Faker

by Sarah Smith

Quickest way to get rid of an unwanted smiler? Scowl. It embarrasses the offender into dropping it.

Why must someone so unpleasant smell so delicious?

He is the king of rude today.

Now that I’m inches away from his face, I notice how pink his lips are.

My eyes fix on his lips. Are they always this pink and plump?

“I want to flip out right now.” I speak to the dashboard through gritted teeth. Slowly, he turns to me. “I want to kiss you right now.”

All I can do is ball my clammy hands into fists and remind myself to breathe. When I ease into an inhale, I realize I’ve been holding my breath the entire time she’s been speaking.

Nice

Protecting fair skin from the sun is no joke.”

YES

“Sitting next to you has been what gets me through every single workday. I’d rather have a bad day at work with you in the office across from me than a good day without you.”

Tate lets out a proper belly laugh. My heart stops for a split second. I could listen to him laugh forever.

“No such thing as too many when it’s the right kind of sweet.”

Looking at me like I’m a piece of meat? How very unprofessional, Ms. Echavarre.”

I want you for so many other reasons. Your smile, your laugh, your thoughtfulness. Your strength and sweetness. The way you make me feel at ease every single time I’m around you. You tick all my boxes. There’s no one in the world like you, Emmie.”

“So what’s it like being in a work-official relationship with Tate Rasmussen?” “Lots of foreplay, for starters.”

“Nothing hurts, does it?” “Nope.” Not even soreness registers. Arousal is a powerful drug.

I pull down the strap of my sports bra, giving him a view of more flesh. “You sure I can’t convince you to stay for a bit longer?” He surveys my body with hungry eyes, then ends with a pained smile, like he’s seriously reconsidering. “I’m joking. You will not leave your sister stranded on the side of the freeway for sex. That’s unforgivable.” “I can always beg for forgiveness.”

“Ah yes,” Kaitlin says. “The brooding, private type who doesn’t open up to just anyone, and you’re the lucky woman he wants to let inside.”

Rolled-up sleeves on a man’s thick and veiny forearms is my greatest weakness. He must have peered into my fantasies.

“Having you with me is like holding on to an anchor in rough seas.”

“The only person I want to see is standing next to me.”

“Do I seem like the kind of guy who would lick frosting off a woman’s face in full view of his high school classmates?” “No.” He leans to my ear. “That’s what you do to me, Emmie. You make me want to do things I would have never thought to do before. You make me happier than ever. That’s why you’re special.”

My look-alike, Camille, is Tate’s ex. Why didn’t he tell me she would be here?

AHA! I knew ittt

“I forgot about her, about everything else. Except you.”

“I hate texting. Except with you.”

“Death by foreplay,” I rasp. “What a way to go.”

“Women must throw themselves at you. How did you fight them all off?” “It’s easy when you’re carrying a torch for someone else.”

I can do all things after a night with Tate Rasmussen, bringer of elusive, incredible orgasms.

“No one has ever made me feel that good. And ‘good’ isn’t even the right word, but I can’t think of a better one right now because you’ve screwed the living daylights out of me.”

“We’re something else, aren’t we?” “Indeed. And now everyone will know you’re my something else, and I’m yours.”

“For the woman I love, it’s worth it.”

“I’ve had feelings for you for the past several months, but the first time we kissed, I knew I loved you.”