Page 23 of Fake It for Christmas

The mixture of confidence and sweet hesitation he’d shown in the span of one question made my heart soar inside me. In my past, I’d asked women to fuck without a care in the world, but Shane asking me a simple question like this clearly was a big deal, for him.

“Of course I would,” I said.

He swallowed. “...as my fake boyfriend?”

It dawned on me all at once why he was being a little cagey about it.

“Oh, Shane,” I said, shaking my head, unable to hide my smile. “What have you gotten yourself into now?”

“I know, I know,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut. He dragged his palms across his face before he could look at me again. “You know that I kind of told my mom I was seeing someone, and now she thinks I’m inviting him to the party. And… I’m screwed, basically.”

“Well, I don’t know,” I said, cocking my head to one side. “I’d have to look at my schedule, and see if I could fit in a party—”

His expression went sympathetic in two seconds flat.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to do it,” he said quickly.

“I’m fucking with you,” I told him. “I’m glad to do it. I’ll be your fake boyfriend for a little longer.”

He let out a long breath. “God, I owe you one. Are you doing anything for Christmas itself? Are your parents coming into town?”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Nah. They’re not coming.”

I felt walls going up inside me like I was a damn castle being sieged.

It was an intense feeling, and one I wasn’t used to. Before all of the shit had gone down in New York, I’d always been an open book.

It wasn’t easy feeling so ashamed.

But right now I had a sweet guy in front of me, just hoping that he could have a nice, simple Christmas season.

I could do that for him. At least if I couldn’t feel good about my own life, I could make him feel good about his.

“Maybe at the Christmas party we can show everyone our new favorite bumblebee and Christmas tree butt plugs,” I said. I was able to change the subject and make Shane smile all at once, and I really liked that.

“Easy. Then they’ll really believe we’re a couple.”

I reached out and let my hand settle at the small of his back, enjoying the feeling of touching him.

“Come on, baby. Let’s go edit this video,” I said.

I was allowed to have a little fun. Even if he wasn’t mine for long.

7

SHANE

“I’m definitely going to put in an up-close shot of your face in that moment,” Rowen told me.

Both of us were sitting in front of his computer, editing the video to send to the Fixer Brothers. We each had a glass of whiskey ginger in front of us, and I’d been watching as Rowen proved he was a complete fucking wizard with the video editing software. I could barely figure out how to clip up videos with my phone, let alone use software like this.

Right now, he was zoomed in on a freeze-frame of my face, right as he’d popped a kiss on my cheek.

“Don’t go up close on me during that moment,” I groaned. “I look so embarrassed.”

“That’s what I like about it,” he said, giving me a little shove. “Just a little kiss and instantly you get all blushy. So cute.”

I gave him a little shove back, but my hand just ended up resting on his arm. I didn’t want to pull it away. How long was it okay to touch him?

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