Kitty didn’t give him a chance to answer. “He was just telling me about some of the songs his band has been rehearsing,” she replied for him. She kept primping her hair and batting her eyelashes up at Ethan. She almost seemed flustered, which was completely unlike my sister. Realization struck me as I watched her. Kitty totally had a crush on him. How had I never noticed this before?
“I’m fairly certain Ethan isn’t here to talk with you about his band,” I said, earning myself a scowl from my sister. I focused on Ethan instead. “I thought I wouldn’t see you until school.”
“Oh, yes, about that…” He adjusted his glasses again, and I got the impression it was a nervous tic of his. “I was wondering if you needed a ride.”
“You were?”
“Well, I figured since your car wasn’t in the driveway that it must still be getting repaired, and it’s probably the least I can offer for my girlfriend…” He was rambling a little, but it was kind of cute, and my heart gave an unexpected jolt as he called me his girlfriend. I knew we were going to be acting a part together, but I was not prepared to hear him call me that so soon.
“You two are dating?” Kitty asked, failing to hide the disgust in her voice.
I ignored her comment, much like I ignored most of what Kitty had to say. Acting aside, it was actually really thoughtful of Ethan to offer to drive me. And now that he’d dropped the girlfriend bomb in front of my sister, I could hardly turn him down. To be honest, I would have happily strapped myself to the roof of his car rather than get into a vehicle with Kitty.
“My car is still at the shop, so, yeah, that would be amazing,” I replied, his grin broadening again in response. I was again struck by how much Ethan’s face changed when he smiled. It was a little like seeing a sunrise. It always happened slowly, but each time it crested the horizon, it brightened the world a little more.
“You ready to go now?”
“Yep.” I turned to my sister quickly before I left. “Can you tell Mom I don’t need a ride?”
My sister nodded, her mouth still hanging open with shock. That had to be a first. I followed Ethan from the house, all too eager to get away from Kitty before she regained her composure enough to call after me with some snide remark. She stayed standing on the front porch, a disgruntled look starting to form on her face as she watched us leave.
“I think she might like you,” I said once we were out of earshot.
Ethan shrugged. “She was just being friendly.”
“Kitty doesn’t do friendly.”
“She seems nice enough to me.”
I shook my head. The poor guy was clearly oblivious, and I almost felt sorry for him. The last person I’d ever want having a crush on me was Kitty. She’d probably erect a shrine to him in her wardrobe or something. At least, she acted a little nicer when he was around.
Ethan’s car was parked on the street. It had clearly been around the block more than a couple of times, but as I climbed into the passenger seat, I could see he took good care of it. There wasn’t so much as a speck of dirt on the floor, and even the dash was clear of dust. There was a guitar case in the back seat, and as I looked at it, I noticed it was covered in stickers from different cities.
“Do you travel a lot?” I asked, pointing toward the case.
He shook his head. “Nah, my dad’s always traveling for work, and he brings me home stickers from the places he’s been. I put the ones from places I want to visit myself on the case.”
“That’s a lot of places,” I said.
He shrugged. “Well, I want to travel everywhere when I finish school.”
I glanced back at the case and looked at the stickers once more. Ethan wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to travel everywhere. There were stickers from Iceland to Vietnam and even Australia. I scrunched up my nose at the last one. “You don’t actually want to go to Australia, do you?”
“Well, yeah. That’s at the top of the bucket list.”
“But, there are spiders.”
“We have spiders here.”
“And when you’re not being chased by spiders, there are also snakes, sharks and crocodiles to contend with. Do you really want to die so young?”
This time, he laughed. “I’m pretty sure most tourists who visit Australia live to tell the tale.”
I pushed down a shudder. I was not good with creepy crawlies and couldn’t understand how he was so blasé about visiting a country filled with deadly ones. “Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I won’t,” he agreed.
Ethan started the car, and I jolted as a loud banging noise erupted from the exhaust. I guess I had bigger things to worry about than terrifying Australian beasts. Apparently, I’d be lucky if I even made it to school. “How is it that my car’s in the workshop and this thing is still on the road?”
Ethan chuckled as he caught the look of shock on my face. “Just luck, I suppose. That, and I take good care of her.”
“I take good care of my car,” I replied.
“I didn’t say you didn’t.”
“You implied it.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did.”
He worked hard to smother a smile. “I guess we’re going to be that couple that’s always fighting.”
“No, we’re not.”
He lifted an eyebrow as if to say “see.”
I huffed out a breath but couldn’t stop myself from laughing. Ethan might have been quiet at school, but he didn’t seem afraid to speak his mind once you got him alone. “This is going to be impossible. There could not be a more hopeless couple in the world than us.”
“Or maybe, you’ll be surprised,” he replied. His eyes were serious, like he truly believed we could actually make this work. “Crazier things have happened,” he added.
“I guess,” I agreed though I wasn’t sure I shared his confidence. Ethan and I were just too different, and I was getting more and more nervous about making our fake relationship seem real.
He turned to focus on the road as he took off from the curb. The radio was playing an old rock song I hadn’t heard before, and Ethan was subtly nodding his head to the beat as he drove. It wasn’t Taylor Swift, but it wasn’t all that bad either.
We didn’t talk again until we reached the school parking lot. Ethan’s car choked out one last cough as he pulled it to a stop, and silence replaced the constant rumble of the engine. It was a miracle the car had made it here in one piece, but I was growing less concerned about my safety and more anxious about what waited for us beyond the large front doors of the school.
“So, how do we do this?” I asked, turning to look at Ethan.
“Do what?”
I rolled my eyes. “The fake relationship at school thing. Do we sit together in class? Do we hold hands? How far do we need to go with it?”
“I’d say the further, the better,” he replied.
I thumped him on the shoulder. “Don’t be gross.”
“I wasn’t!”
“Uh-huh.” I blew out a breath and sat back as I tried to figure out our next move. We definitely should have talked about our first day back at school in our planning session yesterday. I’d been so focused on the bigger picture though that the day-to-day logistics of our fake relationship had completely slipped my mind.
“Why don’t you just act how you would with any of your other boyfriends,” he suggested.
I frowned and my chest seized with uncertainty. “I haven’t really had any other boyfriends.”
His eyes widened with surprise. “I thought you went on dates all the time.”
“Not as many as you might think,” I replied. I wasn’t exactly prepared to tell Ethan just how pathetic I truly was or how disastrously most of my dates ended. “And I might have gone on dates, but I’ve never had a boyfriend. So, you’re going to have to take the lead.”
“Okay…” He drew the word out and I got the distinct impression he was uncomfortable with the idea. “That might be a little difficult s
eeing as the longest relationship I’ve had only lasted a week.”
“What? I thought you knew what you were doing.”
“I thought you knew what you were doing.”
I swore as I reached into my bag and took out my phone to send an emergency text to Madi.
“Who are you texting?” Ethan asked.
“Madi. We need advice from a relationship expert if we’re going to pull this off.”
Ethan stopped me though, gently placing a hand over my phone. “I think we can figure it out between the two of us,” he said.
As I looked into his eyes, I found myself lowering my phone. He seemed so certain, and his confidence was reassuring. I mean, how hard could faking a relationship really be?
“We’ll start slowly,” he continued. “Today, we’ll hold hands and sit with each other at lunch. That should be enough to get everyone talking about the relationship. Does that sound doable?”
I blew out a breath, the pressure in my chest easing at his words. “Yeah, that sounds doable.”
“Well, then, it looks like we have a game plan.”
“We do,” I agreed. I liked that Ethan had suggested we start showing our fake relationship in small ways. I wasn’t sure how I would have reacted if he’d proposed we make out in the cafeteria or something. Handholding was totally within my capabilities.
At least, I thought it was until I got out of the car and I walked around the front to meet Ethan. My pulse started racing as I stopped before him. I knew I was supposed to take his hand and that it didn’t really mean anything, but for some reason, I was freaking out. I’d never walked into school holding a guy’s hand before. Why did something so simple seem so hard?
“I think this is the part where we hold hands,” he murmured.
I looked up into his hesitant blue eyes. “Yeah, I think it is,” I agreed. Was it just me, or did he seem nervous too?
“May I?” he asked, holding out his hand toward me.
I nodded, and he gently took my hand in his. His skin was warm, and the feel of his grasp was reassuring. He had calluses across his fingers, which I guessed were from the guitar. I found I quite liked the slight roughness against my skin though. My heart was fluttering furiously, but I felt sure it was just because I was nervous about getting Owen’s attention.
Ethan gave me one of his small smiles, like he understood exactly how I was feeling. “This isn’t so bad,” he said.
“No, it’s not completely terrible,” I agreed with a laugh.
It was only the first step in our fake relationship, but, if anything, it felt good.
8
Ethan
I couldn’t stop sneaking glances at Hayley as I walked across the parking lot toward school with her. We were holding hands, and I had to keep looking down at them to convince myself the moment was real. I’d pictured it in my head a million times, but I’d never imagined how wildly my heart would beat against my chest or how my stomach would pull taut in a mixture of nerves and excitement.
In my mind, I knew the moment was all pretend, but my body was blissfully ignoring the stark reality of the situation. I probably should have been trying to dampen down my excitement, but living in this moment was far more enjoyable. It might not be a real moment, but if it was the only one I’d get with Hayley, then I was going to appreciate every second of it.
It wasn’t until we entered the school that I was pulled out of my idyllic bubble. It was subtle at first. One person would glance our way, then another. But as we entered the bustling corridors lined with students and their lockers, it seemed like everyone we passed was looking at our hands clasped together.
I had never been someone who sought out attention, but I certainly had it now. It wasn’t exactly a confidence boost to see so many confused looks pointed our way. Given the puzzled expressions that greeted us, it was clear everyone at school was trying to work out why Hayley and I were together. Yes, I was well aware Hayley was too good for me, but it really hit home just how much that was the case as we walked down the corridor hand in hand.
I knew all of this attention was a necessary evil though. We needed word to spread that we were now a couple, and from the looks we were getting, I felt certain it wouldn’t take long before everyone at school knew about us. This gossip was too good not to spread. The cheerleader and the music nerd: we were the unlikeliest of pairings.
“So, you’ll come meet me for lunch?” Hayley asked when we stopped by my locker. She let go of my hand as I went to open the door and gather my books. I immediately missed the contact between us and was already wondering when I’d get the chance to hold her hand again. It was probably going to be a little difficult with my arms full of books.
“Sure, but aren’t you coming to homeroom?”
She shook her head. “I have to meet with the guidance counselor this morning.”
“You getting your results for the career aptitude test?”
She let out a sigh. “Yeah, but I have no idea what kind of job she’ll suggest for me. I hope it’s something good.”
“I’m sure it will be.”
“I’m not,” she grumbled.
“She suggested I’d be suited as a musician, so don’t be nervous. They must be pretty accurate.”
“Hence, why I’m scared,” she said with an exaggerated shudder. “Anyway, I better run, or I’ll be late. See you at lunch.”
“Yeah, see you then.”
She turned and disappeared down the corridor far too quickly. I watched after her, still not quite able to believe what was happening between us. I knew that nothing about our relationship was real, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself from loving every moment I got to spend with her.
The thud of a fist thumping me on the arm jolted me back to reality. I turned to find a very confused Colin at my side.
“What the hell was that?” he asked.
“Uh…” Where did I even begin to explain?
“Why were you holding hands with Hayley?”
“Because we’re dating?”
“What? Since when?”
“Will you keep your voice down?” I muttered, my eyes darting around the busy corridor to see if anyone was listening in. Luckily, now that Hayley was gone, it seemed I’d returned to being invisible to everyone around me.
“Well?” Colin prompted. Thankfully, he’d lowered his voice to a normal level.
My chest constricted as I considered what to tell my friend. I could lie and give him the same cover story Hayley and I had come up with yesterday, but Colin and I had always told each other the truth. I couldn’t start lying to him now.
I glanced around us once more before I began. Yep, no one was paying us any notice. “We’re not really dating,” I started. “We’re just pretending.”
“Why on Earth would you do that?”
A sigh escaped me. “She wanted to ask Owen to prom, but I knew he wouldn’t go with her. I told her if we pretended to date then she might be in with a chance. Owen’s always wanted whatever I have. A girlfriend should be no different.”
“Yeah, because your brother is a tool.”
“Pretty much.”
“Why would you even suggest this to her?”
I lifted an eyebrow.
“Right,” he replied. “Because it’s Hayley and you’d cut off a limb for her if she asked.”
“I wouldn’t cut off a limb.”
“Yeah, you would.”
Colin was silent for several long moments before he finally exhaled. “I’m trying to find a reason to support you in this, really I am, but I don’t see it ending well. You’ve lost your mind if you think this is a good idea.”
“I haven’t lost my mind.”
“It’s crazy. Pretending to date the girl you’ve been secretly in love with for years so she can get closer to Owen is just a heartbreak in the making. It’s going to destroy you when he finally notices her and she dumps you for him.”
“Well, she can’t dump me because we’re not really da
ting.”
“Semantics,” he grumbled.
“And she won’t dump me for him, because once she spends some actual time with me, she’s going to see we’re perfect for each other.”
Colin apparently didn’t share my optimism because he shook his head. “Owen has dated any girl he’s ever wanted, and this girl already wants him. You have no chance of making this work.”
I folded my arms across my chest and tried not to scowl at my friend. I knew Colin was only looking out for me, and he made some very valid points. I felt like this might be my only chance to be with Hayley though.
“I know the chances of a happy ending are slim, but I think the risk is worth taking.”
Colin shook his head once more. It seemed like there wasn’t anything I could say to convince him this was a good idea.
“What does Isla think?” he asked.
“Isla doesn’t think anything. I haven’t told her.”
“Why not?”
“Well, judging from your reaction, I can’t imagine the news going down well.” I didn’t need both of my closest friends ganging up on me.
“You’re right there,” he agreed. “So, you’re planning to keep this secret from her?”
I shrugged. “For now. The less people who know the truth, the better.”
“Well, I hope you’re sure about that, because she’s coming this way.”
Colin had barely finished getting the words out when Isla launched herself at me, grabbed my arm, and started jumping up and down.
“Please tell me the rumors are true,” she said.
Colin gave me a pointed look, but I ignored him as I focused on Isla. “What rumors?”
“The ones where you’re dating Hayley Lawson—a.k.a. the love of your life!” She was bursting with excitement for me, and I felt a flare of guilt rise up in my chest.
“How on Earth did you hear about that already?”
“So, it’s true?” She thumped my arm. “Why am I not the first person to hear this news?”
“Ouch!” I rubbed the sore spot where her tiny hand had hit me. For someone so small, she sure knew how to pack a punch.
“I have no sympathy for you. You totally deserved that.” She rolled her eyes, but her expression quickly returned to one of enthusiasm. “I can’t believe this is happening. This might be the best day of my life.”
The Wrong Prom Date Page 8