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I exhale roughly, and then my phone starts to ring. I slide it out of my pocket and glance at the screen, and then I flash it at her. “Great. Just fucking great. I’m sure he saw the photos by now.”
“Then ignore the call,” she says, shrugging.
I press my lips together as I slide to answer the call. I wander over toward the window and start pacing in front of it. “Beckett Maxwell, how the fuck are you doing, man?”
“Care to explain why your tongue is shoved so far down my sister’s throat you’re probably tasting what she had for lunch?” He’s seething, clearly asking from between a clenched jaw, and I…
I—
I think fast.
“Dude, that’s why I called you earlier. To explain before the pictures hit the media.” Fuck! Shit! That’s a lie. I called him hungover this morning to ask him if I could date his sister, but his reaction to the photo of me kissing her is not a great one, so I’m guessing the idea of me being with her isn’t going to fly.
“Okay. Then explain.”
“Yeah, okay. So…” I trail off, and my eyes meet hers. And then, before I know what the fuck is happening, the lie falls from my tongue. “Your sister and I are in a fake relationship. Her ex is trying to win her back, and she just wants him to disappear, so I did what I had to do when I said I’d protect her.”
Beckett is silent on the other end of the line, and Ava sits up a little straighter from her position on the couch as she watches me carefully.
When Beckett finally speaks, his tone is much more relaxed. “Oh. Uh…I guess—thank you, then. For protecting her.”
“Of course, man. It’s what friends do.”
What they don’t do is fuck their friends’ little sisters and then lie about it.
And yet…here I am, doing exactly that.
Chapter 22: Ava Maxwell
Little Ava Maxwell
I may have to physically pick my jaw up off the ground after the shock of a lifetime there.
I can’t believe he just lied to Beck.
But even more than that, I can’t believe he told Beck we’re in a fake relationship. I’m not exactly sure what this all means. Do I get to be his girlfriend now?
Um…side note: Do I get the benefits that come with being his girlfriend?
And maybe most importantly…can all this fake business turn into something real?
“I promise,” Grayson says, clearly trying to wrap up the call with my brother. He doesn’t mention that I’m here. Is that a lie of omission?
It’s not like every person tells every other person every single detail of their lives. So I left a few things out. Who hasn’t?
But what he just told Beck…that wasn’t a lie of omission. It was just a straight-up lie, even if I told him it wasn’t one. The truth is that I don’t want to fake date him.
I want to give this a real shot with him.
Only…he doesn’t trust me, and I don’t know what to do to get back in his good graces. And beyond that, he’s not okay with dating his best friend’s little sister. I need a plan.
I’ll just have to figure out how to become irresistible to him.
“I will. Talk to you soon.” He hangs up and stares at his phone for a beat before he pushes it back into his pocket. He turns toward the window and stares out over it.
I give him a few seconds to brood, and then I have to break the silence. “Why’d you tell him it was fake?”
He blows out a breath, and he runs his palm along his jawline before he turns to face me. “He was pissed about those photos. I couldn’t come up with an explanation, and what you said before was right. The truth is that we were faking for your ex’s benefit.”
