Page 58 of The Perils of Pretending
I stop kissing Sadie long enough to say, “I lied.” At this point, I don’t care who sees us, because if I have my way, this won’t be the last time I kiss Sadie. Brody will have to get used to his worlds colliding, because I’ve never experienced a kiss like this before and there’s no way I want this to be a one-time thing.
I can say for certain: we’re selling this kiss. There’s no way anyone could look at us and think it’s our first time.
Our mouths move like we’re figure skaters who have practiced our routine for years instead of this being a fumbling first-time attempt. It’s natural and exciting. How can it be this easy when we have an audience? When thisisour first kiss? When I haven’t allowed myself to truly see Sadie as my girlfriend?
Sadie’s fingers slide into my hair. Tingles run across my scalp. I want her to keep doing that. Pressing my palm flat against the small of her back, I kiss her harder.
Someone wolf-whistles. “Yeah, Sadie! Get it, girl!” a guy hollers.
I don’t know who it is, and while the disruption is funny, I have no intention of stopping.
“Sadie,” Alice growls. “This is inappropriate behavior.”
Sadie pulls back. “You don’t have to stay and watch.”
“Exactly,” I say.
Alice harrumphs. “Come on, Dorian. We’ll find Sadie when she’s not acting like a harlot.”
Sadie’s fingernails dig into my scalp.
I wince, but don’t stop kissing her like I’m a soldier about to leave for war. She doesn’t deserve the emotional abuse from Alice. I slow the kiss down, needing to comfort Sadie instead of making a point to her grandma.
The doors into the lodge slide open with a woosh then close. I break away from Sadie, leaning my forehead against hers. “Are you okay? What she said was awful.”
Sadie nods.
“You don’t believe her, right?”
She shakes her head.
“Good, because you are not a harlot. You’re amazing, smart, funny, and kind.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
It’s how I feel. “Should we head back to our cabin now?”
Sadie nods again. “Yeah.”
We break apart, and there’s Michelle, her hands clasped under her chin, smiling with tears in her eyes like she’s just witnessed a miracle.
I look away, my cheeks heating with embarrassment that Michelle stayed and watched our make-out. Why didn’t she leave? She knows we’re faking. Correction, that our relationship was fake. After that kiss, I’m not sure how I feel. I can figure it out later. For now, I want to get Sadie back to our room and away from everyone.
Sadie takes my hand and leads us along the path. “Sorry, Mom.”
“What for?”
“You don’t care that I kissed your daughter? And that she kissed me likethat?” I point behind me where we were standing.
Michelle laughs in such a carefree way, I look at Sadie questioning if her mom is going insane.
Sadie shrugs, just as confused as me.
Huh.
For someone who wasn’t thrilled about our fake relationship, she seems super excited about it now.
Has she changed her mind about us, like I have?
