Page 28 of My Fake Relationship With the Popular Boy
I laughed. “It’s a romper.”
It was a white and blue romper with spaghetti straps and pretty short shorts — even on non-uniform days, I couldn’t get away with wearing this at school, so I had to take advantage of the times I did get to wear it. I was actually pretty proud of the outfit I’d put together — I paired it with a pair of flip flop sandals, a small purse, and a pair of sunglasses resting on my flaming red hair.
Jaxon held me at arm length to get a better look at the outfit, then whistled.
“My girlfriend ishot.” He laughed and shook his head.
I flushed bright red and tilted my chin down, trying to hide the smile that was blooming on my face. I had no idea why I liked hearing him say that so much. I knew Jaxon thought I was cute — he did ask me out every day for four years, after all — but he didn’t say it like that very often; in front of me and like he really meant it.
Jaxon twirled me then pulled me back close. I easily fell against him, as he threw his arm around my shoulders and pressed his lips to the top of my head, sending shivers down my spine.
When he first approached me about this fake relationship, I had been a little worried that we wouldn’t be able to make it believable, but Jaxon was really putting his all into it. Honestly, I hadn’t expected him to take this whole ruse so seriously.
Eli smiled fondly. “You two are so cute.”
Sabrina grabbed Eli’s arm and put it around her shoulders. “Eli, do something sweet,” she demanded.
“Uh…” Eli stared at his girlfriend in confusion.
“Come on, we can’t be less cute thanJaxon,” Sabrina said forcefully.
Eli shook his head with a laugh but then kissed the top of Sabrina’s head.
“Sorry, dear,” he said softly.
Jaxon and I shared a knowing look. Sabrina and Eli had gotten together almost a year ago, to nobody’s surprise. I was actually more surprised it hadn’t happened sooner. But the dynamic they had was always a little funny to watch from the outside.
Madison rolled her eyes. “Great,” she bemoaned. “I get to be the one single friend in the group now.”
“Sorry,” I said, ready to push Jaxon away at a moment’s notice. “Too much PDA? We can stop.”
I hated to use my friend’s annoyance to my benefit, but I saw my chance and took it.
“No,” Madison said loftily. “I understand that you’re all in the honeymoon phase. I’ll just suffer alone, in silence.”
I laughed. Madison loved a good melodramatic moment. Still, I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable, especially because of a relationship I couldn’t care less about.
“Tell me if you change your mind.”
Madison smiled gratefully at me. “Thanks.”
“So where do you guys want to…” The words died on my lips as I heard a voice up ahead that sent a shiver down my spine. I froze in place, too scared to even look.
“Violet?” Jaxon asked. “Are you okay?”
“I…” I stared at his concerned face for a moment. “I just… I thought I heard Lewis.”
“You did,” Sabrina said darkly. Jaxon frowned at her, but she just raised an eyebrow and pointed up the street. Against my better judgement, I looked.
Lewis was standing outside a convenience store with Rob, another boy in our grade — a boy I happened to hate quite a bit and I had been under the impression Lewis hated as well.
Jaxon let go of my shoulders. Despite the warm weather, I felt a little cold without him by my side.
“Stay here,” he said, his voice hard. I’d never heard that tone from him. “Sabrina and I will deal with it.”
The two of them walked off before I could respond. I was tempted to follow them just to spite Jaxon for thinking he could tell me what to do, but my need to stay away from Lewis overpowered that desire, so I hung back with Eli and Madison.
“Since when is Lewis friends with Rob Halt?” Madison asked.
