Page 85 of Heartstring

“Fine. As for the problem at hand, I suggest you two play along with it. Go out there and show the world you’re in a relationship. From the photos I’ve seen online, it won’t be a hard task.”

“Photos?” I ask in a high pitch.

“I’m sending Mik some links.”

Mik’s phone buzzes. I lean closer as he clicks the links, and photos of us appear one by one. Us at the park when I was walking Stan. Mik with his hand on my face. It looks so intimate. There are several of Mik entering and leaving my house.

“You got them?” Daisy asks.

“Yeah.”

“How come there’s none of Mik’s place?” I ask.

“My view is that they wanted to make sure they had a story before they pounced. In a small place like Stillwater, they would have stood out if they’d followed Mik. This means it’s too risky for him to go home.”

I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “This is a clusterfuck.”

“Maybe not,” Daisy says. “This could be great publicity for the soup kitchen.”

I still. “You know about the soup kitchen?”

She laughs. “I make it my business to know about your business, my dear.”

“Apparently not everything,” Mik says.

“Yeah, I missed your connection. How do you two know each other, anyway?”

“It’s a long story that started when we were twelve,” I say.

Mik holds my hand, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

“Oh my goodness. Star-crossed childhood lovers meet again after all these years to realize they were always meant to be together.” She sighs.

I roll my eyes again.

“Stop doing it, Tyler. I can feel you doing it.”

I stare at my phone to check if I accidentally pressed the video-call button when I answered.

“Okay, boys. I have to go, so for now, hunker down. Get busy making out, having great rock-star sex, or whatever the hell you’re into. I’ll call you later with a more detailed plan. Mik, call Kay. Tyler, call Seymour. He’s blowing up my phone with messages.”

She disconnects the call.

We both let out a long, strained sigh.

“What do we do?” I ask.

He shrugs. “What she said. Call the people we need to call, and then I suggest we go upstairs and have great rock-star sex because I have a feeling we’re in for a wild ride, and it could be a while until we have some privacy.”

I pull him closer until my lips hover over his. “Well, when you put it that way…”

27

MIK

NOW

The restof the day is a whirlwind of phone calls and damage control. I manage to speak to Kay after calling the school principal directly to explain what’s happening.