Page 175 of The Friend Scheme
“Hi,” he says. He scratches the back of the neck. It’s so adorable.
“You must be the boyfriend,” says Miriam. “Matt’s told us a lot about you.”
Er.
So, I have talked with them about Jason. But I’ve never called him my boyfriend. Because he’snotmy boyfriend.
Why would she say that?
“We’re just friends,” I say, saving Jason from this epic shit storm of awkwardness.
“Yeah,” he says.
“Oh,” she says. “I thought…”
“Just stop,” I say, and I grab Jason by the wrist. “You’ve done enough.”
I throw her an eyeroll, and she smiles. She’s kind of known for talking a lot and making things awkward accidentally. I know if we stick around, she’ll just make it worse.
We reach my bedroom, and I shut the door behind us. I lock it for good measure.
Jason is grinning.
“Shut up,” I say. “Seriously, not a word.”
He smiles and looks around. My room is pretty similar to my old one. He walks up to myMulholland Driveposter.
“Your roommate seems nice.”
I nod. “I got lucky, that’s for sure.”
It’s the truth.
“Well, I’m glad,” he says. “You deserve the best.”
“Thanks. So, what’s new?”
It’s a joke, as we’ve been basically inseparable.
He looks up. “Mom called.”
“Oh shit, what’d she say?”
“Same as always. She thinks studying game design is a waste of time, and I’m ruining my life. I think she’s just mad I’m not in Florida anymore so she can’t control my every move.”
“And what do you think?”
“I think I’m exactly where I should be.”
He smiles. “Anyway, I think we should circle back to your roommate thinking we’re boyfriends.”
I start blushing. “It’s ridiculous, right?”
“I mean, I wouldn’t say that.” His voice is shaking.
“It’s complicated,” I say.
He looks into my eyes. “Does it have to be?”
