Page 77 of Fall Fake-Out

And just like that, we’re heading toward the river.

The sidewalks are mostly empty this time of night. A few business lights from Main Street pour over the pavement. I shrug off my jacket and put it around her shoulders, letting my hands linger for a moment before I force them to drop.

“Ah”—she smiles back at me as she shoves her arms into the sleeves—“such a gentleman.”

“I have my moments.”

For a while, neither of us says much. And weirdly, it isn’t awkward.

It’s nice.

Comfortable.

The kind of silence that makes me think maybe we should walk slower.

“I forgot to check and see if Ashtyn was watching us at dinner,” she says.

That surprises me. Because now that she says it… “Same with me. Was she even there?”

I think back through the entire evening. The party. Dinner. The speech. The fake-dating war. And I realize something amazing. I hadn’t looked for Ashtyn once.

“Oh, she was there. I saw her right when we walked in.”

“Huh.” I kick a pebble with the toe of my shoe.

“What?”

I shake my head. “Nothing.”

But it’s not nothing. For the first time in weeks, I forgot to be worried about the teenage menace who’s currently ruining my life.

“All that effort at dinner, and I didn't even get to see if it paid off.” Ari tsks.

I puff out a laugh because I know I would’ve enjoyed seeing Ashtyn’s reaction too.

“We’re lucky my mom wasn’t there tonight. She’d have hated every second of our little performance.”

“Oh, I don’t know. You combing my mustache might’ve convinced her we’re made for each other,” I joke, but Ari takes it seriously.

“No.” She looks toward the river. “She still would’ve said you were bad for me.”

Something about the way she says it makes me glance over. “And why is that?” I ask the question even though I know I won’t like the answer.

“It’s what she used to say about Andy.”

The name hangs between us like an unexpected reveal.

I keep my voice casual. “Your ex-fiancé?”

“At first, that was exactly why I liked him—because my mom didn’t like him.”

“That checks out with everything that I know about you.”

“He surfed all the time. Had a motorcycle. Was charming.”

None of that sounds like me. Except for the charming part.

“But did he have a ‘stache?”