclyn might need some convincing.
“One of these nights I think you should come over for a study date.” I watched her, trying to gauge her reaction.
“To your house?” She sounded incredulous.
“It’ll have to be, since you made it clear your house is off-limits. Right?”
“Right,” she confirmed. “I’m not sure I’m ready to meet your parents yet. I need to ease my way into this. Meeting parents, and answering questions, that’s more like a full-on submersion.”
“I’ll pick a night when they aren’t home.”
“Can’t we just pretend to have a study date?”
“No,” I argued. “My friends usually stop by. You need to be there. Besides, I still don’t feel like I know you very well. Where’s the notebook?”
We were back in town, a few blocks from the school. I zipped over to the side of the road, parking in front of an old Victorian.
I reached across her, grabbing the notebook off the dash. I plucked the funky pink pen out of her hand—where she’d been twirling it between her fingers.
Meg will stop being difficult and will cooperate with Luke.
“Fine.” Her face crinkled in thought. “I love hot chocolate. I don’t drink coffee. It smells bad and reminds me of waiting rooms. My favorite way to spend a rainy day is curled up with a blanket watching black and white movies. I have a black cocker spaniel named Lady. I think fish are stupid pets. What’s the point? They just die on you. At the risk of sounding like a cliché, I love pink.” She stopped talking and raised an eyebrow. “Are we good now? Is that cooperative enough? I don’t know what else to tell you. I’m actually pretty boring.”
“You are not boring. You are uptight, though.” My words earned me a death glare. “Loosen up. We should try to have some fun with this.”
I tossed the notebook back up on the dash. Her feet tapped restlessly against the floor as we cruised down the street again. Either the girl had a lot of nervous energy, or she was still anxious to get away from me.
The lot was mostly deserted now as I pulled up next to Meg’s Rebel.
She twisted around again, this time reaching for her bag.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?” I craned my neck to look as well.
She motioned to the box full of baseball bats. They all still had price stickers stuck to them.
“I’m not sure how I missed those before, but seriously?” she asked. “Is that really necessary? I mean, I’m not a baseball expert but how many bats does one boy need?”
It would’ve been easy to explain to Meg what the bats were for. But her obvious disgust had me feeling defensive. “That’s also not any of your business.”
“Whatever.” She tugged her bag onto her lap and reached for the door handle.
I grabbed her wrist. “One more thing.”
She turned to me and raised an eyebrow.
“There’s something I forgot to mention.” It was a piece pivotal to my plan.
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“And what,” she asked feigning indifference, “would that be?”
“When the time comes, I’m the one who ends things.”
“Of course you will.” She rolled her eyes. “Fine. But can I at least request that it’s done respectfully? Like, don’t cheat on me? Don’t trash me? That kind of thing.”
“You have my word,” I promised.
She shoved the door open and hopped out.
“Tonight was a good start, letting everyone see us leave together. But I expect you to step up your game, Meg. Make them believe it,” I ordered.
Hearing the veiled threat, she nodded before slamming the door.
Chapter Six
Meg
The next morning, acting like a dutiful girlfriend, I made my way over to Luke after parking in the back of the lot. My helmet was safely tucked into my hard-sided saddle bag. I fidgeted with my hair as I walked, fingering my way through a few wayward tangles.
I realized people were staring. My initial instinct was to scamper into the school. Luckily my survival instinct kicked in. I realized I could make this moment work for me.
My boots slapped against the pavement.
My heart slammed against my chest.
My fingernails dug into my palms.
Luke was standing with his best friend, Adam, and a few other guys I recognized. Though he wore aviators to fight off the brilliance of the morning sun, I could feel him watching me.
I strode across the parking lot with an inflated sense of purpose. Luke gave me a subtle nod of approval.
“Hey, there,” I cooed in my sassiest, most playful voice. Though it probably wasn’t sassy at all. I probably sounded ridiculous. I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. He had wanted me to up my game. Did this count?
“Well, hello, Nutmeg.” He pulled me into a bear hug, gripping me so tightly that he pulled me onto my tiptoes. A shorter girl would’ve been left dangling. My chin slid over his shoulder and I found myself looking straight into Jaclyn’s eyes. Her expression remained carefully impassive, except for the slight twitching of an eyebrow. I quickly looked away. While Jaclyn was no friend of mine, I certainly didn’t want to make her an enemy.
He dropped me onto my feet again but pulled me close.
