Olivia told them the whole story. About how he’d wanted to keep their relationship a secret at work. The photo shoot. Tony being an ass. Jake doing nothing. How Jake hadn’t seen that as a problem. The ensuing argument in the hall. Someone went into Nadia’s fridge and brought back the emergency cookie dough and passed it around. She couldn’t eat, though.
Jade was the first to speak. “If Rosie brings her Dokoro club, I’ll bring the shovel.”
“He’s not worth the jail time.” Mia scooped out some cookie dough and passed the tub to Rosie.
“And none of us have bail money.” Rosie passed the tub on to Jade.
“Guys, I appreciate it, but I don’t actually want to hurt him.”
“No, butIdo.” Jade offered her the tub of dough, but Olivia declined, passing it to Nadia.
“I think you’re better off without him. Clearly he’s a poser.” Nadia put the tub on the coffee table and crossed her arms.
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged, pushing her glasses up her nose. “I bet he just pretended to be a geek so he could get in your pants. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who Sailor Moon is, or to find a tuxedo and a mask. Sure, he played the long con, but he sounds like a fake geek guy.”
“Nadia!” Olivia hissed, and her tears dried up. Calling Jake a fake geek was ludicrous. “How can you say that when all of us have been accused of the same thing at one point or another?” She stared at her friend like she didn’t know her anymore. “Saying that makes you no better than the assholes on theStar Warsforums that Rosie’s dealt with. Or the jerks Mia puts up with onHaloand CoD.”
They’d all heard it at one point or another.
Fake geek girl.
If you’re a real fan, tell us who choreographed the lightsaber scenes inA New Hope?
Get off the battlefield and let the men fight.
You’re a girl? Make me a sandwich, woman.
“I could tell you if it was fake interest and itwasn’t.” Silence wrapped around them. All they could hear was the faint sound of cars driving past on the highway behind the building. No one spoke for the longest time.
Olivia’s heart grew heavier as she recalled their late-night pillow talk sessions, when Jake was more likely to open up. How when he asked his mom where his dad was, his mom introduced him to superheroes. How he’d shut the curtains when he watchedSailor Moonso the neighborhood boys wouldn’t tease him. Asking his mom to let him dress as Goku fromDragon Ballfor Halloween. While he may not be a fake geek, he certainly wasn’t worth fighting her best friends.
Nadia broke the silence. “You still care about him, huh?” Empathetic green eyes gazed down on her, so close to the color of Jake’s that she had to look away.
“It doesn’t matter anymore.”
The second Friday without Olivia had rolled around. The Dragons had played their hardest last weekend, but Jake hadn’t been able to get his head in the game, so he’d had to lean on Marie. They’d lost their winning streak. The kids’ questions about Olivia’s whereabouts played on repeat in his head. God, he missed her. He’d give anything to hear her laugh again. Hell, he’d even take her yelling at him at this point. Anything was better than her silence.
He couldn’t bear the thought of going home to an empty condo. That’s what led him to text Caleb, asking if he was available to play someMadden.And why he was now waiting outside his friend’s apartment over Gray & Son Custom Motorcycles, Caleb’s dad’s shop, with a cold six pack of beer. He needed this.
At his knock, the door opened to reveal his long-time friend. They’d been friends since middle school, when Caleb had jumped in when some older bullies had intended to ambush Jake. Best friends to the end since that first bloody nose. They made quite the pair; clean-cut Jake and his tatted-up brother from another mother. Caleb waved him in with a pat on the back.
“Ready to get your ass handed to you?” Caleb asked.
“Don’t get cocky, asshole—we’re playingmygame.”
“You’re not the only one who can study football stats. And you haven’t been around, whileI’vebeen practicing.” Caleb tossed him a controller, plunked two beers down on his coffee table, then took the rest to the fridge. “You want your usual team?”
“Yep.” Jake always took Green Bay, and Caleb played New Orleans.
Concentrating on the screen was harder than he’d thought it would be. His thoughts flickered to the first game he’d seen Olivia in the stands, wearing his team color, the same green as the Packers. The sun had shone down on her hair, the golden color glowing like an angel’s halo. He played the game on auto-pilot. Caleb kept giving him sideways looks.
“What’s got you all tied up? You haven’t been around for weeks, and now you’re sullen. That’smyjob.” Caleb took a swig of his beer. “What gives?”
Jake pressed his lips together. “I was seeing someone.”
“No shit?” Caleb’s eyebrows had disappeared into his shaggy dark hair, then came back down into a scowl. “What happened?”
