Page 45 of Fall Fake-Out

“What?” My chin lifts.

“Wade is not your boyfriend. You’ve lived here for two weeks. And you’ve repeatedly said you’re not interested in dating anyone, so it’s kind of hard to believe that you went from being uninterested in dating at all to having a boyfriend.”

Beside me, Wade lifts one finger like maybe he should contribute here, but I barrel forward before he can.

“Well, Wade changed my mind. He’s exactly what I need and want.”

“Wade flirts recreationally and then moves on to the next girl. That’s not dating. That’s a red flag.” She looks over at him. “No offense, Wade.”

Wade nods as he leans back slightly. Not exactly hurt, but definitely aware and unsure if he should give a rebuttal.

“You don’t know anything about our relationship.”

“You’ve been ‘dating’ for five minutes. It’s not a real relationship.”

“Actually,” Wade cuts in smoothly, “it’s been building for years. I’ve just been waiting for Ari to come back home.”

My eyes whip toward him, searching his expression for a small sliver of truth in his words, but everything is masked, and I’m too busy at the moment to really dissect his words.

Mom scoffs. “Please. Wade in an actual relationship. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

And suddenly, my stubbornness fully activates.

Fine. She wants proof?

I’ll give her proof.

Before anyone can respond, I grab Wade’s face.

Like, fully grab it.

My fingers press into one cheek while my thumb squishes the other, forcing his mouth into an involuntary pucker.

His eyes go wide as I move in.

And then I kiss him.

Not romantically.

Not gracefully either.

It’s aggressive. Slightly awkward. Entirely fueled by spite and poor decision-making, which, if you ask my mother, is my MO.

Wade stills as if I’ve somehow managed to knock every flirty comeback out of him.

There’s a brief thought about how unexpectedly soft and warm his lips are before I shove his face away.

Hard.

Dramatically.

His head jerks backward as I release him with a triumphant lift of my chin, like I absolutely meant to assault him with a kiss in front of my family.

Our eyes lock for one short second, and something behind his gaze and his general speechlessness causes me to notice—to pause briefly—before my big ending.

“There,” I say breathlessly as I shift my eyes to my mom. “Proof.”

Nobody speaks.