Page 32 of Wallflower

"I've been watching you at practice. You're looking good," she said, and I knew by the way her eyes lingered over his body that she meant more than on the field. "Bet we take home a championship this year."

"Yeah, I hope so."

"It's been a while since we hung out." Whitney bit her lip. "You want to come over this weekend?"

"Not sure Penn would like that," Dare said.

She shook her head. "It's not like he owns me. We're not exclusive or anything."

"Thanks, but I'll pass."

"Oh that's fine."

By the tone of her voice, she was pissed at his rejection. Whitney looked from him to me, her eyes contracting a bit, before finally landing on the members of her squad.

"What's going on here?"

"Viola was just telling us about her new boyfriend," Ingrid said, and I couldn't contain my wince. "Apparently he's super-hot."

"Yeah right." Whitney laughed.

"No really," Estelle said in my defense, unintentionally digging the hole deeper. "He sounds amazing. She was just about to tell us who he is before you came over."

"Oh, this should be good."

Whitney crossed her arms, a smug smile on her face. She totally didn't believe it. And why would she? My boyfriend was about as real as the platinum blonde streaks running through her otherwise brown hair.

"Please don't let me stop you," she said a hint of mocking in her voice, though she tried her best to cover it up. "Who is this super-hot mystery guy, and why is it that none of us have ever heard of him before?"

"It's new," I said through clenched teeth. Like five minutes old because that's when I'd crafted the fake boyfriend lie. Maybe I really should stop watching so many romance movies. "And I didn't want to jinx it because he's shy."

"Oh, he's shy," Whitney said no longer trying to mask the sarcasm. "That makes perfect sense then."

The giggles her comment received made my chest tight.

And worse, Dare was witnessing the whole fiasco.

Turning my head, unable to meet his eyes, I said, "Are you ready to go now?"

"In a minute," he said.

Dare placed his fingers under my chin and tilted it up until I had no choice but to meet his gaze.

"Why won't you just tell her the name?" he said gently.

Because he doesn't exist, I thought.Because he never existed, and I can't bear the thought of admitting that to her and humiliating myself further.

"It's none of her business," I said instead. "Dare, can we please just go?"

He continued to study my face a minute then seemed to come to a decision.

"As you wish."

"Thank you," I said and meant it. I was so ready to be away from Whitney and her terrible friends.

But Dare's hand slid into my hair. The move was so unexpected that I stilled instantly.

"It's okay, flower," he said as he touched his forehead to mine. "You don't have to hide anymore. I'm here now."

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