Page 47 of My Fearless Fake Fling

He cut me off again. “Kam, wake up. We’veneverbeen fake. I liked you for a long time, wanted to get to know you. So, when you gave me my opening, I took it.”

“You? We? We’ve never been fake?”

The next thing I knew, Len’s arms wrapped tightly around my waist, drawing me in close. Then he kissed me. Hard and deep and sweet. A real boyfriend kiss. Because apparently, he’d been my real boyfriend all this time?

“Never been fake,” he answered.

“Then why did you let me think it for so long?”

“Well, to be honest, I thought you’d catch on by now. I’ll give you anything you need, baby. If that means letting you pretend we’re fake for a while…” He shrugged.

“So you’re coming home with me?”

Instead of answering, he kissed me a second time, then swatted my butt to get me moving. I showered, then while I dressed, he did. All our camping gear still in the bed of the truck, we headed to my childhood home.

I loved my family, but it was hard to go back, to be there without my brother, so I rarely did. My folks understood. With Len to hold my hand when the memories got rough, I might be able to handle it this time.

At the end of a two-and-a-half-hour drive, we pulled into the parking garage at the hospital. My mom texted me she was in my dad’s room. She tacked on his“Looking forward to seeing you, kiddo. xo”at the end. Took more than a heart attack and impending surgery to keep my dad down.

Since in her text Mom had already told us which floor and room to find them in, we bypassed the help desk, walking straight for the elevators. With the hospital complex being so huge, we had to find the right bank of elevators first.

My mother’s face completely lit up when Len and I walked into the room. She jumped from her chair next to my dad’s bed, tears overflowing her worried blue eyes, and ran to embrace me. She hugged and hugged.

“Missed you, Mom,” I said.

“I missed you, too, sweetheart.”

Dad cleared his throat. Admittedly, not as strongly as he’d have cleared it before, which sent a jolt of worry to my gut.

“Hey, Dad.” I released my mom and walked over. Bending down, I kissed his cheek.

“What? No hug for your old man?”

“I didn’t want to…” My intensions mattered not. That was Dad’s way of saying he wanted a hug and I dang-well better give him one. So I bent in and as softly as I could, hugged my dad.

“Good to see you, kiddo,” he whispered in my ear. Then he turned to look at Len. “Now, who is this gentleman who escorted my daughter up here?”

Len walked up to my dad’s bed, hand outstretched. “I’m Len, Kam’s boyfriend.”

“Kami,” my father chided, “why didn’t you tell us you hooked yourself a man?”

“Because I was worried you’d say something like ‘I hooked myself a man.’ Imagine my chagrin.” I said,hooked myself a manin my stickiest sweet Scarlett O’Hara impression.

Dad laughed until his laugh turned to coughing. The nurse heard and popped her head inside the room. “Do not rile him up.”

Ouch. Scolded by the nurse.

Mom, Len, and I held in our laughs until she disappeared out the door again, then we lost it.

“Well, you certainly are easy on the eyes, Len,” my mom said.

“Mom,” I protested.

“What? He is. And I’m sure it’s not something he doesn’t already know.”

“Then you don’t need to remind him.”

“Oh, I don’t mind being reminded,” Len said through his snicker. “My own girlfriend doesn’t tell me she finds me attractive, so…”

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