I stare at her and nod. “It is going to look very weird.”
“So, do we pretend that it’s happened? No one’s going to believe I left Coconut Beach. And if you say you’ve been back home, your entire family’s going to be mad at you.”
“Then we’re going to have to say that we fell in love chatting on the phone and the computer.”
“Oh my God. I feel like such a loser.”
“Mia, you are not a loser. I will say I came to town a couple of times,” I sigh. “My grandparents and my parents will be upset, but that’s better than us looking like internet geeks.”
“Yeah, you would hate that, Mr. I Program Computer Games for Fun.”
“That was when I was sixteen.”
“Yeah, you still did that for fun.”
“And you played the games and enjoyed them.”
“That’s because I was a good best friend.”
“The very best,” I say. “Anyway, I should get going.”
She wrinkles her nose. I watch as she plays with her long blonde hair. The bangles on her arms clink and clink as she moves her hand back and forth.
“Everyone in my family’s probably talking about me right now, wondering how they didn’t know. Wondering how I kept this a secret.”
“Well, you do have a big mouth.”
“Thank you.”
“What? It’s not like I’m going to tell your parents and your grandparents and your brother—who already looks like he wants to kill me—that you have a big mouth because you like going down on me.”
“Luke Haverbrook. I have never gone down on you.”
“But if you were my girlfriend for real, isn’t that something you would do?”
“We’re putting that in the contract,” she says, laughing. “That is not happening. No way, no how. I don’t care who finds out it’s a lie.”
“Of course not. Just like I’m not going to go down on you.” I start laughing.
“Of course you’re not,” she says, blushing. “I feel weird even having this conversation with you. This is either going to be amazing or it’s going to be the worst decision we’ve ever made in our lives.”
“Let’s stay positive, Mia. It’s going to be amazing. Oh, and, Mia?”
“Yes, Luke?”
“Don’t go to Cocktails & Chaos tonight and get into any trouble.”
“What do you mean?”
“Leave those poor tourists alone.” I hang up to her laughing.
I sit there at my desk and frown. I really don’t want to think about Mia making out with some random tourist—and not just because she’s meant to be my secret girlfriend. I don’t want her lips touching another man. I don’t want her doing anything with anyone else. The thought of her kissing someone else makes me pissed. The thought makes me want to puke, and that’s not something I want to think about too deeply.
There’s a knock on my door, and I rest my phone on the desk.
“Come in,” I say, looking up.
“Hi, Mr. Haverbrook. Johnson would like to speak to you.”
