Fake Out (Fake Boyfriend 1)

“Okay, okay, you win,” the guy says. “Don’t mess the hair.”

“And here we thought Maddy was the gay one,” the other quips.

Maddox lets his friend go and turns to me. “Damon, come meet two of my best friends from high school. Will”—he points to the one he tackled and then the other guy who’s a redhead—“Jared, this is my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Jared asks.

Will laughs.

“Yes, boyfriend. Like”—he lifts his hands and uses air quotes—“‘boyfriend.’”

“Thought you were serious for a second there,” Jared says.

“Wait, they know?” I ask. That’ll make things easier.

“You can blame these two,” Maddox says. “They’re the ones who gave me the idea.”

“You know, we tried to convince everyone after you left that you were messing around and it wasn’t true. You know what we were told?” Will asks. “That we were being unsupportive bigots.”

“So, who are you really?” Jared asks me.

“You know my friend Stacy,” Maddox says and then his face lights up. “Jared, you really know her. You remember when you came to visit me at school?”

“Oooh, that Stacy,” Jared says with a stupid grin on his face.

My eyes narrow. “You slept with my little sister?”

Jared’s pupils dilate to impossible size. “Oh, shit. Umm, no?”

“I’d love to see my boyfriend beat you senseless,” Maddox says.

“Me too,” Will says.

“Uh, umm … well …”

My glaring makes him uncomfortable? Good.

Maddox pulls on my arm. “Don’t make me tell Stacy you’re going all crazy older brother for her. You know she’ll hate it.”

“Do it and I’ll tell her everyone back home calls you Maddy,” I say.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would.”

“Shit.”

“Well, you’ve got the fake couple banter thing straight. Pun intended,” Will says. He turns on his heel, and we follow him inside the dive bar called Rusty’s. It’s a complete hole in the wall.

Maddox buys the first round, and we pile into a booth with ripped vinyl seats and the weird smell of stale beer.

“So, who else is excited for tomorrow?” Will asks sarcastically.

I snigger and turn to Maddox. “When was the last time you saw Chastity?”

“Please, this shithead hasn’t been back since he was ‘outed,’” Will says.

“Lies,” Maddox says. “I’ve been back.”

“For a day or two here and there. Just enough time for word to spread, and then you rush back to New York,” Jared says.

“Aww, you guys miss me. I understand. Living without my awesomeness must be tough.”

It’s easy to see why Maddox gets along with my sister. They’re both easygoing, sarcastic … and full of themselves.

“Actually,” Jared says, “since you left, the EPA says we have the freshest air in all of the US. Your ego was suffocating.”

Maddox leans back in his seat. “Let’s just say you two are lucky I’m gay this weekend. Otherwise, you’d have no chance of hooking up.”

I almost choke on my beer, and Maddox pats my back as I cough and splutter. When I glare at him, his eyes glimmer in amusement, and it makes him look adorable.

No. Not adorable. Nope. Not even a little bit. Don’t go there, idiot.

“Speaking of hooking up,” Jared says and tips his head toward the door of the bar.

Three girls in tight clothing glance around as they enter, and their eyes zero in on us.

“Looks like one of us misses out,” Will says.

Maddox laughs. “Pretty sure Damon’s okay with that.”

“Oh, so you’re actually …” Jared says. “I thought—uh, never mind. How the hell did Maddox get you to agree to this?”

“He’s bribing me. I’m a sports agent and he’s getting me a meeting with a possible client.”

“Oh, his brother-in-law?” Will asks.

I cock my eyebrow at Maddox, but he changes the subject. Guess the hockey player might be real after all.

“One of them will miss out.” He nods toward the girls who’ve strategically picked a booth in our line of sight. “I’m not looking for a hookup.”

“We’re on it,” Jared says, and he and Will leave us to go talk to the girls.

“You can go over there if you want,” I say. “Wouldn’t be the first time I got ditched by guys looking for pussy. You remember I was part of a baseball team, right?”

“Apart from breaking bro-code, it’s not smart for me to hook up with a girl here. You’re forgetting how small this place is. Driving from my parents’ place to here, you basically saw the whole town.”

“Bro-code?” I ask.

“Bros before hos. You’re here because of me. I’m not gonna ditch you.”

Damn. His asshole level keeps dropping, and I have to remind myself why I’m here in the first place. He lied to his high school girlfriend about being gay, which makes him an ass, plain and simple.

He also has a fine ass.

Damn it. I shouldn’t have checked it out on the way in here, but it was hard not to.

No, Damon. Do not check out your straight, fake boyfriend.

“Want another drink?” Maddox asks.

“Definitely.”

“We can leave if you want. We didn’t have to come out.”