Adrienne and Genevieve look up at me, one with a knowing smile and one with a carefully blank face. After truth or dare, Adrienne was definitely Team Ricardo and Charlotte, but Genevieve hasn’t moved from her position of studied indifference. The fact that I’m lying to them only makes me feel worse.
“Can’t seem to stay away from him, can you?” Genevieve asks, startling me out of my self-flagellation. “Just be careful, okay?”
I nod, thankful that she doesn’t seem to be mad at me for supposedly dating the guy who broke her heart last year. I’m dying to tell both of them it’s all a sham, but Ricardo and I promised each other we wouldn’t tell anyone. We both have a lot to lose if people find out we’re faking it.
“They’re so cute,” Adrienne gushes, coming to my defense. Of course, she would. She and Ricardo are close friends after spending so much time together last semester.
Genevieve’s expression falters, but she doesn’t say whatever’s on the tip of her tongue.
I leave before she changes her mind. I’ll explain it all to her, someday.
First, I go up to the student lounge and make some popcorn. Grabbing Ricardo’s favorite hot sauce out of the cabinet, I trot down the stairs. “Going to see my boyfriend,” I tell the first group of people I meet. Inwardly, I cringe. It’s really none of their business where I’m going, but I have to make this look good.
Whispers feather into the air behind me. By the end of the night, everyone will know where I was tonight. For once, the grapevine is working for me instead of against me.
My fingers brush along the smooth, cold surface of the glass walkway between the dormitory and the academy building. On the other side of the crystal clear panes, the courtyard is mostly dark. In a far corner, something moves in the shadows. A couple availing themselves of the privacy of the courtyard at night. It’s probably freezing out there, but they don’t seem to mind.
I shiver and hurry to the far door. It’s way too cold to be out.
Ricardo’s jaw drops in surprise when I saunter into the security office wearing a cozy sweater dress and bearing hot buttered popcorn and chili sauce. “Popcorn? You shouldn’t have. What do you want?” He hits me with a skeptical smirk.
I look around, never having been in this room before. It’s a small space with a corner desk. On top of it sit three large flat screens showing various angles of the school’s perimeter. Parking lot. Front gate. A narrow shot of the street outside.
The security guard wouldn’t have been able to see the accident from here, but hopefully the cameras caught Gul walking outside. Or even the car that hit Professor Rook. Whoever was driving would have had to make a u-turn near the front gate.
Ricardo is sitting in a black desk chair, hunched in front of the screens, but leans back in his chair as he waits on me, expectant.
I smile sweetly. “What makes you think I want something?”
Ricardo cocks an eyebrow. “You’ve never willingly done anything nice for me in your life. Fess up. What is it?”
I plop down in the vacant chair beside him. “So… I’m pretty sure Gul was the one who made that anonymous 911 call, but when I asked her about it, she threatened to tell everyone you and I are pretending to date.”
Ricardo’s eyebrows fly upward, and an emotion I can’t identify flies across his face. “So all of this, you visiting me tonight, is a show. Got it.”
For some reason, this vexes me. “What else would it be? We are faking it, remember?” As I say it, I realize how harsh it sounds. I should try doing something nice for Ricardo sometime, without strings. Maybe. I’ll think about it.
Footsteps approach down the hall. Someone is about to catch us fighting. Great.
I have to do something. Heart skittering, I fling myself into Ricardo’s lap and wrap my arms around his neck.
Ricardo’s arm comes instinctively around my back, holding me safely in place.
It’s… surprisingly not repulsive.
Officer Morris, the security guard, pops his head in, and his eyes widen when he spots me. Then his gaze flicks to Ricardo. “Using my office to pick up girls, eh? Can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve seen you around, flirting with everything that moves.” He says it like it’s funny.
Ricardo’s mouth flattens.
I tighten my arm around his neck and shoot the security guard a