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“Make it sunflowers, then. They’re my favorite.”

“That sounds like you.”

“In case you weren’t aware,” Lucas says loud enough that Nathan and I both jump. “Sophia isn’t here right now. And neither is Paul. So, you really don’t need to keep the fake flirting up for us.”

“Shhh!” I look around to make sure Dad isn’t lurking in the doorway. “We weren’t fake flirting.”

He and Anthony exchange a knowing look. “Right, sorry. Regular flirting it is.”

My cheeks flame and I take a huge bite of pizza.

Chapter Twenty

For the last ten minutes at lunch on Monday, the boys have been debating Marvel versus DC superheroes, and I never thought a debate I didn’t care about could be so hilarious.

When the bell rings, Hoshiko and I wave goodbye since we don’t have our next class together and I head down the south hall. A hand slides into my own and squeezes. I squeeze back before I think about it and look into Nathan’s green eyes. His hand used to feel strange in mine, but now it feels weird when he’s not holding it. Still, I’m not sure why he’s walking next to me. Nathan and I don’t walk to class together after lunch.

“What’s up?” I look over my shoulder to search for Paul. “Did you see him someplace?”

Nathan shakes his head. “Nope.”

I blink in confusion. If Paul isn’t around, then what’s Nathan doing? I slow at my locker. I need my notebook for English later today, but I also need a moment to settlemyself. Nathan isn’t helping that, though. He lets go of my hand but leans against the locker next to mine, looking so calm and gorgeous that I want to throw myself at him and kiss him until he forgets Sophia’s name.

“Don’t you need to get to class?” I ask, my voice wavering.

“We still have a few minutes. I wanted to talk to you about something I’ve been thinking about.”

“Okay.”

“So, all this fake flirting we do around Sophia and Paul…do you ever feel like it’s hard to keep track of what we’re supposed to be doing and when? I’m getting jumpy tracking Paul in my peripheral vision all the time. He probably thinksIhave a crush on him the way I watch for him.”

My hand freezes as I pull out the notebook. I can predict his next words before he says them. He’s going to suggest we call it off. I’ve been wondering when this might happen.

Nathan shifts a little closer. “Maybe we should…I mean…What if we stopped turning it on and off? What if we just faked it all the time?”

The notebook clatters to the linoleum tile and we both reach for it at the same time. I couldn’t have heard him right. My gaze locks on his as we slowly stand in unison.

“You want to…what?”

He hands the notebook to me, a small smile tipping up his lips now. “It’s like method acting, right? We fall so deep into the roles we’re playing that it doesn’t feel like we’re faking it anymore. And then we don’t need to worry about being caught.”

My mouth grows dry.Fall so deep…Oof, I’m alreadyfalling and I don’t know when I’m going to hit bottom. “Are you serious?”

“It just makes sense. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time until we let our guard down and Paul or Sophia figures out this is all a ploy. As it is, our whole table is one joke away from blowing our cover. What if Paul finds out you actuallydidmake this up? Or Sophia realizes we’re only trying to make her jealous? Neither of us would ever live it down. We need to do whatever we can to sell this.”

My thoughts swirl like a tornado. It’s true that there would be no recovering if either of them found out. But how likely is that to really happen? Even if Sophia or Paul saw us when we weren’t actively flirting, would we really look that suspicious?

At the same time, who am I to argue if this means more time with Nathan? More heated looks, more toe-curling whispers and fingers running through my hair…Maybe I don’t care what his reasoning is. Maybe I shouldn’t fight him or quit my job at the store.

Or maybe I need to fight with everything I have before I get so lost in this deception that I can’t find my way out. I can’t decide if this is the best idea in the world or if it’s only going to lead to my demise.

“What about Sophia?” I ask to buy time. “Won’t we put her off if she sees us together too much?”

“I don’t think so. If she starts to hint at that, then we can pull back. But I think she likes the competition. She likes to win.”

My body seizes at the idea.

“What?” he asks.