The Truth About Faking (6 page)

“
I was probably going like 45 miles per hour when I looked up and realized you weren’t moving. If I hadn’t hit the brakes as hard as I could, I’dve probably knocked you into oncoming traffic.”

“
That’s comforting.” Now I wish my seatbelt had a shoulder strap.

“
Yeah, it could’ve been bad.”

I can tell he’s embarrassed, and I look out the open window trying to think of a way to ease the sudden awkwardness in the car.

“
It would’ve been Bender in the traffic, not me.”

“
Yeah, who is that guy? Ex-Marine?”

“
How’d you guess?”

“
I could tell by the hair and the super-starched clothes,” he says. “We have a lot of those where I’m from.”

We’re almost at my house when I realize Mom might see me getting out of this strange car and with some strange guy.

“
Maybe we should stop here,” I say, reaching for my bag.

“
Why?”

“
Well, talking to Shelly today, I realized I hadn’t thought through why we were dating all of a sudden.”

“
After all your efforts with Trent?” He grins at me, and I glance up at his smile, the wind pushing his golden brown hair in his face. Maybe I should go with Shelly’s assumption and let everyone think I decided Jason was cuter. Everyone who doesn’t know me, that is. No, my mind never changes that fast.

“
And my parents don’t know you, so I’m sure they’ll ask a bunch of questions.” I pull my bag onto my lap. “I don’t like lying to them.”

“
What about Friday?”

“
Friday?”

“
The luau? I’m your date.”

“
Oh, right. I guess you’re right. Nevermind, then.”

He keeps driving and stops in front of my house.

“
Thanks for the ride,” I say, hesitating before I climb out. “Hey, I was just wondering. Why did you move here anyway?”

He pauses for a moment. “Well, Dad’s from Glennville…” Then he glances down and his voice grows quieter. “After Mom died, he wanted to get closer to home.”

For a moment I don’t know what to say. That is not that answer I expected. “I’m… sorry.”

He smiles back at me, but this time there’s less sunshine. “S’okay,” he shrugs. “She had cancer, so we had a lot of time to prepare for it. Say our good-byes and all.”

“
Still… I guess…” As I struggle for the right words, I imagine losing Pocahontas and my chest gets tight. “That must’ve been hard.”

“
Yeah. It’s been fifteen months, but Dad and I are bouncing back.” Jason tries another smile, but I’m still not convinced.

I pull the handle to get out. The door creaks and makes that popping sound again. There’s no way I’m hiding this one.

“
Tomorrow morning, then?” he asks.

“
Sure.” I smile back, feeling a little softer toward him. He really is easy to talk to.

“
Bye, Jas.”

“
Bye, H.D.”

I’m still thinking about what Jason told me when I open the front door and step inside. But when I look up, a scream flies out of my mouth. Mr.
Men’s Health
is standing in the middle of our kitchen wearing nothing but a towel!

“
Umm…” Ricky kind of laughs, then he says loudly, “Hey, Harley!”

Mom comes breezing into the room reading the label on a small pot of cream. “Here, see if this’ll…” She freezes when she sees me. I haven’t moved from my spot inside the door. My eyes are huge and my mouth is still open.

“
You’re home,” she’s smiling, but her voice is too high. “How was school?”

Then she glances at half-naked Ricky and does a little laugh.

“
Why is he naked?” I whisper-shriek.

“
No, honey, see,” Mom’s hand goes to her forehead and she rubs. I watch her long dark ponytail swing behind her. “Ricky had this mole on his glute he needed me to look at it, and it
did
look suspicious. So I offered to check the rest of his back. Just a quick visual screening—”

“
You’re not a dermatologist!” My voice is a high-pitched squeal, and my horrified eyes go back to Ricky on full display except for that little white towel. The light from our kitchen window highlights every line on his sculpted body.

“
Well, no, but I know a suspicious mole when I see one,” Mom says. “Skin cancer is very serious, Harley, and those tanning beds accelerate the growth—”

Ricky interrupts in an amused tone. “I’m not
naked
.”

I see his hand loosen on the towel, and I shriek again. “I don’t want to see!”

Just then the door behind me opens. “Knock, knock!” a female voice sings out.

All three of us jump around to see a middle-aged woman in tight black pants and a low-cut top walking in carrying a slim plastic bottle. It’s Trent’s mom. I recognize her at once, even though I’ve only seen her at church.

“
I got your message, and I figured I’d just come on by and… Oh, my!” Ms. Jackson looks up and stops. Her mouth drops open at the sight of Ricky in the kitchen. I literally can
not
breathe. Mom steps forward and takes her arm.

“
Sandra! I’m so glad you came by,” Mom says, trying to pull her into the living room. Ms. Jackson doesn’t budge.

“
You are?” she sounds surprised. Her eyes are glued to Ricky’s bod.

“
Ricky was just changing,” Mom continues as if it’s the most natural thing in the world for him to be standing around our house half naked. Like we live in the Playgirl mansion or something. “He’ll be taking over your appointments for me… for now.”

“
He will?” Ms. Jackson looks like she might faint, and then a gleam enters her eyes. I grab my backpack and head to my room as Ricky slips into Mom’s office and closes the door.

I don’t even want to know what Trent’s mom is thinking right now. Or who she’s planning to tell the second she gets home.

After about an hour, when it’s finally quiet again out front, I slip into the kitchen. I’m starving, and I’m hoping they’re all gone. Mom’s nowhere to be seen, but as usual, there’s Ricky. At least now he’s fully clothed and packing his gym bag to leave. I have no desire to speak to him. I can’t believe Mom fell for such a lame stunt. Skin cancer on his glute. How obvious.

He looks up when I walk in the room. “I saw when you got home from school,” he says with a smile. “Who was that in the monster mobile?”

I bite my lip, determined to ignore him, but he just keeps on talking.

“
He drives a Gremlin?” Ricky shakes his head. “Throw that one back.”

“
He’s not so bad.”

“
Was that Trent what’s his face? Somehow I expected him to drive something… a little newer.”

“
No, that was Jason James. He asked me to the luau.” I reach up and start pulling the French braid out of my hair. It’s giving me a headache, and my neck is still stiff.

“
Look at that.” He walks over and starts combing the knots out of my hair again with his fingers. “Corn silk.”

“
Stop,” I say, pulling away and going around the bar.

He goes back to packing, and I watch him place a few of Mom’s all-natural bath products in his bag along with that little pot she was carrying when I walked in. “So what happened to Trent?” he says. “I thought all this was to land him.”

“
How’d you know about that?” I pull a bag of seaweed chips out of the cabinet and scan the label. I don’t know why Mom can’t just buy Doritos.

“
Eavesdropping,” Ricky glances up with a smile.

“
Mom would not approve,” I say. “She might even deduct points.”

“
Which is why we won’t tell her.”

“
Where is she?” I look around. I’m hoping she’ll apologize for embarrassing the crap out of me and for being so gullible. But secretly, after Jason’s story, I really just want to give her a hug or something.

“
In there with Dr. Hamilton,” he says. “Lower back issues.”

I’ve gotten used to the real doctors coming to my mom for massage and herbal remedies. They’re all good friends, and she has a way of smoothing over any differences of opinion between the two approaches to treatment. I chalk it up to her honey voice.

“
So why are you going to the luau with J.J.?” Ricky asks, like it’s his business. “What happened to Trent?”

I tear open the bag and look at the papery green chips, frowning. “Trent asked Shelly.”

“
The silly redhead?” Ricky looks appalled. “He must need a little sexual healing.”

“
He does not.” Now I’m officially ill.

“
I don’t know,” he continues. “That girl is easy with a capital
Z
.”

“
How would you know?”

“
Are you kidding? She was all up in my business last time she was over here. I know a party girl when I can’t get away from one.”

“
Well, she’s not easy. She just had a shock last summer, and she’s sort of… going through a phase or something.”

“
Mm hm.” His eyes narrow. “I hope her phase uses protection.”

“
Would you shut up?” I slam the cabinet. “They’re not doing anything.”
They’d better not do anything
.

“
Okay, okay,” he laughs as I head for my room. “Come on, Harley,” he calls after me.

I go to my bedroom and slam the door. I’m sure Mom’s going to say something later about the noise level when she has a client in the house, but I don’t care. I flop on my bed. Everything is screwed up, and now I have to go through with this stupid fake-dating plan. I kick a pillow. I wish Dad would walk in on Ricky some time instead of stupid Trent’s mom, who’s probably telling everyone in Shadow Falls right now. I wish Mom would think about how things look and get a new student. I wish I was going to the luau with Trent. I close my eyes and see his model-perfect face. Those lavender eyes… I try to imagine kissing him, but all I can see is Shelly beating me to it.

Four

I spend the week tense, riding to and from school with Jason in his crap-mobile, and waiting for the news to break about my mom and her silly, half-naked student. But it never happens. Friday arrives, and the rumor-mill remains strangely silent.

Jason isn’t such a bad fake boyfriend. I mean, we have good conversations, and he dresses well when he wants. Most of the cheer squad has their eyes on him, and I’ve even caught Trent checking us out in the parking lot a few times. I always smile and wave at him, and he usually gives me sad little smile back. I know it’s because we were so close to being together, and then I imagine us holding hands, me smiling up at him, maybe he kisses my nose, slides his arm around my waist… A little shimmer moves through my middle, and my chest rises.

“…
at seven?” Jason asks.

“
Huh?” Lost in my daydream, I hadn’t even realized Jason’d been talking to me.

“
Seven o’clock? I’m picking you up tonight?”

“
Oh, right. Better make it six-thirty. My parents’ll want to meet you.”

“
Your mom’s been talking to my dad all week, so she’ll have an idea who I am,” he argues.

“
What?” I’m totally confused. “Why has my mom been talking to your dad?”

“
The accident? She called my dad, and they’ve been working out payment for the repairs and stuff. Dad doesn’t want to go through our insurance.”

“
I guess that’s why you drive these old heaps,” I say, patting the door.

“
You know, you fix up a classic, and it can be worth twice what it originally sold for.”

“
So four dollars instead of two?” I smile.

“
More like four thousand,” he says.

“
Ooo,” I pretend to be impressed. “Yeah, so six-thirty, and remember it’s a luau.”

“
What does that mean? For guys, I mean.”

“
Grass skirt, nothing else, of course.”

Jason laughs. “Didn’t know you’d go there, H.D.”

“
I don’t make the rules.” I shrug.

“
OK, so grass skirt for the guys. What does that mean for the girls?”

“
Oh, lots of things,” I sniff, pushing my hair back. “Wrap skirts, blouses, halter tops, leis…”

“
That doesn’t seem fair.” He grins like always as he watches me, and I have to confess, I kind of like it.

“
Again, you’ll have to take it up with the Hawaiians,” I say, turning off to class.

Mom braids my hair for the luau, this time with two braids on each side just at the top, and I fluff out the rest, very
Vogue
. She’s finishing up when I hear the doorbell and see Dad walking over to greet my… I guess this is a real date. But the only one. Dad opens the door, and I yelp. Jason’s standing there in what looks like only a grass skirt. Another half-dressed male!

“
Uh…” Dad seems confused. “You must be…”

“
Jason, sir,” he grins, walking into the room. I’m afraid to look, but at the same time, I can’t turn away. Jason’s standing there shirtless in a long grass skirt with a lei around his head. He actually looks kind of hot.

“
That’s some get-up,” Dad says. “Anything under there?”

“
Yes sir,” Jason moves the grass to reveal khaki shorts. I didn’t see them in the darkness of the porch. “I have this, too.”

He pulls out a Hawaiian shirt and slips it over his bare chest. I feel myself start to breathe again. It’s not such a bad-looking chest he’s covering up, actually. Strictly as an observation, of course.