Dating Makes Perfect - Pintip Dunn Page 0,9

up?”

For one ridiculous second, an image of us, intertwined, flashes through my mind. What the hell? Has my brain gone on strike?

I quash the image with a vengeance. “Don’t call me that. That’s a nickname only my family and friends use. You belong in neither category.” I stalk to the chair where he’s sitting, so close that my tights-covered toes (no holes there, thank goodness) almost touch his socked feet. “The only way I’d change your breathing is to make it end. Forever.”

“Why? For introducing you to the new guy?” He smirks. “For your information, I was trying to help you. He was never going to notice you. I made sure you stood out.”

His words slam into me, forcing me back a step. “I could’ve done that myself.”

“How? You’re not bad-looking. Some might even say”—his eyes flicker down my body—“somewhat attractive. But no one will see it, the way you cower behind your sisters.”

He gets to his feet, making me retreat another step. It’s like we’re partners in a strange dance. No, not a dance, and never partners.

Heat gathers behind my eyes. But I will not let him see me cry. I’d drink the entire jar of jalapeño vinegar first.

“I don’t cower.” I lift my chin. “And you’re a jerk.”

“You don’t cower around me,” he corrects. “And I’m only telling the truth.”

“You’re still a jerk.”

He lifts his shoulders in acquiescence. “A jerk your mama wants you to date.”

I freeze. Chib-peng. She told him already? I thought I had a few hours at least. Enough time to talk Mama out of her choice. To replace him with…anyone, really. It doesn’t even have to be Taran, so long as it’s not Mat.

To give myself time to think, I move to the stove and begin transferring food into plastic containers. “Wow. That was fast, even for Mama,” I finally say.

“I know,” he says. “Remember the time we cut your hair, because you wanted bangs like mine? Your mom found out before we could even get the broom to sweep up the evidence.”

Do I ever. Mat and I weren’t allowed to play together for a week. At the time, it felt like an eternity. Now, a seven-day reprieve of his company would be nothing short of a blessing.

“Let me guess,” I say. “You turned Mama down before she could even finish her request.”

Instead of nodding, he just shrugs.

I stare. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I had no choice.” He approaches the stove and gets to work on the tom yum koong. “You should’ve heard her. ‘Mat, you have to help her,’” he says in a surprisingly good imitation of Mama. “‘You wouldn’t want her to go to college without any relationship skills, would you? She’ll end up alone, with nothing but a bunch of cats for company. And she’s allergic to cats!’”

I sigh, taking the empty pot from him and placing it in the sink. “It’s true. Cats make me sneeze like I’ve inhaled a pepper grinder.”

“I know.” He’s laughing, showing off the straight, white teeth that are the result of three years’ orthodontic work.

But I will not be distracted. “Why are you really doing this? If we have to date, you’ll suffer, too.”

He sobers abruptly. “I’ve been begging Dad to let me backpack through Asia after graduation. I’ve got the trip all mapped out. I’ll start in Thailand, but I also want to go to Vietnam. Indonesia. Singapore. Hong Kong. He’s always refused…until now.”

My jaw drops. “Are you saying—?”

“Yep.” He grins as though he’s eaten an entire plate of sticky rice and mango. “For every day I fake-date you, he’s granting me another day for my trip.” He lowers his face so that it’s inches from mine. “Better get used to these devastating good looks, Winnie. My itinerary is three months long, and I intend to take every. Single. Day.”

Chapter Five

Three months.

How am I supposed to survive three months fake-dating the most obnoxious boy in the entire world?

I begged Mama. Pleaded with her. I even recruited my sisters to the cause, with their quick thinking and their sweet mouths (what Mama likes to call falang who tell you what you want to hear).

But Mama stood firm. Her youngest daughter will practice dating in high school, and the candidate/boyfriend/victim will be Mat Songsomboon.

There’s no crossing Mama when she’s made up her mind. Even Papa’s hard-pressed to sway her, though he has yet to weigh in on the situation. Ultimately, I acquiesced because I want to maintain my role as the good Thai daughter.

“Remind me