Adorkable(18)
I exhaled.
“So, you want to tell me why you’re running away from Lillian, not to mention pushing me into old storerooms? What’s the deal, Sal?”
“The deal,” I said, placing my back against the door, “is I need a boyfriend. And everyone thinks you’re it.”
“Oh yeah, I heard that.” Becks made his way to an overturned bucket and took a seat. “Don’t worry, I told them it wasn’t true.”
“No!”
Becks gave me a look.
Taking a moment to order my thoughts, I placed my books on a nearby desk, making sure they were perfectly straight, grabbed the Goobers off the top for moral support, and then returned to my place by the door.
“What I meant was you don’t have to do that. There’s no need.”
“Sal, they’re saying we’re together.” He paused to make sure I was getting it. “Like together together.”
“I know,” I said.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you just say you need a boyfriend? This isn’t exactly going to help your cause.”
“Actually, it’ll help a lot.”
He crossed his arms. “How?”
Ah, and wasn’t that the question of the day. Popping open the Goobers, I poured a handful, chucked it into my mouth and chewed slowly. Becks met all my criteria, exceeded it. With this new rumor going around, it was almost like it was destiny. It had to be him, that’s all there was to it.
Deep breath, I thought. Then I let the dice fly.
“Becks, I need you to be my fake boyfriend for a month.”
His semi-hysterical laughter was not encouraging.
“I’m serious,” I said. “I can’t take another mystery date, and Hooker refuses to give up. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope. This is the only way I can think of to stop the madness.”
After he got himself somewhat under control, he said, “Yeah, okay. A fake boyfriend, great plan, Sal. I’m sure that’d solve all your problems.”
“You don’t get it.” I slumped. “I can’t take it anymore. I’ve reached the end. It’s getting to the point where I can’t go anywhere without being scared. Everywhere I go, she’s trying to fix me up. Hooker’s telling people I’m desperate.” Shaking my head, I forced myself to rally. “These dates have to end, and they have to end now.”
“Why don’t you just find a real boyfriend?”
“Of course,” I said sarcastically, “Why didn’t I think of it before? Thanks to Hooker, I’ve got my choice of guys who either a) end the date when they realize I don’t look anything like Hooker and am, as we’ve established, quite the dork or b) start decent but turn out to be I-love-you-even-if-I-don’t-know-you crazy ala Austin. Come on, Becks, be serious. You’ve got to help me.” Taking one last shot, not caring if he laughed in my face, I simply spoke the truth. “Becks, you’re all I’ve got.”
Instead of laughing, he frowned. “Sal, you could get a boyfriend if you wanted to. You’re a great girl, the best. Who wouldn’t want that?”
“Yeah,” I said, “because there are so many guys willingly lined up to go out with a girl everyone calls Spitz.”
Shaking his head, he said, “A fake boyfriend, huh?”
Hope ignited in my chest. “Yeah,” I said, “a fake boyfriend.”
“So, what would I have to do?”
I couldn’t help but be incredulous at that.
“Do?” I repeated. “You’d do what you always do. Pretend I’m your latest girl Friday.”
Becks’s brow furrowed. “You want me to French and feel you up in the janitor’s closet?”
Maybe, a treacherous part of my brain whispered, but I swallowed the impulse, afraid I’d scare him away. “No. We’d just have to play for the crowds, parents, friends, etc. In private, we’d be just like we’ve always been.”
“Just friends?” he asked.
I nodded. Just friends.
“You said a month?”
“Yeah,” I swallowed again. Man, even with Becks—especially with Becks—this was embarrassing. “At the end, we’ll just tell them we decided to call it off because of irreconcilable differences. I’d pretend to be devastated. The dates would end; you’d be off the hook. No harm done. So—” I tried not to let my nerves show, hoped my voice wouldn’t waver. “—what do you think?”
I held my breath the entire time Becks thought it over.
Finally, he said, “Okay, I’m in.”
I blinked. “You’re in?”