“Trust me, I don’t.”
He studied me for a second, and the joking tone softened. “You really hate this, huh?”
“Gee, what gave it away? The way I keep saying I hate it?”
He ignored the sarcasm. “It’s just a rumor, Lilah. People will get over it.”
“No, they won’t. Not when there’s a photo. Not when our brothers are famous. It’s like—like gasoline on a fire. Everyone thinks we’re the side story in their celebrity gossip feed.”
He was quiet for a beat. “Okay, yeah. That’s fair.”
I sank down onto an overturned crate, exhaling hard. “This is exactly why I don’t date. People already treat me like I’m someextension of my brother’s brand. The last thing I need is to be half of a hashtag couple.”
Tino crouched across from me, elbows resting on his knees. “So what are you gonna do? Keep denying it until everyone gets bored?”
“That’s the plan.”
He nodded slowly. “How’s that working out so far?”
I gave him a withering look. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Not enjoying,” he said carefully. “But I’m trying to help.”
“You’re thereasonI need help.”
He smiled slightly. “Then let me make it up to you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I have an idea.”
“Again: I don’t like the sound of that.”
He hesitated, which was rare for Tino. Usually, he just said whatever popped into his head. “What if,” he started, “we just… go along with it?”
I blinked. “Go along with it? As in… pretend to date?”
He nodded. “For a little while. Everyone already thinks it’s true. If we act like we’re together, it’ll stop being gossip. It’ll just be old news.”
I laughed. “You think pretending to date you will make people lose interest?”
“It’ll be less interesting than you denying it every five minutes.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but the worst part was—he wasn’t entirely wrong. Every time I told someone it wasn’t true today, it was only met with nudges and winks and “don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody.” They all found it fun, like they were in on the secret. Would it be nearly as exciting if it was all just confirmed as the truth instead?
“Think about it,” he said, warming up to his own insanity. “We fake date for a few weeks, let the rumour burn out, then we ‘break up.’ You get your peace and quiet back. I get…” He paused, smiling. “Quality time with my favorite girl.”
“You’re enjoying this way too much,” I muttered. I smoothed down my plaid skirt just for something to do, but my mind was racing with the possibilities. Tino, of course, had a bias here. He’d been wanting to date me for years and now the opportunity was falling directly into his lap, even if it likely wasn’t exactly how he’d imagined it happening—what with the whole faking it part. But like he said, it meant he would get to spend a lot more time with me. Not to mention all the other parts of a relationship that I didn’t even want to think about right now.
But maybe it would be easier.
He leaned closer. “I’m just saying, it could work.”
“This is ridiculous,” I muttered.
“Maybe. But so is everything else about the past few days.”
I stared at the scuffed tile of the floor and listened to the hum of the school heating system, letting it fill the silence between us. Tino had clearly said his piece and was now waiting for me to come to my decision.
