Otherwise Engaged: A Fake Engagement Romance

September 4th

Grade 11

This was a bad idea. A bad idea that, as per usual, I’d gotten talked into going along with by my sister and her friends, because I didn’t want to be known as the ‘boring twin’—though realistically speaking, I already was.

Of course, it was marginally less bad before Bennett sauntered up, beer in hand, and joined the game. Now he was sitting directly across from me at the oversized wooden table in Millie’s dining room. If I chose truth, I knew exactly what my sister was going to ask. And if I didn’t, that was a different risk on its own.

My nails dug into the cream suede chair beneath me. “Dare.”

Next to a pile of discarded red Solo cups, Quinn shifted on Porter’s lap, giving me a knowing smile. “Okay…” She tapped her mouth with a finger and pretended to think, but I could tell she already knew exactly what she was going to say. “I dare you to spend seven minutes in heaven with Bennett.”

Bass throbbed in the background, rap lyrics shooting rapid-fire out of the speakers, but the table fell silent, and all eyes turned to stare at us. Bennett shot Quinn a look of mild irritation, while I tried to keep my face as blank as a sheet of paper. I didn’t know whether to thank her or strangle her when we got home. Frankly, it depended on what happened next, which with my luck, was going to be absolutely nothing.

Reluctantly, we both stood and began to make our way to the powder room just down the hall. Porter glowered at us—no, at Bennett. One of other the guys at the table made a wisecrack I didn’t quite catch, and Bennett flipped him off on his way by.

“That was some shade Porter was throwing your way,” I said under my breath. He was a senior at our school who played on the rugby team with Bennett, and my sister had lost her virginity to him the week before. Quinn was head over heels with the idea of dating an older guy, but I thought he was a jerk.

Bennett chuckled. “He’s pissed because he choked at tryouts last week and I took his spot in the starting line-up.”

One problem with going to an exclusive prep school? Parents sent their children to give them a leg up in life; an edge; an advantage. Which meant that our classmates weren’t just our peers—they were our competition. It was like growing up inside an image-conscious, label-loving pressure cooker designed to turn us into carbon-copies of our parents.

With the exception of Lola and Bennett, dealing with everyone was exhausting. Actually, dealing with Bennett was exhausting in its own way too. Our friendship used to feel natural, but lately things between us were strained. Something had changed over the summer, and I wasn’t sure if it was good or bad.

Bennett followed me into the silver wallpapered powder room and closed the door with a soft click. My heart pole-vaulted into my throat. He’d been locked in dark rooms with a lot more people of the opposite sex than I had. Not that I should have cared, because we were just friends.

He leaned against the white vanity, stuffing his hands into his pockets. I hopped up onto the granite counter next to him in an attempt to compensate for our height difference, which, thanks to his growth spurt last year, now verged on comical.

“Don’t worry, Thay. We don’t have to do anything.”

Translation: he didn’t want to do anything? I knew he’d kissed other girls. Like an idiot, I was waiting around for my turn.

I groaned. “I don’t know why I agreed to play this stupid game.”

“That’s a good question.” Bennett grinned. He reached over and gently tugged on the end of my hair, sending a little thrill through my body. “Maybe the two coolers you drank had something to do with it.”

“Why’d you agree to play?”

There were so many other things I wanted to ask instead of this. Things I would have asked without thinking twice, not long ago, but that now seemed awkward and potentially intrusive. Like did he really have sex with Caroline Phillips over the summer while I was staying with my father in Geneva? That’s what the rumors said, but I could never trust those.

“Because you agreed first, and I figured something like this might happen. Better you get stuck with me than someone like Will or octo-hands Henderson.”

“Nah, I think you were hoping to get some time with Millie.”

He snorted. “She’d probably slip me some chloroform and hold me captive in the basement.”

“Sounds about right.” My eyes drifted down to his hands, still hidden in the pockets of his jeans. “How’s your hand?”

Bennett glanced down and pulled out his right hand, straightening his fingers and making a fist, evoking a barely concealed wince. “It’s fine.”

“Looks like it hurts.”

“Not as much as Reid’s face.”

I stifled a laugh. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“After he grabbed you?” In his profile, his jaw tensed. “I don’t think I could have stopped myself. What a dick.”

Somehow, word about Millie’s party had made its way to Hillside, one town over, and half of their senior class had shown up. When I had tried to squeeze by to get another drink from the fridge, Reid Hampton, captain of the Hillside’s rugby team, not-so-subtly grabbed my boob.

He’d either been really drunk, really stupid, or both, because I wasn’t even alone—Bennett was standing right behind me and had immediately punched Reid in the face, thereby almost instigating a brawl in the middle of Millie’s marble kitchen. Fortunately, Millie’s older brother and his friends had been home to play bouncer and kick out the party crashers.

“But now Hillside’s going to be out to draw blood when you play them next week.”

Bennett smirked. “They can try, but I doubt they’ll have much luck.”

It was true that he was one of the stronger players on the team, but I still didn’t like the idea of them gunning for him. I fought a yawn, trying to hide it. Maybe he was right; maybe two drinks had gone to my head, because suddenly, I was exhausted. Or maybe that was the six AM wakeup for jazz choir practice before school.

With a sigh, I leaned against Bennett’s shoulder, realizing only too late the bodily contact between us lately was charged with an electricity that didn’t exist before. A few tense breaths passed, but neither of us spoke.

“Thay?”

“Yeah?” I turned to look at him in the dim lighting of the tiny chandelier. On the other side of the door, someone murmured something indecipherable, and a burst of laughter rang out.

Suddenly, he looked uncharacteristically nervous. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, giving me a sheepish smile. “Want to go to homecoming with me?”

It took at least five full seconds for me to process what he’d said. “I thought you didn’t want to go.”

“But you want to,” Bennett said, nudging me with his elbow. “So let’s go together.”

Was this a pity ask, or a real date? I wasn’t sure. But I hoped it was the second.

“Only if you really want to.”

“With you? I really do.” His gaze dropped to my lips, tension between us multiplying exponentially with a single look.

Someone banged on the door, and we both jumped, the fragile moment between us bursting like a bubble.

“Time’s up, lovebirds!” Millie’s voice carried through the door.

“Was she standing outside with a fucking stopwatch or what?” Bennett grumbled.

Heart racing, I slid off the counter. “Probably.”