Page 86 of For the Boys
“Check your Insta,” she repeated, and he did as she said.
Several long seconds later, he looked up at her, eyes wide. “Fuck.”
“Yeah,” she said, sitting down hard on a nearby bench. The backs of her thighs were immediately frozen, but it did nothing to cool her anger.
Brent sat next to her, curling his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close. “Okay, look,” he said. “I know we wanted to keep this to ourselves as long as possible, but it’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad?” she shot back, shrugging his arm off. Her phone continued to chime as Instagram notifications started pouring in. “Brent, they don’t even know me, and they’re already saying awful things about me. Because I had the gall to kiss you, my boyfriend.”
His lips twitched. “That’s the first time you’ve called me that.”
She scooted away from him. “Not the point.”
He sighed and rubbed his palms down the front of his thighs.
They sat in tense silence, Berkley’s arms crossed over her chest, her mind whirling.
Several long moments later, Brent spoke. “So we take control of the narrative.”
Berkley looked at him, her eyebrows drawing together in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean we take our relationship public. On our terms.”
Berkley considered that. Given the circumstances, it made the most sense. Brent could easily take to Instagram right now and post a photo dump of the two of them, announcing to the world he was in a relationship. People would still talk, naturally, but it would completely take speculation out of the equation, hopefully satiating people’s thirst for more information on Berkley.
For a while at least.
Berkley wasn’t delusional.
She grasped Brent’s hand. “Okay. Let’s do it. Together.”
“Together?”
“Together,” she confirmed. “We’ll post at the same time.”
Brent’s eyebrows rose. “You don’t want to set your account to private or something?”
Berkley shook her head. “Nope. If we’re going to make a real go of this, which I sincerely hope is the case,” she said, looking pointedly at Brent, hoping he understood what she was getting at, hoping he understood she was in this for the long haul, “then I need to be prepared to be in the spotlight with you. It’s best to rip off the Band-Aid.”
Brent gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand. “If you’re sure.”
“I am,” she said firmly. “Let’s do it.”
They spent the next several minutes choosing their favorite photos and drafting the perfect caption for Brent to post.
“Okay, one more time,” he said.
Berkley laughed. “How are you more nervous than me right now?”
“Well, I’ve never gone public with a girlfriend,” he reminded her. “We’re in uncharted territory here. It’s slightly terrifying.”
“Imagine how I feel! Law school classes will never be the same. Nothing will ever be the same.”
Brent groaned. “I’m sorry, Berk. You know I never wanted to be a distraction.”
“You’re not,” she promised him. “Things were bound to change eventually, right?”
“Right,” Brent said. “Now read that to me.” He nodded down at his phone, grasped in Berkley’s hand.
