My Fake Boyfriend

Chapter 2

"So, you're staying the night?"

"Mm." Bethany said as she chomped on the pizza we'd ordered. "We can have a movie night and braid each others hair and stuff."

I shot her a look.

"Nick asked about you." She continued.

My heart fluttered a little bit. "He did?"

"Yeah. Asked if you guys were still on for that double date." She said. "I was confused, until I realized he was talking about him, his girlfriend, you, and your boyfriend. And then I was confused because you don't have a boyfriend."

"I'll get one." I said.

"I thought you liked Nick."

"I do."

"So?"

"So I didn't know he had a girlfriend." I said.

"Dude." She said sympathetically. "If only there was a Rent-A-Hot-Boyfriend."

I laughed.

"Why Nick, though?"

"He's sweet." I said.

"Boring." She said. "He gets straight As and his dad's a lawyer. He's the kind of guy you marry and have seven kids with, not the kind you date in college."

"What kind of guys are you supposed to date in college?" I asked, because I knew she wanted me to. 

"The bad ones." She winked. "The reckless ones that make you want to do crazy stuff you never would've done on your own."

"I like Nick." I said.

"You're boring."

"Don't care."

She rolled her eyes. "You know, I dated a good guy in high school."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I was never good enough for him." She said. "He ditched me the second his mommy shot me a disapproving look."

"That stinks."

"Eh. I cheated on him, so we were even."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "That's not... I don't think that counts as a good thing."

"Well, yeah, I'm mean, it's not." She said. "But it's made justifiable by how I was just a trophy girfriend he took to all the parties, 'cept the ones that mattered."

"I don't think cheating is justifiable by anything. Punching is. Slapping is. Cheating is just..." I tipped my head, seaching for the word.

"Okay, enough about this." Bethany stood and swiped her soda off the coffee table. "Let's talk about how to get you a fake boyfriend in time. Just one date, right? Shouldn't be hard. You're pretty decent looking."

I stared at her. "What?"

"Shocking, I know. You just never show any skin." She said. "'Cept, y'know, your arms."

I snorted. "I'm wearing shorts right now."

"I know. Nice purple silk ones." She said.

"They're jammies." I said.

She shook her head. 

I jogged up the stone steps and knocked on the wooden door, shifting uncomfortably from foot-to-foot.

The door swung open. 

In front of me stood a willowy blonde with bright blue eyes and an incredible smile. "Alyssa?" she asked.