Page 37 of Let's Kiss and Tell

“Girl, maybe because you just told me he’s your fake boyfriend? That he looks likethat?!”

“Yeah, exactly.Fakeboyfriend.” I try to keep up with his steady pace. “Meaning what we do isfake.”

“Like faking an orgasm?”

“Jonah!” I swat his arm. “We’re not going to have sex, thank you very much. We’re just helping each other out.”

“Andbecause you work together,” Jonah adds like he’s reminding me there’s another reason why we can’t have sex.

“Right.”

“Lucy, just be careful,” Jonah says in a way that makes me more irritated than anything.

“Be careful of what?”

“He’s hot…and you work togetherandyou’re pretending to date him? It just all feels really close.”

My stomach sinks. I’ve been pretty excited and proud of what I was able to accomplish, and now Jonah is making me second-guess everything.

“Are you saying you think this is a bad idea?”

“No!” He looks at me. “Look, I’ve seen you do weird shit for the column—like that time you stayed at a convent for a weekend to see how horny nuns really are. This is relatively normal. The idea of being in acommitted relationshipfor a month is the most vanilla thing I think I’ve seen you do. And Marsh seems like a nice guy—”

“But?” I cut in, anticipating where he’s going with this.

“But was it a good idea to choose someone you work with?” he says as we get in line at the coffee shop. “Especially with all these layoff conversations happening?”

Jonah isn’twrong.I see his concern and I thought about it too. Marsh and I are going to be spending a lot of time together. But as long as nobody finds out, I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing.

“I mean, we don’ttechnicallywork together. We write for two different publications,” I say, and Jonah gives me an unimpressed look. “Okay, well even if it was a bad idea, what am I supposed to do?Notbe his date? I already told him I would! That would be so shitty.”

“Did he ask you to be his date?”

“No, he was actually opposed to the idea,” I say. The last thing I want is Jonah thinking Marsh asked me or took advantage of me. “I’m the one who asked him.”

“Of course you did.” Jonah gives me a tired head shake. “I guess he’s not your type anyway.”

I frown. “What’s my type?”

“Not him?” Jonah says as we inch closer in line.

This causes me to pause. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Luce, you and I both know you like bad boys.”

“Bad boys?” I give him an unimpressed look. “What am I? Sixteen?”

“Assholes,” he amends and I wince. “Like Chris.”

“That’s not true!” I say as Jonah orders a coffee and a blueberry oatmeal muffin. I’m too annoyed to order anything.

“Do I need to go through the guys you’ve been out with since I’ve known you?”

“No,” I say a little too loudly and then think about my latest track record. “God, maybe you’re right.”

“And they’re all air between the ears,” he adds.

“Well, this is depressing.” I can’t help but let out a laugh. “Yeah, Marsh is definitely different. He’s like the polar opposite of Chris.”