Page 28 of Maybe We Can Fake It

Finally, I nod, because it seems like the only option. “Yeah. I was gonna stay.”

Brenden’s face is a strange mix of relieved and worried now, and I can’t say I’m not experiencing a mix of emotions myself. Of course Elise and Grant would assume that I spend some nights here, but I kind of figured that the respectful thing for a boyfriend to do would be to stay at home and give them space for their visit.

Brenden and I didn’t talk about the possibility of me actually sleeping here. We didn’t talk enough about anything.Damn it.We’ll need to work out all the details of this ridiculous plan tonight. In his bedroom.

Fuck.

Me.

CHAPTER SEVEN

BRENDEN

Well.

Here we are.

Elise and Grant are in May’s room for the night, and May is all set up downstairs on the couch. And somehow Travis and I have found ourselves standing in my bedroom, facing each other on opposite sides of a bed that I forgot to make this morning.

“Uh...” I scratch at an itch on the inside of my elbow.

“I’m sorry,” Travis says, his gaze flicking rapidly from me to the bed, then back to me again. “I didn’t know if you wanted me to stay since they expected me to, or if I was supposed to make up an excuse to leave.”

“Don’t be sorry,” I tell him. “We should’ve had a plan for this. But I don’t mind you staying. Unless it’ll be uncomfortable for you.”

I grimace at my own words. Of course this would be uncomfortable for him. He’d obviously rather be at home sleeping in his own bed than here sharing mine with me. This is really pushing the boundaries of our friendship.

It’s true that I got us into this situation, but I’d hate myself if I ruined our friendship for the sake of saving face with two people whose opinions of me will never be that high anyway.

“Maybe we can sneak you out?” I offer half-heartedly, glancing at the window then scratching myself again. “This is all my fault, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” He comes around to my side of the bed and takes me by the forearm. “I signed up for this. I’ll do whatever you need me to do to make it work. And I’m not sneaking out the window like we’re in high school.”

I can’t drag my eyes away from where he’s holding on to me. That itch is gone. “I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”

His grip tightens, and my eyes jolt up to meet his. “What did I say about apologizing?”

I figure it’s a rhetorical question, but he continues to stare at me imploringly until I swallow the lump in my throat and answer him. “You said don’t. But—”

“Nope,” he cuts me off. “Stop.” He moves to sit on the edge of the bed, tugging me gently so I sit beside him. “You’re not a mess. Lying to May’s grandparents about having a boyfriend probably wasn’t the best thing to do, but for whatever reason, you feel like you can’t tell them the truth now. So we’re doing this.”

He pauses and squeezes my arm. “Personally, I think if you gave them the chance, they’d accept you for who you are, and they’d realize that being in a relationship doesn’t make you somehow a better person. But you asked me to be your fake boyfriend, so I promise I’m going to do a good job at it. If you want me to stay the night, I can stay the night.”

When he lets go of me, I immediately mourn the loss of contact. It’s as if I’m suddenly touch-starved or something. Which is weird. I’m not usually like this. May’s always been available for cuddles whenever I need them.

But Travis’s touch is different. It’s solid, steady. Like him.

It makes me feel like I can be solid too.

“If you’re sure you don’t mind, then you should probably stay so they don’t suspect anything,” I concede. “We should go over the details of what faking this relationship is actually going to look like anyway, and what we’re each comfortable with doing. And then I can sleep on the floor.”

“You’re not sleeping on the floor,” he argues, angling himself toward me so his knee presses slightly into my thigh. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“You’re my guest. I can’t let you do that.”

His smile is teasing. “I’m not your guest. I’m your boyfriend, remember?”

“Fake,” I remind him.

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