Page 46 of Fake Crown

“She wants to believe she doesn’t like me.” Ethan shrugs.

This is getting far more convoluted than I bargained for. No point in digging into that mess. I agreed to socialize, not break my brain. Posey could make sense of this in an instant, but I do not have her people skills.

When we get to Jessica’s place, everyone grabs a beer from the fridge and puts five dollars in a jar labelled Swim Team Beer Fund. Another thing I didn’t realize existed. I pay my toll and grab a beer.

Once I’m settled on the couch, Jess takes the seat beside me. She’s a leggy blonde who took a while to even speak to me when she joined the team.

“How was Bermuda?” she asks as she sets up some sort of drinking game with cards and dice on the coffee table. “Who’s in?”

“Better weather than here,” I say.

“The pictures Val posted looked amazing. It’s definitely on my list of places to visit.”

After we broke up on Thursday, Val’s social media schedule wasn’t my problem any more. But I wonder whether she adhered to Trevor’s wedding photo ban, or if I went to her profile I’d find a slew of pictures. It would be like her to not only crash the wedding but completely ignore the blackout. If I check, I’ll feel like I need to do something about it, and that’ll drag me into Val’s orbit. Ignorance is bliss.

There’s a knock on Jess’s front door, and Jess tips up her drink before rising. “That’ll be Val, I bet.”

“Val?” I clamber off the couch behind Jess. “Val’s here?”

“After I posted to my story about you coming here, she messaged for the address.” Jess grabs another beer from the fridge. “I didn’t think you’d mind.” She turns to face me. “But I can tell that you do. Sorry.”

I finish my beer and slot it into the empty case beside the fridge. “I’ll answer the door. No need to get you involved in this.” I squeeze past her into the hallway and narrow foyer. When I draw back the door, Val and I stare at each other through the screened one.

“You don’t look happy to see me.” A slow smile spreads across Val’s face.

“I was just leaving,” I say.

“So soon? Jess said everyone would be here a while.”

“Jess didn’t realize you weren’t welcome.”

“It’s her house. I suppose I’m welcome if she says I am. Are you going to let me in?”

I grab my jacket off the hook in the hall, and I slip it on. My swim bag is on the floor, and I sling it over my shoulder. Guess Posey is getting a visit after all. “Go on in, if you want.” With a sweep of my hand, I gesture behind me to where everyone else is gathered. “Thanks, Jess! But I gotta go.”

“See you at practice,” she says.

“Boo!” Ethan calls from the living room. “Don’t be a wimp, Faulkner.” He appears at the end of the hallway. “Ah, shit. All right. Whatever. Do what you gotta do. I’ll see you at practice.”

I squeeze out the front door, and I hold it open for Val. “You going in where you’re welcome?”

“I’ll walk you home,” she says, and she tries to slip her arm through mine.

The one time I socialize with the swim team rather than keeping to my normal schedule and Val pops up. As soon as Jess started taking that video, I should have shut her down. But I don’t enjoy being the asshole who’s too good for the social media shit, even if that’s how I feel sometimes. What I’m doing or not doing isn’t anyone’s business.

“Nah, I’m good.” I remove her hand. “I’m headed to Posey’s house. We have plans.”

“Oh please. You did not extend your weekend fling.” She flicks her hair and tugs her winter jacket tighter around her middle. “It’s a smoke screen, and I see through it.” She grabs my arm to halt our walk down the street. “If you want a more open relationship, I can agree to that. And if you wanted both of us at the same time, I could arrange that too. I can play nice with others.”

My lizard brain goes exactly where she wanted it to go, and for a beat I let my imagination run wild. In every scenario I come up with, Val is out of the picture within minutes, leaving me with Posey. Despite the fantasy she’s trying to paint, it’s not what I want. At one time, I would have been all for a threesome if she’d offered. She must be getting desperate. The other times we fought or split up, her manicured hand zipping down my fly was enough to overcome whatever I was pissed about.

“Do you need me to call you an Uber? I don’t want you walking to the other side of campus alone,” I say.

She loops my arm around her waist and presses herself against me. “Walk me home.”

I dig my phone out of my pocket, and I order her a car to the closest intersection with one hand while I fend off her advances with the other.

A couple of blocks from here is Posey’s place, and I don’t want Val anywhere near it. Her persistence is worrying. While I never expected her to take our breakup well, I didn’t anticipate how hard she’d cling either. The only thing being fulfilled by our relationship was her bank account. Guess I didn’t realize how important the money was. If she needed the cash to fuel something other than her ego, I’d be more sympathetic, might even agree to play along for a bit.