Chapter 11

 

 

My legs are screaming from the workout I did this morning. I probably overdid it, but I was desperate to do something to stay fit. I’ve learned that I can’t exactly run because it jostles my wrist too much and I’ll be in severe pain the next day, so instead I’d hit the stationary bike and pedaled for three straight hours this morning. And while the bike worked at making me exhausted and starving, it did not stop me from thinking about Jenn. I’ve been going to the gym every morning instead of afternoons, which is when I’m pretty sure she works. I’m not trying to avoid her, I’m just trying to save my sanity. I don’t want to become that creepy stalker guy.

She hasn’t texted me in a few days and now we’re stuck in that mind game of text uncertainty. Should I text her? Does she want me to? Or has she forgotten about me? I don’t want to seem too clingy or annoying. I’d thought real-life dating was stressful, but fake dating is just as bad. Especially when you’re actually crushing on your fake girlfriend.

That day at the trampoline park keeps running through my mind, and I analyze it wondering if there’s something I missed the last million times I thought about it. Like maybe I’d missed some small hint that means she didn’t like being with me. But there’s nothing. We’d had a blast. It was the most fun I’ve had in a very long time. It was the best kiss I’ve had in well—ever.

Now I just don’t know if I should reach out to her or not. So I’m sitting here on Grandma’s couch, lazily watching some reality TV show about people who build extravagant dog houses. My sister does her homeschooling in the morning, so I wait around, bored and thinking about Jenn, until Bella finally leaves her room.

“All done with school work?” I ask.

She nods. “It only takes a few hours and it’s so much better than regular school where I’d be stuck there all day.” She’s still wearing her pajamas, and I can’t say I blame her for preferring homeschool. It sounds awesome. She sits next to me on the couch.

“I love this show,” she says. “Last time they made dog houses for celebrities.”

“I’m bored, Bells. What is there to do?”

She perks up. “Actually… there is something going on tonight but I don’t know if you’d like it.”

I turn to her. “I’m so bored I’d be down for pretty much anything.”

My sister grins. “What about funnel cakes?”

My lip curls. “Oh, God, no.” With that one sentence, she made me remember the time she and I had a funnel cake eating contest in Miami and we both ate so much we puked. I can’t stand the thought of funnel cakes now. Bella laughs her evil little sister laugh. “The fall festival is this week. There’s carnival rides and food and stuff. I’m going to meet some of my friends there, but you can come if you want. We could stay far away from the funnel cakes.”

“Which friends?” I ask.

She narrows her eyes at me. “My teenager friends. But I guess I could invite Jenn if you wanted…”

“Am I that obvious?” I say with a snort.

Bella rolls her eyes. “You never did tell me how your fake date went,” she says, making air quotes over the word date.

I shrug. “It was fun. I think she had a good time.”

“And did you have a good time?”

“Of course.” I’m still picturing the awkward way I dropped her back off at her house, where I think we both wanted to kiss goodbye but knew we shouldn’t. I wish I had gone for it.

Bella throws a couch pillow at me. “You like her!”

I shake my head, and even throw in an annoyed sigh like I’m just too casual to be bothered with her teasing. I hope she buys it. “It’s just for fun,” I say. “We’re making people think we’re dating.”

“Well, no better place than to take her to the fall festival,” Bella says.

“I’ll ask her,” I say, leaning forward to get my phone off the coffee table. With my sister watching, it’s a little easier to be brave and send the damn text I’ve been wanting to send for days.

 

Me: How’s it going?

 

She replies just a couple quick minutes later, much to my delight. I am not all about waiting anxiously.

 

Jenn: I’m good. School sucks. How are you?

Me: My arm hurts

Jenn: lol, sorry! Just a few weeks left and you’ll be good as new.

Me: You busy tonight? My sister was just telling me about the fall festival

Jenn: I haven’t been to that in forever! I kind of forgot about it.

Me: Want to go? :)

Jenn: That would be fun

 

Another throw pillow smacks me in the face. I look up to see Bella grinning at me. “You don’t look like it’s just fake,” she says in her annoying teasing little sister voice.

I realize I’ve been smiling this whole time, like a total loser. Ugh.

I throw the pillow back at her. Another text from Jenn comes in.

 

Jenn: I don’t think anyone noticed our first fake date. No one has said anything to me, so maybe this one will work.

 

It’s hard not to be disappointed. I was hoping she’d say she was looking forward to seeing me again, but instead she’s all business. I suck it up and reply in the same way.

 

Me: There will probably be a lot more people at the festival. I’m sure word will get out about your awesome new “boyfriend.” :)

 

Jenn: I hope so! Want to meet there around 7?

Me: I could pick you up?

Jenn: Nah, that’s okay. I live pretty close to the festival grounds. I’ll just see you there

 

I guess that’s for the best, because I don’t exactly have a car here. At best, I’d have to pick her up in my sister’s car with my sister in the backseat. That would be a dick move. Bella is so excited about her new car and she should be the one to drive it. The fact that I don’t even have a car here is evidence enough that this fake relationship will only ever be fake.

I realize Bella’s watching me expectantly.

I shrug. “She said she’ll meet me at the festival.”

“Cool,” Bella says. “The whole town will be there, so be prepared to have a lot of eyes on you.”

“I’m used to that,” I say. And it’s true in a way. I’m used to motocross fame. Not exactly used to being stared at because I’m dating a local. This should be fun.

 

 

When six-thirty rolls around, I shower and get dressed and attempt to do something with my hair. I’m a little nervous, which is completely stupid. There’s no reason to be nervous about a fake girlfriend. I don’t have to worry about impressing her because she’s not here to be impressed, she’s here to make her ex mad.

Still, I try to look as good as I can in dark jeans and a black button-up shirt, my sleeves rolled a few times to my mid forearm.

Bella seems to approve. “You look hot,” she says, curling her lip as she walks past me in the living room. “All my friends will be swooning over you all night. Ugh.”

I chuckle and Grandma comes up and puts an arm around my shoulders. She’s ridiculously shorter than I am.

“I think you look real handsome,” she says, leaning up on her toes to give me a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks, Grandma.”

I don’t think Bella has told her anything about my fake relationship, and I certainly haven’t, but she winks at me as she walks back to the couch and I wonder if she somehow knows.

I let Bella drive us to the festival, both because she knows the way and it’s her car. It’s weird, this new dynamic where my baby sister is all grown up. But it’s cool. She’s becoming an awesome person.

We park in a huge field that’s become a makeshift parking lot, and I buy both of us wristbands that let us have unlimited rides all night.

The place is packed. The smell of fair food fills the air and makes my mouth water. There’s a BBQ cookoff going on tonight, so the smells are even better than usual. There’s no trace of funnel cake in the air. It’s dusk, and the bright lights of the carnival rides sparkle against the dark blue sky.

Bella and I walk toward the Ferris wheel where she’s supposed to meet up with her friends. I’m looking for Jenn but haven’t seen her yet. Unlike Bella and her friends, Jenn and I didn’t set up a meeting place beforehand. I want to text her, but I also want to play it cool.

“Oh my God!” The girly shriek comes from the teenager who just hugged my sister. “You’re Aiden Strauss!” she says, her piercing blue eyes boring into me. She puts a hand to her chest. “I’m a huge fan.”

“Cool, nice to meet you,” I say.

The girl looks at Bella and then back to me. “Can we, like, get a picture together?”

I grin. “Sure.”

More of Bella’s friends show up at their designated meeting spot, and I take a few photos and listen to them gush about how much they love watching me ride. I know they would say that to any professional motocross racer they met, but it’s still cool to hear. Bella and her friends get in line for the Ferris wheel, and I stay behind, keeping my eye out for the girl I’m pretend dating.

I check my phone, and there’s nothing there.

When Bella jostles off the Ferris wheel several minutes later, she’s all smiles with her friends. She grabs my arm. “You don’t have to hang out with us,” she says. “Go find Jenn.”

Now that she’s cut me loose, I feel remarkably lonely. But I also can’t tag along with my teenage sister and her merry band of fangirls because that’s just lame.

So I start walking around, keeping my eyes open for the girl that’s been on my mind all week.

I stroll around to the livestock area, which has a petting zoo and beautifully groomed animals on display, some of them sporting blue ribbons. I guess it’s some kind of livestock judging contest.

I lean over a fence and pet a black and white cow. Then, in the distance, I see her.

At least, I’m pretty sure it’s her. Her brown hair is tied in that high bun hairstyle she does, and she’s got her back to me, but I think I’d recognize her ass anywhere. I mean, it’s perfect, after all.

I pat the cow one last time and then make my way across the hay-covered ground to where she’s standing in line at a beer truck.

As I get closer, I can tell she’s not alone. I don’t even think she’s standing in line to get a beer, she’s just standing near the line.

She shakes her head and puts a hand on her hip. That’s when I notice the guy standing in front of her. He’s got blond hair cropped short and shaved high on the sides, a stocky build, and the face of a douchebag if I’ve ever seen one. He’s wearing jeans and flip-flops and I mentally roll my eyes at that fashion choice. Jenn shakes her head again and turns to walk away.

The guy grabs her arm, making her stay put.

Oh hell no. I walk faster, weaving through people as I make my way up to her. The guy notices me first. His eyes go wide, and that pissed off expression he’d had a moment before disappears. “Dude, are you Aiden Strauss?” he says.

I slide my arm around Jenn’s shoulders, choosing not to answer his question. “Is there a problem here?”