Page 52 of Fake Out Hearts

“Just don’t drop me, okay?”

“Never,” I say, then get in position farther away from her. She strikes a dramatic pose with her arms flung out to either side.

“Ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I answer, so she counts down, and the next thing I know, she’s kicking and spinning toward me, closing the distance until there’s only a few feet left between us. Then she jumps, flinging herself at me, and I manage to catch her andlift her, but as we spin together, my feet get tangled up in each other, and we almost go down. But I right us at the last second, and plant her safely back on the ground.

Her chest is pressed against mine, heaving, and I can feel her heartbeat pounding along with mine. She’s staring into my eyes, practically smoldering, and I feel a current rippling between us. Her arms drape over my shoulders, and she chews her lip. Being this close, touching her like this, is driving me crazy, and my body is responding.

Becca pulls away abruptly and smooths out her clothes.

“Yup, definitely a hockey player,” she says, and we laugh together, breaking the tension. “Thanks for trying anyway.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem,” I tell her hoarsely. I don’t know what else to say, and I can’t really think straight through the buzzing in my brain. I’m just glad we didn’t get carried away again.

“I’m gonna go catch a shower,” Becca says as she gathers her things from the weight bench.

“Okay,” I say, and step aside to let her head for the stairs. She’s almost at the top when I call back out to her. “Hey, uh, can I ask you a favor?”

She pauses and turns to look down at me with a curious expression. “To quote you, that depends on what it is.”

I laugh. “Good one. It’s nothing too serious, but I have a gala coming up in a few weeks that I have to go to. And I was wondering if you’d want to come along? You know, to see just how bad of a dancer I really am?”

Becca beams. “I wouldn’t miss that for the world,” she says, and leaves me standing there with a stupid smile on my face and a pounding heart.

Chapter 16

Becca

The Denver air is crisp, but I love the feeling of it along with the beaming sun on my face. It’s been a couple weeks since I moved, and I’m still getting used to things, but the city is starting to feel like home.

It helps that Theo insisted on buying me a bunch of winter clothes since I didn’t have many after my time living in LA. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t be taking the daily walks around town that have helped me learn the layout and settle into living here.

Maybe it’s some sort of PTSD or something, but feeling the brisk, cutting air makes me realize how much I missed it while living in California. The constantly perfect temperatures in LA were amazing, so I get why the place is so expensive, but that was also part of the reason it never felt like home to me.

My phone buzzes in my coat pocket, so I pull it out, expecting it to be Theo. But it’s my mom, speaking of home. I stare at the screen for a few seconds, debating whether to take the call. It’s been a while since the last time we talked, and I still haven’t told her about the wedding or what’s going on with me, so I decide to swipe and answer. No time like the present.

“Hey, Mom.”

“How’s my American girl?” she asks, and I sigh softly. She’s made the same dumb joke every time we’ve talked since I moved to the States

“Can’t complain. I’m out on a walk right now.”

“Oh, I bet the weather is just perfect out in LA. I’m jealous. It’s freezing up here.”

“I don’t know, I think it’s pretty similar here in Denver,” I say and wait for her reaction. The line goes quiet for a few seconds before it clicks in her mind.

“Wait, Denver? I thought you were living in Los Angeles. Are you on vacation or something?”

“You could call it that. But it’s more of a permanent vacation.”

“That sounds nice,” she says, totally unfazed. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised—she’s never shown much interest in my life—but it still catches me off guard. If this were my daughter in a foreign country telling me something like this, I’d be freaking out.

“What brought you to Denver?”

She obviously hasn’t been keeping up with Shawn’s reality show. To be fair, I’ve made a point to avoid it myself, so I’m not sure if he ever aired our breakup, but I’d be shocked if he didn’t. Still, even though I know she won’t really care, my heart is pounding in my chest as I wrestle with telling her the truth.

“I got married.”

---