Fakers (Licking Thicket 1)

“I’m here for the Lickin’, obviously,” I continued. “Where the townspeople honor their agricultural heritage, and the natural mineral licks in the area that give the town its name.”

His jaw dropped. “Wait, are you serious? That’s what the name is about?”

I ran my tongue along the inside of my cheek, trying not to laugh. “Licking, as in a mineral lick. You know, the kind sheep and cows like? Thicket, as in plentiful grass for grazing. Why, what were you thinking the name was about?”

He shook his head slowly, and his wavy hair fell into his eyes again. “You don’t wanna know.”

Oh, I was damn sure I did.

“Thank you for educating me,” the guy said solemnly. “I’m a Lickin’ virgin, obviously, and I’d hate to appear naive.”

“I’m a veteran of many a Lickin’… though none recently,” I admitted, and that was true in all senses of the word. “If you want, I could… Um…”

The guy leaned toward me, like he was dying to know how I was going to end that sentence.

So was I.

“Maaaal! Mal! How long does it take for you to—” Ava Ivey came around the corner from the kitchen, blonde curls bouncing, and stopped short when she saw me. She looked back and forth from me to the guy beside me, and I felt the weird urge to step in front of him.

Mine.

But I didn’t move a muscle, obviously. Clearly, he and Ava knew each other.

“Oh. Brooks,” Ava said, in much the same tone one might say, “Oh. Explosive diarrhea.”

I rubbed at the back of my neck. “Ava. Hey.” My tone probably sounded like that of a guy who’d broken up with a girl on the night she’d expected him to give her a promise ring… because I was.

“You’re Brooks?” my guy—who was clearly not my guy and never would be—said as his face seemed to shutter closed with a snap. “The asshole who broke her heart?”

I sighed deeply and recited my mantra. I was not here to start fights. I was not here to correct assumptions. I was most definitely not here on a Brooks Johnson apology tour… even if I really, really wanted to explain myself to this guy.

Ava and I would never have worked—what eighteen-year-olds were ready for a lifetime commitment, even if they were both straight?—and I’d broken up with her because I’d cared about her too much to keep pretending. Hell, I still loved her in a way… just not a way that would ever lead us to make babies together.

“Oh, Brooks!” my mom called from right behind me, which was really the only thing that could make this situation better. “There you are! See, Monette? I told you he hadn’t left town!” She and her friend came around to join our little group. “Brooks, did you say hello to Ava? Did you tell her how beautiful she looks?”

Read the room, Mama, I thought, but what I said was, “Sure did! And you do look amazing, Ava. Really. Positively glowing.”

The guy winced. “Oh, damn—”

Ava’s face crumpled and her pretty blue eyes filled with tears. “Fuck you, Brooks! I am not glowing!”

Mrs. Ivey gasped. “Ava Marie! Remember you’re a lady.”

Ava wrapped both of her arms around my guy’s waist and leaned her head against his shoulder. “This is my boyfriend,” she sniffled. “Mal Forrester. And we are very, very happy together.”

“Your boyfriend,” I repeated, a little stunned.

How was that possible? The guy had been flirting with me… hadn’t he? I ran through our earlier conversation, suddenly unsure.

Ava’s arms visibly tightened around the man’s waist, and he gave a strangled cough. “Oh! Ah, yup. Yes. I’m her boyfriend, alright. Indeed I am. I’ve been head over heels for my little honey nugget for years! Many years.”

“But, Ava.” Mrs. Ivey frowned. “Sweetie, you never said a word! And I thought you were with that other man, that dentist, just last summer—”

“Ha ha!” Mal interrupted. “Did I say many years? I meant… I meant… I’ve pined for her for many years. But we only made it official recently. At the Beyond Wonderland concert. Under the stars. And a really thin blanket—”

“Malachi,” Ava said sweetly.

“Yes, pumpkin pie?”

“Shut up now.”

“Yes, love monkey. See how patient she is?” he said confidingly. “Is it any wonder I was too shy to tell her my feelings?”

“Too shy?” I repeated. “You? Really?”

“I can be shy, Brooks,” Mal said with no shyness whatsoever, and a glint in his bright eyes that made me want to… made me want to…

“It’s alright, Brooks, honey,” my mom said softly, patting my arm. “Calm down.”

I inhaled sharply. “I’m perfectly calm,” I insisted, but unlike earlier, I felt not a shred of calm. One brief conversation had destroyed my equilibrium, and I didn’t like it.

“Heya, Brooks.” Paul came up behind Ava with somebody’s baby draped over his chest and a worried frown on his face. “Everything cool?”