“I’m working, Kaleb. I’m in the middle of stuff.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re saying you don’t want to ask about what happened just a little bit ago?”
I scoffed. “You mean, you announcing we are dating, when we aren’t? You came here to talk about that?”
He gave me a single nod, and I ground my teeth together. I felt my nostrils flare as I stared at him. “Fine, I’ll bite. Why’d you do it?”
“Mostly to get my father off my back, and it looked like Ryan was bothering you. I could see he was making you uncomfortable.”
“So you thought, let’s lie and say we are dating? You do realize people are going to question that. They are going to expect it to be real. How exactly are you going to explain your way out of that one, Kaleb?”
“Which is where I have a proposition for you. Let’s fake it for a while.”
I started to laugh, a hard, deep in my belly laugh. The man who rejected me just a little over a month ago was asking me to fake a relationship? He had to understand the irony in this.
“You’re not serious,” I said, pulling myself together.
“I am. Apparently, my father is trying to set me up, and I would rather not have that issue. So, if we act like we are together, I can get him off my back.”
“And what makes you think I want to be a part of it?”
“Ryan. I could see how uncomfortable he was making you.”
“That doesn’t mean I need to fake a relationship to get him to leave me alone. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“So, you’re saying he wasn’t bothering you?”
I swallowed, trying to keep my expression calm. I didn’t need him knowing my business.
“Even if that were true, that doesn’t mean I want to fake date the dude that told me just a month ago that my feelings were one-sided.”
Kaleb took a step toward me. “Nora, I…”
I pulled a hand up, stopping him. I couldn’t fake being with him. I knew I would only end up hurt. I had just started to pull myself back together, and here he was trying to screw it up again.
I could handle Ryan. He would eventually grow tired of asking me out, and I just needed to wait it out. I felt bad for him having to deal with his father. I heard plenty about Dale from Jade to know he wasn’t a nice father. But it µwasn’t my problem to solve. Kaleb needed to handle it himself. Lying about us being together wasn’t the answer.
“My answer is no. So, unless you’re here to adopt an animal or you’re going to make a donation, please leave and don’t speak to me again.”
“Nora…”
“Go.” I felt my voice quiver, but I held my head high.
Kaleb stood still for a moment before I watched his shoulders drop slightly. “Alright, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
I watched him turn and step outside. I listened as the bell rang, and I stood frozen until he drove out of the driveway. I felt some tears build up, and I quickly wiped them away. Telling him no was the right answer.
Chapter 4 - Kaleb
I tapped my fingers on the table, still going over the conversation with Nora. I could see the anger in her eyes and how she didn’t want to listen to what I had to say. I didn’t know why I expected her to. She was right. Just a month ago, I was telling her that her feelings were one-sided, and yet now I wanted her to play pretend for me.
She had every right to get mad and demand me too leave. Which meant I needed to think of something else to get my father off my back.
I sighed, and Brandon turned to me. He crossed his arms, giving me an annoyed expression. Asher and Westley both looked away from their phones. “Okay, you’ve sighed like ten times since you sat down. What the hell is your problem?”
“Nothing,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “I’m fine.”
“You look like you have a stick up your ass that you need yanked out,” Asher said with a smug smile.
