Page 11 of Hooked On Him
“Charlie, how come you never told me Austin and Levi were dating?”
“Umm, what?” Charlie looks at us, confused. “Because they’re not.”
“They are too!” Mom defends.
Charlie looks at Austin. “Wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?”
Austin lets my hand go and runs it through his hair. “Can we talk?” Austin asks Charlie.
“Yeah. We'd better fucking talk. Now,” Charlie growls, grabbing Austin’s arm and tugging him away.
Worry sets in as I watch the two of them leave the room. Fear that after that conversation, Austin is going to come back and revoke the offer to be my fake boyfriend.
That is what I want. It gets me out of this fucked up plan we agreed to without thinking it through.
So why does the idea of it ending before it even really began make me so damn sad?
Mom continues to talk, but I’m too distracted watching the door, waiting for them to come back.
“Come on. You'd better sit down. Your sister and Roland are going to make their grand entrance soon.”
“Uh, yeah.” I tug my attention away from the two and let my mom drag me towards the table. Absentmindedly, I take my seat, my eyes still on the door.
My foot starts to tap as anxiety fills me. What is going on? Is my brother losing his mind? The idea of him thinking I betrayed him by messing around with his best friend makes me feel like a complete asshole.
I’m sweating now, which is causing my glasses to slide down my nose. Taking them off, I wipe them with the corner of my suit jacket before putting them back on.
Is it hot in here?I feel like I’m about to sweat through my suit.
Taking my jacket off, I place it on the back of my chair before fanning myself.
It feels like a lifetime before I see Austin walking back into the room. Resisting the urge to get to my feet and go to him, I wait impatiently as he comes my way.
Austin takes a seat next to me, and I swear I stop breathing as I wait for him to talk.
“Well?” I ask when he doesn’t say anything. “What happened?”
Austin turns to face me, some of his dark hair falling over his eye. My hand twitches to reach up and brush it out of the way.
He does it himself before taking a deep breath. “He wasn’t happy.”
“I knew it,” I groan. “This was a bad idea, and now my brother hates me.”
“He doesn’t hate you.” Austin places his hand on my knee, and my whole body lights up when he gives me a comforting squeeze. “He was just mad that we didn’t tell him.”
“Because there’s nothing to tell,” I hiss, my mind stuck on the fact that his hand is still on my knee. “We’re not really together.”
“I know,” Austin says. “But I didn’t tell him that.”
“Why not?”
“Because he kept talking and said he was so happy for us. And that he didn’t care we were together, just that he wished we had come to him first before showing up like this and blindsiding him. He was actually really supportive, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him it was all a lie.”
“We’re fucked, you know that, right? Because I don’t have the heart to tell my mom the truth, not after seeing how happy she is.”
“I know,” Austin blows out a breath.
“We shouldn’t have even tried to do this. I should have just told my mom my date stood me up and dealt with the pitying stares.”
