Page 63 of As They Are
My brain feltlike it was melting out of my ears. Google wasnothelpful when I looked up how to fake date someone. There wasone legitimate site that popped up in my search. The rest were all Reddit posts about how fake dating was unrealistic and only happened in books.
If only they knew.
What I needed to do was continue with my routine. I was sure I would find comfort in my plants and silence, but I wanted to get this right. And I’d fallen down a rabbit hole to ensure that.
Eventually, I rubbed my eyes and tossed my phone on the couch. I was already frustrated from being flustered with Wren, and I knew she’d noticed. I couldn’t let that happen again.
But my brain wasn’t working with me, because when I wasn’t thinking about how to be a fake boyfriend, I was thinking about the kiss with Wren.
I shouldn’t. I needed to put it out of my mind, because it was only for the camera, but for a split second, it felt like she’d run tomeand kissedme. And for that split second, I thought it was all real. That after this, we would go on a date and be something.
It was harder than I expected to get over the disappointment.
I should have seen it coming, though. Wren was out of my league. Even the most perfect version of me didn’t deserve her. Others thought we had a connection, but a woman like her wouldn’t look twice at a guy like me.
And it would get worse if I started to slip.
What if she looked at me the same way Norah had?
Fuck.
I couldn’t let it happen, but I wasn’t sure I could stop it either.
My phone buzzed with a text and I picked it up, hoping it wasn’t an emergency.
Cain
Hey. You good?
Are you all right? Does Eric need anything?
Nope. He’s his usual self.
But I heard about what happened today. And what Wren told Mollie about it being to get out of her dating Jude.
I see.
I’m pretty bad at this, and if you don’t wanna talk, I’ll respect it. But if you do ever need an ear, I’m here for that.
I blinked at the screen. I’d heard of all the work Cain had put into being more open with the town. I just hadn’t seen it for myself.
Thank you, Cain. I’m just gonna try not to make a fool of myself.
I’ll be here if you do. But also if you don’t.
I told myself I wouldn’t take him up on that. The last thing he wanted to hear was me scrutinizing every single rule of how to fake date someone. Most people would probably be able to figure it out easily. Or could make educated guesses on how something like this worked.
Me, though? I never could.
I grabbed a notepad from one of the side tables and wrote out what I knew.
Dos:
Only touch her when the cameras are rolling
Hold hands
Give her gifts
