Page 25 of A Match Made In Fall

I shake my head in disbelief.

“At least you didn’t include his last name and profession,” I mutter. “I guess I should count that as a win.”

But I should probably keep my phone far away from her, just in case.

“Okay,” I warn. “That’s it. No more mentioning my fake boyfriend to anyone else.”

She flashes me an innocent smile. “I won’t.”

I wish I believed her. What if she starts telling everyone that her daughter is dating one of the Carolina Bears? My stomach suddenly feels heavy. Since when did my mother turn into the bad influence? And why did I let her talk me into it?

I continue sorting through my stuff, and my mom heads out to run some errands.

My phone has been quiet since I sent the message. I don’t know if Dexter will respond or not. Was he just checking in with no ulterior motive?

I’m reading through some old journals when my phone rings. My pulse instantly speeds up until I see Elise’s number.

“Hey.”

“What’s going on there?” she shrieks.

“Um, nothing. What’s up with you?”

“Well, I just got a text from Dexter asking about your new boyfriend, Austin. He wants to know how long you’ve been together.”

Ugh. I’m suddenly sick to my stomach. I didn’t know how Dexter would respond to my message, but I certainly didn’t expect him to text my roommate.

“Your boyfriend? Why are you holding out on me? Last time we spoke you were going out with a group of friends for the first time. What am I missing?”

What a mess.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I explain.

“Okay, I’m so lost. Why would Dexter, who has never texted me, ask me about him? And how would he even know about Austin?”

I let out a heavy sigh before trying to explain Dexter’s message and about my mother’s stupid idea that seems to be backfiring already.

Elise laughs. “This was your mom’s idea. I can’t believe it.”

“I know,” I exclaim. “I should’ve never listened to her…”

“But you wanted to see how Dex would react.” This is more of a statement than a question.

“Maybe? I don’t know,” I wail. “Everything feels so confusing right now.”

“Apparently,” she says.

“Did you respond to him yet?” I ask.

“No. I had to call you and find out what was going on.”

“And by the way, you know I’d tell you something as important as that. I’d never keep news like that from you.”

She giggles. “I should hope so.”

I chew on my lip as I try to gather my thoughts.

“Anyway, I’ll just tell him I don’t know all the details,” she tells me. “Leave it as vague as possible.”