Foolish Games: A Brothers Best Friend Fake Dating Romance

fifteen

#1 at the Box Office: Flubber

Vivienne Delacroix

“Did you bring the Corvette?” Sebastian asks, throwing an arm around me as we leave the game together. Like a dutiful girlfriend, I showed up to watch him play in temperatures that have been hovering in the twenties since December came in hard a few days ago. At least this week doesn’t include rain. I cheered for him louder than anyone and even let Lola paint a number seven on each cheek in support. Faulkner High won in overtime and is headed to the playoffs, and everyone’s happy as they rush for their cars to get to the afterparties, or linger in the parking lot, making plans to hang out longer.

“I did,” I say, smiling up at him. The collective high of the crowd was infectious, and I’m not ready for the night to end, either. The only thing better than the elation I’m feeling right now is driving fast on an open road. “Want to take my car?”

“Hell yeah, I do,” he says.

“Where to?” I ask, unlocking the doors.

“Let’s go to the quarry.”

“Really?” I ask, sliding in behind the wheel and turning on the engine so I can crank the heat. “Rob said the party was at Howie Beckett’s.”

I don’t know the Becketts that well, since their son graduated before I started high school, but they’re a founding family. I’ve been there for boring family events, and apparently Howie throws college parties and allows high school kids in. Even though he’s older, I’m still expected to dance with him at the Founders Ball and know enough about him to make polite conversation with his parents, as I am with the oldest Darling sons.

“Rob sent you home last time I took you to a quarry party,” Sebastian reminds me. “You didn’t get to see how people on my side of the tracks do it. I figured we’d fix that tonight.”

“Okay,” I say, glancing at him and nervously wetting my lips. Even if Sebastian runs his dirty mouth and makes everyone at school think we’re sleeping together, I’ve basically been in control of how things have worked between us up until this point. Sure, he’s the popular one while I’m a nerd, but we’re in public at school. The football team may run the social scene, but they still more or less obey the rules so they don’t get expelled or kicked off the team.

I don’t know what happens on his side of town. It’s like the wild west, and my brother won’t be there to stop things if they get out of hand. Even at the usual post-game parties, Rob watches over me and makes me ride home with him.

“What are you waiting for, Princess?” Sebastian asks. “Let me feel this baby purr again.”

“Okay,” I say again. “But no touching the driver this time.”

“Aww, you ruin all the fun,” he says. “But I’ll do my best to resist fingering you on the way. No promises once we get there.”

He gives me a devilish grin and puts his hands to the vents for warmth.

I shift into gear, shaking my head at him.

“What?” he asks. “I’m dying of blue balls here. Maybe on the way home, I can drive, and you can give me a little road head.”

“You think I’m letting you behind the wheel of my baby?”

“I notice you didn’t shoot down the idea of road head.”

“Depends on the situation,” I say, giving him a saucy little smirk.

“You’re killing me, Smalls,” he says with a groan.

“My brother would literally murder us if he caught us messing around.”

“Here’s an idea,” he says. “We don’t tell him.”

“You’re going to get me in trouble.”

“Hey, I’m willing to risk it, and he’d be way more pissed at me.”

“Trust me, he’d be pissed at me.”

Sebastian just laughs. “Y’all fight over some nonsense. It’s not his business.”

“Like you always get along with your sister.”

“Not always,” he says. “But that’s mostly because she’s a pain in the ass and thinks she doesn’t have to do what I say because I’m not her dad.”

“That seems reasonable.”

“I knew you’d take her side.”

“If it makes you feel better, Rob never does what I tell him, either.”

“That’s different.”

“Why?”

He shrugs and looks out the side window at the dead rice paddies blurring by. “He’s only a year younger. My sister’s a freshman, and I’m a senior.”

“You’re still not her parent,” I reason. “Maybe she doesn’t like you bossing her around. Does she do what your dad says?”

“Hard to know. He hasn’t been around much lately.”

“Oh,” I say, glancing at him and adjusting my hands on the wheel. “I’m sorry. Does he work a lot?”

“Nah,” Sebastian says, tipping the seat back a bit to lounge beside me. “He went to grab a drink with friends and hadn’t come back in a few days.”

“A few days?” I ask incredulously. “Aren’t you worried?”

He shrugs. “I handle shit when he’s gone.”

It strikes me that even though Sebastian’s been friends with my brother for two and a half years, and I’ve been running into him in my house or out back at the pool for at least half that time, I barely know the guy. I’ve never thought about whether he came from a good family because I never cared.

I don’t care now, either. He’s not my boyfriend.

Still, it’s weird how little he’s shared about himself in all the time I’ve known him. At school, Rob would rather keep our groups separate, and when he brings Sebastian over, they hang out in a different part of the house doing boy things or go outside and shoot hoops on the basketball court. When we do run into each other at my house, Sebastian’s always treated me like an annoying little sister. If we’re at the pool, he makes disparaging comments about what a loser I am for sitting by the pool reading, like I should find that less entertaining than getting in and letting him splash me in the face or dunk me.

I feel bad that I don’t know the first thing about him. Ever since we started tutoring, and then hanging out pretending to date, he’s barely shared anything personal. I only know he has a sister at school because I’ve seen them leaving together. Beyond that, I’ve never even wondered about his family life. I just assumed he was a middle-class arrogant jock like the rest of my brother’s friends on the team.

“Does your dad do this a lot?” I ask after a few minutes. “Disappear for days at a time?”

“A few times,” he says, like it’s no big deal. “What about yours?”

“Sometimes he goes away on business trips or works long hours during a tough case,” I admit. “But he always calls to check in. Maybe you should call the police if you haven’t heard from him. What if something happened to him?”

“We’d have gotten a call about life insurance if something happened,” he says, not sounding at all bothered by the thought of his dad dying.

“Exactly how long has he been gone?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” he says. “A few days.”

“A week?” I press, even though it’s clear he doesn’t want to talk about it.

He narrows his eyes and stares off, like he’s counting back the days.

I should mind my business and leave it alone, but I feel bad for him. I haven’t noticed him acting any differently this week, but if I’d known this was going on, I’d have paid better attention. I can’t believe he didn’t even mention it. Maybe I could help. My dad has connections.

“Try… Three hundred or so,” Sebastian says at last.

“Three hundred weeks?” I can’t help gaping at him as I pull off on the shoulder of the dirt road behind Billy’s familiar brown truck and an old El Camino.

“Give or take,” Sebastian says, swinging open the door and climbing out. “Come on, let’s see if the swimming hole is frozen over. Maybe we can skate around on it.”

A car pulls up behind mine, and four guys pile out. I recognize Tony right away, and his brothers from another time we hung out and ran into them.

“It’s cold as fuck,” Tony says, rubbing his hands together and blowing into them. “I thought Arkansas was supposed to be warm.”

“I told you, there’s no party up here tonight,” says his brother Vinny, gesturing to the gravel area beside the pit. There’s one small fire with a half dozen people huddled around it, and a couple cars pulled up at the ends of the flat area where last time the party was happening. The place is mostly deserted, probably because it’s below freezing out.

“Party’s at the Beckett place tonight,” Billy calls, hauling a Styrofoam cooler out of his truck bed. Lexi and a handful of football players climb out of the cab to join us on the road, and Sebastian puts his arm around me, pulling me into his side. I’m simultaneously grateful for the warmth and disturbed by how natural and comfortable the gesture feels, like he’s always pulled me close when our friends are around.

“Fuck,” Tony says, kicking the gravel on the road. “They cut us out.”

“Relax,” says Donny, the oldest brother and the only one I haven’t met before. “I’m sure they just forgot to tell you where it was.”

“Or they intentionally didn’t invite us,” Tony grumbles. “Fucking cunts.”

“There’s no invite list,” Billy says. “Half the crew is there. But I got beer if you want to hang out here and have a quiet night.”

“Nah, too fucking cold out,” Donny says. “My balls can’t handle it.”

“Aren’t you from New York?” Lexi asks. “You should be able to handle a little Arkansas winter.”

“Fuck you,” Tony says. “Or better yet, fuck me. Your pussy’s warmed half the dicks on our street. When’s it my turn?”

“When hell freezes over,” she shoots back, flipping him off before reaching into the cooler and grabbing a beer.

“Then how about right now, sweetheart?” Tony says. “Because this place is hell, and it’s sure as fuck frozen over tonight.”

“Speaking of frozen over, let’s go check out the swimming hole,” Sebastian says.

“Want to go?” Benny asks his brothers. “Or head back to the party, now that we know where it’s at?”

“Fuck them,” Tony says. “They don’t want us at their party, we’ll make our own. Isn’t that right, Lex?” He throws an arm around Lexi, who shrugs him off with a scowl.

While they’re figuring out their night, Sebastian takes my hand and starts up the trail that leads to the swimming hole off to the right of the parking area. No one is back there, since it’s way too cold to get in the water. When we reach it, Sebastian gives a whoop, seeing the ice on top. Gripping my hand, he runs down the steep, slippery gravel incline to the edge, dragging me with him.

“Wait,” I yell, sure he’s going to jump onto the ice and fall through.

He stops and sets his foot on the frozen surface, pressing down. A creaking sound emerges, and he groans and steps back. “It’s not cold enough,” he says, looking crestfallen.

“It’s only been cold for a few days,” I point out. “It takes a while to freeze all the way across.”

“I know, but it would’ve been so cool to skate with you,” he says, pulling me into his arms and cuddling me to his chest. I wrap my arms around him and look up at him while he pouts at the swimming hole. Little curls show beneath the edge of his beanie, and clouds of white rise into the frosty night with every exhale. Cold, bright stars pierce the stark sky, and a half moon hovers above, illuminating his strong silhouette.

“Sebastian?” I whisper, my heart hammering hard in my chest.

His gaze drops to mine. “Yeah, Princess?” he murmurs, tipping my chin up.

Our eyes lock, and I feel the pull of our connection, something undeniable, no matter how much of me knows that it’s a bad idea. This is an arrangement, nothing more. It’s not permanent or even real.

But part of me wants it to be, and if it can’t be, then I want to pretend. Just for tonight.

I slide my arms up around his neck, and his gaze drops to my mouth. Slowly, he leans down, his warm lips brushing mine in a feather-soft touch. My stomach drops, my heart flips, and my knees absolutely melt.

I gasp against his mouth, my arms tightening as I pull him closer, wanting so much more.

“Looks like we’re interrupting,” Billy calls cheerfully as voices bounce off the icy water. Lexi comes bounding by, and I bury my face in Sebastian’s chest, trying to get my head together. Damn, it was just a kiss, and barely even that, and my head is spinning like I just got off a merry-go-round. I grip onto his jacket as the others slip and run down the precarious path to the swimming hole, then rush to test the ice. Groans of disappointment that it’s not thick yet fill the clearing, and then shrieks and shouts as they pretend to push each other in.

“You alright?” Sebastian asks me, amusement in his voice.

No, I’m not alright. I officially have a crush on my fake boyfriend. This is so bad.

I’ve been fighting it since the first time he kissed me, at his locker, trying to deny it and hoping it’ll go away if I pretend I don’t feel it. But it’s not going anywhere. If anything, it just gets worse the more time we spend together.

“Yeah, fine,” I say, stepping back and pressing my cold fingers to my flushed cheeks. “Just waiting to see this superior partying style I’ve heard so much about.”

“You sure you’re ready for that?” he asks, adjusting himself in his jeans.

A little thrill goes through me. Did that barest hint of a kiss make him hard? Did it do the same thing to him that it’s done to me?

“As long as you don’t say the party’s in your pants.”

“Where else would it be?” he asks. “How do you expect me to show you the pleasures of my world when you won’t even step through the door?”

“The pleasures of your world?” I ask, trying not to laugh.

“This is all just foreplay, baby,” he says, grabbing two beers from the cooler. “The real party happens when we get naked.”

“Hm, I think I prefer curling up in front of the fire with a good book and a mug of tea. At least then I’d be warm.”

“Trust me, babe, I can do things to you that words on paper never could.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” I say, raising a brow.

“As much fun as it is to have my balls busted all night, I think it’s time to join them,” he says, nodding to the group at the water’s edge.

Before I can ask if I really offended him, he opens the two beers and hands me one, then heads for his friends. They’re all gathered at the edge of the partially frozen pond, having fun with the novelty of the ice. It’s not uncommon to have freezing temperatures, though it’s a little early in the year. But the consistently cold temperatures that would allow skating on the swimming hole only happen every few years.

Maddox and Theo are standing on the edge, cracking what’s built up so far. Billy and Tommy are horsing around, trying to shove each other through it and into the water. Tony lifts Lexi around the waist, shaking her over the thin ice while she screams curses at him.

His brothers must have gone to the party, as apparently we’re the only ones crazy enough to be at a swimming hole in twenty-degree weather.

“Let’s find some rocks to throw in,” Sebastian says, heading for the stretch of forest between this clearing and the one with the bonfire.

“We’re going in there?” I ask, pointing to the skeletal trees with trepidation. “At night? Without a flashlight?”

“It’s bright as day,” Sebastian points out, gesturing to the moon overhead. “Besides, it’s winter. No snakes this time of year.”

“I’m not really outdoorsy,” I admit.

“We’re just picking up rocks,” he says, holding out a couple. “You can stand there if you want, and I’ll load you up.”

I reluctantly fold my arms, letting him put dirty, frozen rocks on the sleeves of my new coat. After the dress incident, I know better than to protest his treatment of my designer wear, but I wince every time he stacks another baseball sized stone against the wool.

“You’re just a full-on redneck, aren’t you?” I ask after he emerges from a few trips into the woods and crouches to load up his arms with a pile he made on the ground.

“Nothing better than fucking, fighting, and going fast,” he says, cracking a grin as he stands and starts back toward the water. “That’s the official motto on my side of the tracks.”

When we dump the rocks onto the ground, the others whoop and come over, clearly more impressed with Sebastian’s idea than I was. Tony drops Lexi, and her feet plunge through the ice and into the water. She screams in shock as the icy water swallows her legs to the knees, but he just laughs and joins the others in grabbing up rocks. They all start hurling them at the thin ice, breaking holes in it and whooping at the satisfying sound of the ice cracking and the water splashing beneath.

I stand there, not sure if I should help Lexi or join the guys. Somehow, I manage to feel out of place and alone even as noise and chaos go on all around me. I don’t know how to be part of it, how to fit into Sebastian’s life. His friends are so different from mine. Even though all my friends before the breakup were Chaz’s friends, we had a lot in common. I’m not sure I have anything in common with these guys, and though I want to let the fun atmosphere swallow me like it has everyone else, like it did at the game, I don’t know how to fit in.

And for once, I want to.