Page 21 of The Fake Out

She groaned. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I think I owe you a beer.”

Our conversation stopped as we got to the counter for the pizza shop, and we ordered slices, which I totally didn’t let her pay for. We stood on the sidewalk eating our slices, as one did on South Street.

Damn, I had missed Philly.

“Okay, so…you thought we could fake date each other to make your ex jealous?” I asked.

She shrugged as she chewed a huge bite. I wiped the grease from her mouth with a napkin, and my lizard brain thought about wiping it off with my tongue. Good god, this woman was hotter than I remembered.

“Come on, V. Do you want me to be your fake boyfriend?” I teased.

“God, what was I thinking? What are you doing here, anyway?”

I pulled down my t-shirt and pointed at the lettering above my heart. “I was trying to see if I could finally get this covered up.”

“I can do it; it’s my specialty,” she said but frowned. “But you don’t have to help me out with the fake dating thing. I’ll tell them we broke up in a couple of weeks.”

“Actually…this might work in my favor, too.”

“How?” she asked.

I sighed and threw out our trash as we walked back to the tattoo parlor. “My family’s very concerned about me since my break up. And…well…”

“Well, what?”

“I haven’t been with anyone since you. My horny brothers think there’s something wrong with me because I don’t want to plow everything in sight. Not like I haven’t gotten offers. The guy hitting on me at the bar last night was pretty hot, but I don’t know…” I ran my hand through my hair.

She squinted at me and cocked her head at my admission.

I blew out a breath when I realized I had to come out to her. I hated that shit. “I’m bi.”

“Oh!”

“Is that a problem for you?” I snapped.

She looked taken aback by the harshness in my voice, but then shook her head. “ Why would I have a problem with who you’re attracted to?”

I sighed. “Sorry. I got a lot of heat when I came out. Hockey’s not exactly LGBT friendly, despite what everyone says. And then there’s the whole fact I’ve never been with a guy, so people who accept it want me to show them a report card of my sexual experiences.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Fuck that! You know you’re attracted to more than one gender, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I’ve known since I was thirteen.”

“Then you’re bisexual, and you don’t need to prove yourself to anyone.”

I blinked back at her.

She shrugged. “I have a lot of bi and pan friends. I’ve heard the shit that gets tossed their way.” She chewed on her lip. “So you want to fake date me to get your family off your back?”

I laughed. “Yeah, I guess.”

She pursed her lips. “Okay…but how’s that gonna work when you live in Toronto?”

“Oh, sweets, you really don’t pay attention to hockey, do you?”

She shook her head from side to side, the tips of her hair swinging back and forth, mesmerizing me.

“V, I got traded to the Bulldogs.”