The Truth About Faking

all were when it came out her dad had been sleeping with his secretary for three years. How it devastated her mom, turning her into a self-help addict. I notice Jason’s still holding my hand. Our fingers are laced, and it feels really comforting. Just then Shelly runs up and pulls me away.
    “Come with me,” she orders.
    She drags me to the bathroom, and as we go in, I notice Trent walking up to Jason. I wonder what they’ll say to each other. I’m sure Jason’ll help me with my plan, but for a split-second, I’m not sure how I feel about that.
    “First, assertiveness training—pass! I am so becoming a life coach.”
    “What?” I’m confused.
    “All that between you and super hottie.” She looks at me, smiling. “Nice work.”
    “Oh.” I cross my arms and lean against the sink. “That wasn’t anything. I mean, he’s my date, but that’s all.”
    “You are so lying.” She looks in the mirror and starts pinching her cheeks. “You two were totally into each other on the dance floor just now.”
    “We were not,” I say, feeling embarrassed. “We were just talking.”
    “About what? It looked way intense.”
    “My mom?”
    “Oh, shit! That’s the other thing!” Her eyes are shining. “What’s all this about your mom and half-naked Ricky? I heard Mom talking to Ms. Jackson after their divorce survivors support group. Sounds like somebody got an eye-full.”
    “Oh my god! Did she also mention I was there? And that Ricky wasn’t naked? He had this mole on his butt, and he thought it was skin cancer.” I cringe internally at how stupid that sounds.
    Shelly giggles and smoothes my arm. “Calm down. You know Mom wouldn’t believe anything bad about your mom. Even if he is crazy-hot. Did you get to see his thing? Is it… you know.” Her eyebrows go up, and I think I might barf.
    “I don’t know! And I couldn’t know because he wasn’t naked. He had on a towel.”
    She does a little shiver and turns to the mirror again. “You are so lucky. It’s so unfair.”
    “Nothing happened,” I say. “Some women are just stupid.”
    She slants her eyes at me and then pulls out her lip gloss. “Well, Trent’s about as fun as a pet rock.”
    My eyes fly to hers. “What happened?”
    “Not a thing,” she sighs. “I’ve been working so hard to get him to talk about anything, I’m absolutely exhausted.”
    “Define anything.” I study her face. “Kool-aid stripes verses feather extensions? Is fringe too Boho? Is Boho even still in?”
    “Hardly. I could talk to myself about those things and be happy.” I watch her flick her bangs to the side. “Nope, I’ve tried sports, Shadow Falls, college… you name it.”
    “And what did he say?” I’m dying to know.
    “That’s just it! Nothing. He’s all yep, nope and silence.”
    “But he’s so sweet, and those eyes…” I look back at the mirror and think of the hydrangea blooms I saw earlier. “You’re probably just overwhelming him.”
    “Thanks.”
    “I’m just saying. You’ve got a big personality. He might not—”
    “Be able to get a word in?”
    I bite my lip and try to cover. “That’s not what I was going to say!”
    “Yes, it was.”
    “I was going to say he might not know what to say.” The truth is Shelly’s right. I was going to say get a word in . But Trent is so perfect, he would never be rude to Shelly.
    “Well, if you’ve moved on to Jason, maybe I’ll try for an extra-hot make-out session,” she says, glancing at me and gauging my response. “Anything to save this lame date.”
    I smile at her and try to hide my alarm. Now she’s excited again. “Maybe he’ll try something. I wonder if he has a move.”
    “What?”
    “Maybe he’s hiding a freaky side. He seems awfully tame, but I’ve been surprised before.”
    “Let’s get back to the dance.” I cannot think of Shelly getting freaky with Trent.
    “OK,” she says, and we both spot Jason at the same time. “But if you toss that one back, he’s mine.” Again she’s watching my response.
    “Sure,” I say, with a small laugh. In two weeks, she can have Jason. But I can’t let her know we’re planning it.
     
    Driving home, Jason’s already organizing our next fake-out.
    “I’m thinking we should hit the movies tomorrow night,” he says. “What do you want to see?”
    “I don’t care,” I say, staring out the window. Try as I might, I can’t help but wonder if Shelly’s out there making moves with my