Rather than ruminating on it, I shove away the thoughts for as long as I can, which only lasts about twenty minutes, before there’s a knock at my door.
My body tenses, prepared for it to be Camden, when I call out for the person to come in. Yet, I’m pleasantly surprised when I glance up from my sketchpad to find my other roommate, Bailey, standing in the doorway.
“Oh, hey. I didn’t realize you were home from work.”
“Yeah, like ten minutes ago,” he says while closing the door behind him.
Crossing over to my bed, he drops down on the end of it, the mattress dipping beneath his weight. I can feel his gaze on me as I work, but thankfully, he’s not watching my pen move over the paper the way some people try to. He’s looking atme,his dark-brown gaze boring into the side of my head like two laser beams.
“Your thoughts are loud, so you may as well speak them,” I mutter absently.
“It’s just… I heard a funny rumor recently,” he says slowly, drawing a bit of emphasis on the wordrumor.It’s a clear indication on where this conversation is leading, which allows me to play it cool.
“Oh yeah? About what?”
“That you and puck-for-brains are…dating?”
To my credit, my pen doesn’t so much as pause over the paper when I mutter, “News travels fast in this house, I guess.”
“Is it still news if it isn’t true?”
Damnit.
This time my hand does falter over my sketchbook, not expecting him to clock the lie that quickly. But rather than giving it away, I keep my gaze on the paper and double down.
“What makes you say that?”
“One, I’d like to consider myself your best friend. Ergo, the person you’d tell important things to. Like who you’re dating, for instance. Andtwo”—he snatches the pen from my hand, forcing my attention up to him—“I live on the same floor as both of you. If y’all were fucking, I’d be the first one to know about it.”
Both are fair points, though the latter is the nail in the coffin on this entire hairbrained plan. So, while I don’t want to admit it, I find the truth falling from my lips anyway.
“Okay, fine. I lied. Camden and I aren’t dating, seeing each other, fucking, none of it. But youcan’ttell Lexi and Willow.”
“Knew it,” he mutters, a self-satisfied little grin pulling at his lips. “Dare I ask why you told both the girls you were?”
I quickly run through the events leading to what might be the utmost asinine lie I’ve ever told, Bailey’s eyes growing wider and wider as I get deeper into the story. By the time I’ve finished, I’m surprised they’re still in his skull at all, they’re bugging out so much.
“Jesus Christ, man.” He shakes his head, a wry laugh slipping out. “I mean, first of all, you may as well have declared your love for Lexi using airplane contrails by asking her to spend Christmas with you and your family.”
“Oh, fuck off. It wasn’t that bad.”
He hums, giving me one of thoseyou know I’m rightlooks. “Honestly, though? I don’t know if I’m more impressed with your improvisation skills or pissed you didn’t say it was me you were dating.”
I drop my head into my hands and groan. “I know. But you’re straight, I panicked, and he wasrightthere.”
“I can’t believe he went along with it.”
Yeah, I still can’t either, but I’m grateful as hell regardless; he saved me a ton of embarrassment by doing so. Just the thought of him outing my lie in that moment has shivers running down my spine.
“Guess it’s a good thing he’s not one to ask a lot of questions.”
“Uh, he might have saved you in the moment, but I’m sure he’s gonna have a few when he gets home,” Bailey reminds me. “He might be a clown, but I don’t think anyone is that dense.”
Yeah, if the look he gave me as he was leaving is any indication, I’m gonna have some explaining to do. The issue is, there’s no way in hell I can tell him the truth aboutwhyI lied. Not because I think he’ll go straight to Lexi with the information—it’s mostly because I have little trust that the idiot won’t slip up on accident in front of Lexi. Or worse, Willow.
He might be good at following the lead with improvising, but I’ve seen him do and say dumb shit at the worst possible times inthe past. I won’t let this be one of those moments.
Scrubbing my palm over my face, I mutter, “You’re probably right. I’ll make sure to talk to him when he gets back from his tutoring sess—”
