Page 49 of Until You Say Stay
“Morning, Lark. I hear congratulations are in order about the music thing?” he asks warmly.
“Yeah,” I smile, still not quite believing it myself. “Thanks, Jayson. It’s pretty exciting.”
“Listen, you gotta thank us in your Grammy speech, alright?” he says with a wink. “The Black Lantern, where it all began.”
“Don’t worry,” I laugh. “You, Maren, and my parents are first on the list.”
“Perfect,” he says, disappearing back to the kitchen, whistling some tune.
“I still can’t believe you’re going to a fancy label party!” Maren says, bouncing a little with excitement as she counts vodka bottles. “And then Miami? This is all just so insane.”
“I know,” I say, and I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face despite all the Jack-related confusion. “I’ve barely ever been out of Dark River. I can’t wait. I always wanted to travel, and now it’s all happening so fast. I just hope it all goes how I want it to.”
“You’ll do great,” she says confidently. “You always do. You’re so good with people and a natural in situations like that. Besides, think of it as prep for all the press you’re going to get when you’re a famous singer.”
I laugh, helping her stack the counted bottles back on the shelf. “God, you really do have all the faith, don’t you?”
“It’s easy when your best friend’s a superstar,” she says, nudging me with her shoulder playfully. “And I’m so happy for you and Jack, by the way. It was really fun at dinner the other night.”
The guilt hits me like a physical weight pressing down on my chest. I’ve been lying to my best friend for weeks. The one personwho’s always been there for me, who knows all my secrets except this one. I promised Jack I wouldn’t tell anyone, but every time Maren gets that excited look in her eyes when she talks about us as a couple, I feel worse.
“Yeah,” I say, my voice tight. “It was a good night.”
Maren pauses mid-count and gives me a look, her best friend radar clearly pinging. “Okay, what’s that face for?”
“What face? There’s no face,” I say, busying myself organizing the tequila bottles by size.
“That’s your ‘I’m hiding something’ face,” she says matter-of-factly, setting down her clipboard. “I’ve known you for years, Lark. Spill it.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Is everything okay with you and Jack? Did you guys have a fight?” Her concern is genuine, which makes me feel even worse.
“No, nothing like that.” I take a deep breath, the words catching in my throat. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep lying to Maren. “It’s just… I haven’t been completely honest with you.”
She sets down her clipboard slowly, turning to face me fully. “About what?”
This is such a bad idea. I promised Jack I wouldn’t say anything. What if it ruins everything? But this is Maren. “About me and Jack,” I finally say, forcing myself to look her in the eye, my heart pounding. “We’re not… actually dating.”
She blinks, confusion crossing her face. “What are you talking about? I’ve seen you together.”
“I know, I know. We’re together, but not like that. It’s…” I swallow hard. “Remember when I told you about how Jack pretended to be my boyfriend that night Brandon came into the bar? And then I said he asked me out for real after?”
Maren nods slowly.
“Well, he didn’t. Ask me out for real, I mean,” I say. “We did get to talking after the whole Brandon thing that night. And he proposed an… arrangement for mutual benefit.”
“Mutual benefit,” Maren repeats, her face unreadable. “Meaning…?”
“He needed image rehab for his racing career, that whole scandal thing in Monaco. And I needed a boost in social media following before the label would even consider moving forward with me. So we made a deal.” The words tumble out faster and faster, like I can’t stop them now that I’ve started. “Three months of pretending to date, and then a clean break in September when he goes back to Europe.”
Maren’s mouth drops open like I’ve just dropped the biggest scandal bomb of the century.
“You’re telling me,” she says slowly, her voice rising with disbelief, “that you and Jack have been FAKE DATING this ENTIRE TIME?”
I wince, glancing toward the kitchen nervously. “Could you maybe say that a little louder? I don’t think they heard you in Seattle.”
“Are you serious right now?” Her voice is hushed but intense, her eyes wide. “Like actually serious? This isn’t some weird joke?”
