AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Well, part of the truth. I can’t tell her about the professor, and I hate that, I truly do.
“Please. For the love of all that’s holy. And also, about those baby names, if you have a boy and a girl, will their names be Butthead and Bambi? I just need to know what to get engraved on their baby rattles.”
“Beavis and Barbie, thank you very much. Okay, the truth is, I am not dating him at all. It’s one hundred percent fake, okay? I am doing this to fool my ex-boyfriend. Nick needed to have his coach think he’s dating a serious, studious girl and I needed someone on my arm, in public, so my ex-boyfriend leaves me alone.”
“Still? He’s still a problem?” Her voice rises.
“Yes,” I sigh. “But after next week, when the school year is over, he won’t be.”
“So . . . he’s graduating?”
I wince. I hate lying to my sister. “Something along those lines. I can’t tell you any more than that. Please don’t ask. And also after next week, Nick is out of my life completely.”
“Seriously? Cross your heart and hope to die? You will no longer be hanging out with Shitty Boy Floyd?”
I burst into laughter. “No. There was never anything between us, and there never will be. You don’t have to worry yourself.”
“Well, I’m plenty worried that you still need protection from your ex, and you know you can tell me anything.”
“I know. The problem is resolving itself.”
“Wasn’t Paxton supposed to be your fake boyfriend?”
I sigh. “Yeah, but... I don’t know...” I don’t want to admit that I kind of had a crush on Paxton and I’m an emotional coward. “Nick kind of stumbled into my path and here we are. It’s almost over. I just have to help him pass the final, so I need to get back to studying.”
“If you’re sure. Because hey, if not, maybe this thing with Nick and you really is meant to be.” Her voice takes on a teasing tone. “I actually was starting to like the sound of Mr. and Mrs. Fuckface, I mean Fuckman, I mean Ruckman. Sorry. Pax called him Fuckface so many times, it’s stuck in my head now.”
Is Pax still going on about this? He really is not a fan of football players. “Pax needs to worry about his own self. I forced Nick to apologize to him. Make him move on, will you?”
“You make him. Ruby and Nick, sitting in a tree...” Rowan sings.
“I’m hanging up,” I say, and I do.
Reluctantly, I head back to my dorm room, grimacing at the thought of several hours of hell ahead of me. I am going to make Nick pass this test and this class if it kills me. And him. And everyone I’ve ever known or loved.
When I walk in, he’s standing at my desk with his back to me, flipping through my planner.
“Hey,” I yell. He gives a guilty start and shoves it aside.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I demand indignantly. I walk over, slam the planner shut, and shove it in my top drawer.
Damn it, there’s stuff in there that I don’t want anyone to see, like the professor’s home address and garage code, dates I had with Professor Nass-hole last year... I really need to get a new planner and burn the old one. I think there was a tiny bit of sentimentality there; he wrote cute little notes in the planner a couple of times.
What I need to do is take that planner to an exorcist.
“I was just looking to see what time the exam is,” he protests.
“Then you can just ask me. Don’t go through my stuff.”
“Sorry. My bad.” He tries for a charming smile, sees the look on my face, and his smile fades.
“I am genuinely sorry. I should have asked.”
“Yes, you should have.”
He’s now sitting in the middle of the bed. “Move over a little,” I order him. He moves maybe six inches to the right. I sit down and grab my notebook.
“This is boring,” he repeats for the third time.
