Page 52 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
RYAN
Ilay in bed with my hands intertwined behind my head. The window was open, and the AC was on. I knew that wasn’t exactly frugal, but it was hot, and I wanted to hear the ocean. The ceiling fan overhead whirred. The gentle breeze it created helped cool me. While I watched the fan spin around and around, I thought about Claire.
Yesterday, it had been another full day with Claire. What started out with us just hanging out for a bit to go snorkeling turned into another all-day event. We finished with dinner and I walked her back to her room. I kept it clean with a single kiss on her cheek. She had seemed disappointed. At least maybe I wanted her to be disappointed. Kissing her had been amazing. I wanted to kiss her again. Hell, I wanted to do a lot more than that.
While we had not made any plans for today, we did part ways with the promise to see each other again today. I was already thinking about what we could do. I was thinking about taking her out on a boat. There was so much to do and see. I wanted to do it all with her. I wanted to see everything with her. She made everything so much better.
I still couldn’t believe we were enjoying one another’s company. My eighteen-year-old self would have laughed at the idea of us becoming friends. I remembered a fight we got into once. I swore from that day on I would never speak to her again. Granted, I had been all of sixteen, but it felt permanent back then.
“I just think you could find a different bathing suit,” I said to Norah.
She turned around and went up on her toes in front of the mirror. “This one makes my ass look good.”
“Your ass always looks good,” I said.
“I like it,” Claire chimed in.
I didn’t even bother looking at her best friend sitting in the other chair in Norah’s room. “She doesn’t have to show off her ass.”
“That suit is modest by today’s standards,” Claire shot back. “Quit acting like a jealous ass.”
“I’m her boyfriend,” I shot back. “I get to be jealous when my girlfriend is wearing three pieces of fabric strung together by ribbon.”
“You are such a prude,” Claire snapped.
“I like it, but Ryan might be right,” Norah said. “My dad would kill me if I wore this to the beach.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness for her dad. Norah had changed the last few months. She wore more makeup and less clothes. I felt her slipping through my fingers and I didn’t know how to stop it. She had new friends, which at first was a welcome change from Claire. I gave her best friend the side eye. She was glaring at me.
“I’m going to try the other new outfit,” Norah said and disappeared into her bathroom.
The moment the door closed, I turned to Claire. “Quit encouraging her to dress like that,” I hissed.
“Shut up. Stop acting so damn insecure. You’re her boyfriend, not her keeper.”
“I’m her boyfriend,” I repeated. “You’re her friend. She cares about my opinion.”
“Your opinion is invalid,” she said. “You’re only here to tell her she looks pretty.”
“What is your problem?” I asked. “Are you jealous?”
“What in the hell would I be jealous about?” she asked.
“Me and Norah spending time together,” I said. “You don’t want me to take time away from you. You’re jealous.”
“Shut. Up. Seriously. Shut up.”
“Why don’t you go get a boyfriend?” I asked her.
She shot me another dirty look. “You don’t know if I do or don’t have a boyfriend. Why don’t you mind your own damn business? You don’t own her.”
“I’m not trying to own her,” I said. “I love her. When you get a boyfriend, you’ll understand.”
“Don’t patronize me.”
The fight was cut short when Norah came back into the room wearing a new outfit. Whenever Claire could, she would shoot me a dirty look. I was seriously considering paying someone to date her just to get her out of my hair. She was always around. Always judging me. I could feel her criticizing every time she looked at me. I was going to do everything in my power to never speak to her again.
I laughed thinking about those moments. We hated each other because we both wanted Norah’s attention. Oddly enough, Norah and I broke up a few weeks after that incident. I had known something was going on. She wasn’t wearing that shit for me. It was for Tony. I didn’t even care anymore. Claire was the woman that dominated my thoughts these days.
