Fake It 'Til You Break It

I turn back to Alex. “Ten minutes?”

He smiles. “I’ll wait by the lobby.”

“Awesome.”

I shut the door behind me and all four of them stare with wide eyes.

“What?”

“What’d he want?” It’s Trent who asks.

“To see when we’re going to breakfast, why?”

He shrugs, then turns and walks out while the girls giggle lightly.

“Damn, Demi. Pulling two in one weekend?” Krista grins.

“It’s breakfast.”

“And last night’s dessert was Nico. Or was it you who was dessert?” Macy teases.

“Cute.” I flip her off. “Can we get dressed now?”

They hop up and within a solid twenty all of us are headed to our last breakfast before we go home and back to school tomorrow.

Alex sits by me but spends most of his time talking to the people around us until we’re about done and people begin taking pictures.

He turns to me with a smile. “So are you heading back with Krista?”

“Yeah, the four of us drove in together.”

“Well if you want, you can ride with me. I drove myself.” He grins.

“You sure you can handle me for a whole two hours?”

“I can manage.”

I smile, looking to my drink as I pick it up, something about a ‘yes’ tasting sour on my tongue. “I’ll talk to the girls about it. This is kind of our trip, so I don’t want to upset anyone.”

“Didn’t you ditch them last night to spend it with Sykes?”

My muscles lock and my eyes fly to his.

Well, that was bold and delivered a little gruffly.

“I didn’t ditch them, I ...”

I sort of ditched them, but little does he know the girls would have carried me and dropped me inside with Nico if I tried to turn him down to hang with them, they’re awesome like that.

I don’t say this to Alex.

He gives a tight grin. “I wasn’t trying to give you a hard time.”

“No, you’re fine. I guess, in a way, you can say I did.” Not really.

“So you hung out with Nico last night?” he probes.

I take a deep breath, looking away a moment.

What is he doing?

He saw us go into my room, so why question me at all?

And why am I hesitating on answering?

The sole purpose was for him to think I was with Nico, right?

Right.

Still, all I give him is a side smile and small shrug.

Alex eyes me, his lip tipping up. “Ah, come on. Let me know if I have a shot here.”

My eyes shoot wide and he chuckles, but then someone at the end shouts his name, gaining his attention the rest of the time.

Once everyone is done, we all exit together, us girls hanging back to wait for Krista as she and her parents thank the restaurant staff for having us.

I walk a few feet out to look over the water, and Trent approaches with his hands in his pockets.

“Nico, huh?”

I cut my eyes his way, but I don’t say anything.

“Weren’t you just telling me he hated you?”

“Weren’t you just telling me he didn’t?”

“Yeah.” A low chuckle leaves him. “I’ve been telling you that for a long time, Dem.”

We’re both quiet a moment before he sighs, and I know what he’s thinking, but neither of us says it out loud.

This is – maybe was is the right word – only temporary, so no need to consider long term issues.

Instead of speaking his mind, Trent asks, “Are you really riding back with Alex?”

I nod, smashing my lips together. “I might.”

“You know, him and Nico have... problems.”

“They play the same positions, so it makes sense they compete with each other.”

Trent scoffs, shaking his head and looks away as if there’s more to it.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he says. “I thought you and Nico were having fun this weekend is all.”

I frown.

Never thought I’d agree to such a statement, but I did have fun. “He’s not as heartless as I’ve known him to be.”

“Why are you leaving with Alex, then?”

I shake my head. “It’s just a ride home, Trent.”

“Right.” He nods, turning when Krista’s voice floats from the doors. “I think you should ride with Krista and the girls.”

“If this is about having your friend’s back, I can promise you Nico wouldn’t care about me going with Alex.”

Trent catches my eyes, a serious look in his I don’t see much, and his words are just as pointed. “I can promise you he would.”

With that, he walks off, picking up Krista when she reaches him and spinning her around.

Trent has no idea how wrong he is.

This was Nico’s plan, not mine. He’d be fine with it, I’m sure.

Alex laughs a few feet out and my eyes pull his way.

He happens to look over at the same time and lifts his hand in a small wave.

Yeah, I’m riding with him.

We make our way to the beach and walk around a bit before heading back to our rooms to pack up.

Twenty minutes later, I’m ready to go, but Alex isn’t at my door yet, so I decide to slip into Nico’s room and peek around since he’s gone.