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“He’s got a point,” Jack says, pointing to Spencer. “If you’re trying to get your mom off your back, why not go out with that girl? It sounds like you had some kind of connection.”

Why not? Probably because rejection hurts anyway it comes, and I’d rather not be the fool twice. Tanya’s brush-off still stabs at me every once in a while and I’m already seven months out.

“I don’t know, guys.” I try to think of another topic of conversation. Maybe being with someone isn’t in the cards for me.

“You could always find a girl and fake date.” Spencer and I turn to Jack. He’s officially lost his mind.

“Why would anyone fake date?” Spencer says, standing up to go get a drink from the small refrigerator. There’s action out on the ice and I see Trey skating away from the opposing team for a break away.

“Come on, Trey!” we all yell. He takes a shot, but it hits the left post. The puck ricochets off and heads away from the goal.

“People fake date all the time. Haven’t you seen any movies with that as a plot?” Jack asks. Spencer and I glance at each other and then back at Jack, surprised by his admission.

I shake my head. “No, I haven’t. And even if it’s in a movie, that doesn’t mean real people negotiate this every day. I’m already having a hard time keeping a real relationship going. What good would a fake one be?”

“Because you’re a celebrity, man,” Jack says. “Sometimes it’s nice to have someone on your arm to get through all those crappy events you have to go to.”

I lean back, taking in his expression. “You’ve done it, haven’t you? You’ve fake dated.”

He shrugs. “Yeah, when I was younger. It was easier to keep pretending I was with Ashley Lewis than admit we broke up. And neither of us was interested in dating other people at the time.”

Spencer’s jaw nearly hits the floor. “You didn’t tell us about that.”

“I didn’t meet you all until we’d officially broken up, from fake dating as well.” Jack and I had been assigned roommates freshman year at BU and then roommates every year after. Even with that history, I’m still surprised he hasn’t talked about this before.

I shake my head. “There’s no way I can fake date anyone. I don’t have someone who I’ve been friends with forever who’d do that for me.”

Jack grins, and I usually regret whatever he says after that appears. “You don’t have to have been childhood friends forever to fake date. Catch up with the times, boys. It’s called Dating Apps. They are the magic wand to fix all your needs.”

“No way,” I say. “Not a chance. If a woman joins a dating app, it usually means she wants to have something come of the relationship. Like wedding bells.”

“Wifey status,” Spencer says, chuckling.

And after all that happened between me and Tanya, I’m not sure I ever want to go down that road again.

“You have to think logically,” Jack continues. “Sure, there are plenty who want a ring on their finger, but there are a lot who’ve been hurt just like we have. So why not use the truth to explain all that?”

I laugh, shaking my head. “You? Truthful to women? That would be a first.”

Jack raises his hands in defense. “Hear me out. I’ve never lied to a woman about anything, I’ve just omitted certain things from our conversations.”

“Also known as a lie of omission,” I say, raising an eyebrow.

“Whatever, Señor Perfect. I’m just saying this could be a possibility.” Jack opens his phone and starts tapping away. I get lost in the hockey game before his questions begin.

“What is your favorite movie?”

I turn to him, scrunching my nose. “I’ve told you a million times that James Bond is the ultimate series.”

“Which actor though?” Spencer asks, pausing with a forkful of pulled pork in front of his face. The food from here is usually amazing, but I’m not feeling barbecue at the moment.

I grin. “Daniel Craig for sure. And that last release was epic.”

Jack waves a hand in the air and says, “Hold on there, Miles. You’re starting to sound like a wannabe eighteen-year-old again.”

I shake my head. “There isn’t a better word for it. All the storylines combine to perfectly tie off all the ends. It was better than I could’ve imagined.”

“The guy died,” Spencer says, acting as though I’m a horrible person for that.