Page 50 of The Fake
“Gabs, what are you doing here?” Nathan comes into the kitchen pulling a navy t-shirt over his head. Monochrome t-shirts are all I’ve seen him wear, but he pulls it off like they were Burberry instead of Hanes.
“Zeke’s in Vegas for the weekend, so I came back early.”
Nathan looks between us.
“I just met Chloe. Yourgirlfriend.”
I glance from Nathan to Gabby. I can’t tell if she’s buying the story or not, but I’m ready to fall on my sword.
“I can explain.”
Nathan sweeps in beside me and wraps an arm around me. “Chloe’s a transfer. We met a few weeks ago, but I wasn’t sure if she was interested so I didn’t say anything.”
“I’m really happy for you,” Gabby says to Nathan and makes a sweet face at him. Something about the way she says it and how I can feel how much she actually means it makes me feel awful for lying to her.
Gabby shocks me by taking my hand and turning a mischievous smile to Nathan. “I need to hear the details from your girl. I’m stealing her so she can tell me how you made an adorable ass of yourself asking her out.” She looks at me. “He did, didn’t he? I can just picture it.”
I laugh uneasily, and Nathan offers me a reassuring smile.
“Relax. Gabby’s good people,” he murmurs in my ear, and I hand him his drink before Gabby pulls me outside.
She’s a fiery little ball of energy. Short and petite, big blonde hair and green-blue eyes. She has some scarring on one side of her face, but she’s stunning. I wish I could dislike her, I mean, the girl keeps a swimsuit in my boyfriend’s bedroom, but she’s just too damn nice.
After I’ve given her the quick version of the crazy how-we-met story Nathan and I concocted, she changes her focus to getting to know me.
“Where’d you transfer from?” We’re seated on two lounge chairs facing one another and she rests both elbows on her knees, totally hanging on every word. I thought she had been putting on a show for Nathan’s sake, but the longer we sit here, the more I’m convinced she’s truly interested in getting to know me.
“Golden in California.”
“That’s awesome. I’m a transfer, too. Well, sort of. I was an online student, so this is my first semester on campus.” Gabby smiles a little shyly. “Are you a sophomore?”
“Senior actually.”
She looks appropriately surprised. “You transferred your senior year?”
“It’s a long story.” Gabby looks like she’s ready to settle in and hear every sordid detail of my life. “Tell me aboutyouand Nathan, he says you two are close.”
It’s then that I notice the gigantic engagement ring on her finger. She holds her hand up proudly.
“I’m engaged to his former roommate, Zeke. He graduated last year and moved to Phoenix to play for the Suns, which is why I haven’t been around as much. I’m splitting my time between Valley and Phoenix. But actually, it’s Blair I have to thank for introducing me to Nathan. Blair, my best friend, is dating the other former roommate Wes. She’s not here because Wes is an assistant coach now, so I doubt they’ll be around much. He wants to let the guys relax and have fun without the coach killing their fun. Anyway, when I moved to Valley, Wes and Zeke were living here and so we spent a lot of time here. Nathan and I became close. He’s the best. Joel, too. Have you met him?”
She doesn’t wait for my nod. Gabby goes on to fill me in on people I haven’t met or even heard of, but I’m smiling at her animated descriptions and updates for each of them. Also, I’m slightly concerned she hasn’t taken a breath.
Nathan slides in behind me. “All right, you’ve stolen her for long enough,” he says as he bear hugs me. His mouth brushes my ear. “Whatever she told you about me is all lies.”
“As if we were talking about you. Big head, much?” I flash Gabby a conspiratorial smile. It’s fun to have someone to joke with, I realize.
Gabby watches us interact, and I can’t shake the unease of this whole situation. Lying to her makes me feel super guilty. She’s the first person I’ve met, besides Nathan who’s welcomed me with open arms. Maybe it’s silly to want her to like me, but I do. I like her, and I don’t want to screw up Nathan’s world while trying to fix mine.
As the night wears on, people begin to trickle out until it’s just the roommates, me, and Gabby. The guys want to play Tecmo Bowl so we head inside.
“We’re having a girl’s night Monday to celebrate my engagement. You should come.”
I glance at Nathan for help, but his eyes are glued to the TV screen where little football men run down the field.
“That sounds fun, but I have volleyball practice every day throughout the week.”
“So come after.” She lifts a shoulder and lets it fall. Taking out her phone, she says, “Give me your number and we can text to figure out the details.”
