Fake Boyfriend Wanted: High School Christmas Romance (YA Fake Boyfriends for all Occasions Book 1) Read online

  Fake Boyfriend Wanted

  Sarah Pointe

  Contents

  Untitled

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Untitled

  Fake Boyfriend Wanted

  By Sarah Pointe

  “Now accepting applications for a fake boyfriend who will go on cute holiday dates with me.”

  Famous last words. Or maybe they would end up being the beginning.

  When your best friend hacks into your Instagram and posts a call for applications for a fake boyfriend, do you leave it up or delete and hide forever?

  I couldn't decide. Then my old crush called me. My new crush asked me out. My messages filled up with guys wanting to be my fake boyfriend. What would you have done?

  If you enjoy second chance sweet teen romances with heart warming family issues and a side order of fake dates, this is your book. Get your copy now. Look for other titles from this author coming soon.

  —If you want to read my next YA romance, please join this newsletter. I will only send out new release info here. Join me. https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/n2x1y9

  Chapter 1

  Christmas was a mixed bag for me.

  Five years ago, it was just a good old normal time. We woke up, opened presents, lazed around all day, watched a movie, thinking that life would always be that good.

  Then four years ago my dad died, hit by a drunk driver, and the problem with losing your dad on Christmas was that you not only lost your dad, you lost Christmas, too. I cooked our Christmas Eve dinner and ate it with my little brother, and then Mom went to bed in the middle of It’s a Wonderful Life. We both cried. She from her bedroom and I from the couch.

  Three years ago, my best friend, Sasha, and her family stepped in and lightened up the darkness. And the difference from that first year of grief to the next of hope made this Christmas one of the best. I missed my dad. I ached for him and what we used to have, but it was better. And just the fact that something could be better after I never thought it possible, seemed like a real-life miracle.

  Two years ago, Sasha and I hit our stride. That was the first year we created the list. A creative plan of all the things we would do together over Christmas break.

  And I think this list is what saved me, saved my mom, and saved Christmas.

  Then last year, we added to the list. And for the first time, I wasn’t sad. I thought about Dad a lot. I missed him, but I didn’t feel that achingly close-to-tearing feeling down my center. I was really busy with Sasha. Things were…nice. Trey even paused his video game mania to eat meals with us.

  Except maybe not as nice for my mom. She didn’t have a Sasha in her life. Mom and I sort of had our own list. Trey came along sometimes. But still, she didn’t seem really truly happy. But did I? Would any of us ever fully recover? I didn’t want to. That felt unfair to my dad.

  But I wished my mom would lose that vacant look in her eyes. I wished she would laugh and smile again. And when she didn’t, I hung out more with Sasha.

  She was coming over today, in a few minutes, and I had everything ready to create this year’s list. My journal. All my fun pens, and the local event calendars up and ready to peruse.

  While I was organizing the bowl of popcorn and the waters and the bag of candy, ready as, you know, brain food, Mom surprised me and stepped into the room.

  “Oh hey.”

  “Are you guys planning your list again?” Her smile was soft, warm.

  “Sure are! You and I need to get ours ready, too.”

  She nodded. “I have the soup kitchen already set up.” Her sigh sounded tired. “But I’m looking at finances and it looks like I’ll be working in the evenings more this month.”

  When I couldn’t hide my disappointment, she wrapped an arm across my shoulder. “The holiday pay is just too good to pass up. Sorry, honey.” She kissed my head. “At least you have Sasha, and Trey can be over at the Sullivans’.”

  I nodded against her. A sharp loneliness twisted around inside. I told myself it would still be okay. It’s not like I would be sitting around at home alone.

  Sasha’s voice from the front door made me smile.

  Mom kissed me again, and then I called out. “I’m back here. Let’s get this list going!”

  “You know it!” She stepped into the family room. “Hey, Mama Claire!”

  “Hi, Sasha girl! Good to see you.” She waved. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

  Me and my best friend sat close. I passed her the popcorn, and we each grabbed a calendar. “Mom said she’s working more. So we have lots of clear days to fill.”

  She didn’t answer and when I looked over at her, there was kind of a reluctance there I hadn’t seen before. I nudged her. “Right?”

  “Right.” She lifted her pen. “Ice skating.”

  “Check. I’m adding right now.”

  “Looks like there’s a new neighborhood lights contest.”

  “For sure doing that.”

  We went through, adding everything we could think of to do during Christmas. Even the carriage rides. But as I pulled up my calendar and my journal, I frowned.

  “What?” Sasha looked over my shoulder.

  “Look at all those open days.” My heart clenched.

  “That’s okay. We have to do homework some days. And you’ll be running. I’ll be volunteering…”

  I hated open days in December. ‘Cause that meant I’d be sitting home. Alone. Mom was working more. What if I started missing Dad again? My mouth went dry. And then my palms felt clammy and weird. I started to panic, a weird, heart racing fear of those blank days on the calendar. Then I felt the blood drain from my face.

  “What? Ava, what’s wrong?” Her arm went around my shoulders and I stuck my head down toward my knees.

  “I…I don’t know.”

  She ran her fingers over my hair, and slowly my fear lessoned and I felt better. “That was weird.” I muffled into my hands. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I’m sorry. Maybe we should set up possibles on all those blank days, so, you know, if we have nothing else to do, there’s an idea.”

  I sat up. “And we wouldn’t have to do it all, if you’re like, busy or whatever.”

  “Right. But we could. Would it make you feel better if there was something on the calendar?”

  I nodded. “Wow, what’s wrong with me?”

  She pulled the calendar up toward her. “We’ll just put these here.” She wrote I don’t know what on all the blank days and then she reached for her bag.

  “You’re leaving?”

  “Yeah. I gotta get some homework done.”

  “Dang. You shoulda brought it over.”

  “Right. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I groaned. “Monday after Thanksgiving break.”

  “Yep. But the beginning of our Christmas. This will be the most epic one yet!” Her large and somewhat forced smile confused me. But I hugged her and she
found her way to the front door.

  Then I fell to the couch in a heap. “I’m a mess.”

  Mom was quiet in her room. My brother was playing video games in his room. And I sat alone on the couch. My gaze moved to our last family picture while Dad was still here. We were happy. He had his arm around me. I guess I just didn’t want to spend Christmas wishing we had that again. ’Cause we wouldn’t. I’d spent the last four Christmases learning I had to make my own way.

  At least Sasha and I had our list.

  Chapter 2

  I hopped into Sasha’s cherry red car the next morning, trying to gain back the excitement I felt earlier. A pinching kind of worry had started since my freak out, and I couldn’t shake it.

  Sasha’s smile was nervous, and that didn’t help.

  We didn’t say much for about thirty seconds, which is a long time for two people to be silent.

  And then, while gripping her steering wheel, she said, “Nick kissed me last night.”

  “What!” I grinned. “That’s amazing. I want all the deets. Was it like…wet? Or nice? Or…”

  “Ew. Stop, Ava. It was great. Kissing is great, alright?”

  I nodded, shaken by her tone. “Okay.” And then I realized she’d left my house to go study, but that really meant she had left to be with Nick.

  “And.” She puffed out a breath. “He asked me to be his girlfriend.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that since she was being so weird about the kissing questions. “That’s great, right?”

  “It’s totally great.” Her smile seemed more natural. “He’s so good to me already. Sent me a good morning text.”

  “You got the good morning text!” I high fived her. We’d spent a lot of time fantasizing about what that would be like.

  “And so…you have a boyfriend.” I looked out the window. Was this good or bad news, really? I couldn’t tell.

  “We need to get you one too.” Her eyes took on a new sort of determination.

  “Uh, that would be great, but…”

  “You will totally get a boyfriend. Just smile at someone.” Sasha stopped at the four way stop and turned to smile hopefully at me.

  I rolled my eyes. Because maybe that worked for Sasha. Maybe all she had to do to get Nick to fall in love with her was smile, but not everyone was blessed with her tall, skinny-yet- curvy-where-it-mattered, body. Some of us were short, stocky, and, well, not as attractive. “Sasha, be real.”

  “I am being real. Give some guys attention. Let people know you’re available. Look. Until we figure out your holiday man, you can totally come with Nick and me. We’ll do the list all three of us.”

  Wait. Nick was invited to our list? And No. Third wheeling on the ice? “For some of this stuff, sure. But for ice skating?” I shook my head. “No way. What am I gonna do during couples’ skate?”

  “Do they even have couples’ skating on the ice?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Everyone knows ice skating is for couples. Unless you’re with your best friend.” I looked away. “Just forget about it. You do our list with Nick and we’ll come up with another one just for us. ’Cause I’m telling you. No guy is gonna want to watch all the Hallmark movies with us.”

  She held out her pinky. “You sure you’re okay with that?”

  That she was going to steal our list and do it with Nick? Not really. But I was more okay with that than with her suddenly getting energized about finding me a boyfriend. Did I want a boyfriend? Sure. But it was going to take Cal Watson another lifetime before he remembered I still went to Brighton High. But anyway, besides all that, I was fine-ish. I held out my pinky, and we did our signature—I promise I’m not lying—handshake.

  We pulled into the parking lot. For the first time, I noticed what Sasha was wearing. Yep. She looked like someone’s girlfriend, all dressed up, extra lip gloss, short skirt.

  I kept up some semblance of conversation with my mouth while my head tried to wrap itself around this whole boyfriend thing. What did that look like? Sharing Sasha with a guy. Before we had even stepped into the school for more than ten steps, Nick joined us, took her backpack and put it on his shoulder, kissed her and said, “Morning, beautiful.”

  Oh wow, this whole boyfriend for your best friend thing was going to be more a part of my life than I realized. He held his fist out to me. “Hey, shorts.”

  “Hey.” I smiled back, because that’s what you did when a totally hot guy paid attention to you, and because he was your best friend’s boyfriend—yeah, that too. They turned to each other and suddenly all Sasha’s excited chatter about everything and nothing was directed at him, and I didn’t have anyone looking in my direction.

  Except…

  “So…” Nick’s right-hand man, Ebbie, his friend like I was to Sasha, stepped closer to me.

  “So…” I laughed. “Maybe we should get used to this?”

  “Looks like it.” We both turned away from an actual kiss in the middle of the hallway.

  I shrugged, now facing Ebbie. “How was your weekend?”

  “It was epic. Huge party at the Everlys’. We had the whole offensive line jump into the pool at one time. It literally displaced like a foot of water from their pool.” He laughed like that was the funniest thing he’d ever seen, so I smiled and forced out a, “No way. That’s crazy.”

  “And then Cal threw up in the water. He was like totally drunk.”

  “What! There was drinking at this party?”

  He looked at me like I’d just asked about unicorn horns, so I covered. “I mean, I didn’t know the Everlys were like that.”

  “Oh right. They’re cool.”

  I kept nodding ‘cause I had nothing else to say to that. I never went to these parties. I didn’t drink. And I guess I was still thinking like an eighth grader, which made sense since middle school was the last time I had actually been social. But nodding and saying nothing turned out to be an alright thing, cause my new friend Ebbie could talk for the two of us. He could’ve probably talked for a few more of us, too, if given the chance.

  But we got to the T in the hallway, and the guys were gonna have to go one way and we the other to get to our lockers. And here’s where I learned the next part of my new existence. Nick and Sasha were gonna need a moment to say goodbye for every single separation. She stepped closer, a real-life pout on her lower lip. “I’m gonna miss you.”

  “I know, babe, this is the worst.”

  “Text me.”

  Oh my gag. I nearly did, really. And I nearly interrupted and asked, “Are you for real? ‘Cause if you are, this is insane. You have first period together.” But instead, I just waved as if she would notice and kept walking down the hall to our lockers.

  This was not going to be the junior year I had hoped for. And this was definitely not going to be the Christmas I imagined.

  But I rallied myself fast enough that by the time she was doing her combination on her locker next to mine, I could smile and be excited when she told me all about how sweet Nick was.

  “He told me he’s got a surprise for me this weekend.”

  “That’s awesome. I mean, what guy does that?”

  “I know. It’s like I accidentally got the best boyfriend in the school.” She laughed and then checked her teeth in her locker mirror, reapplied her lip gloss Nick had obviously just kissed off, and then closed the locker door. “You ready?”

  “Yep.” I smiled, but she frowned. “What?”

  “What do you mean what?”

  “You’re not happy.”

  “I’m happy.” I shouldered my backpack and started walking to our first period class where I would have to witness yet another lovefest. Don’t get me wrong. I was totally happy for her. I really was. This was all just new. And I didn’t know how to be the best friend sidekick to a new relationship.

  “If you say so.” She shrugged like she didn’t believe me. Then she pulled up her Instagram. “We’ve got to get you someone, even if it’s just from now until Christ
mas. I mean come on, how fun would that be if we doubled for all that stuff on the list!”

  “Totally fun. I get it. I would love to have a boyfriend.” She should know that. We’d been making lists of the best guys in school, our first, second, and third choices, for years now. And she knew my secret crush. Funny how she wasn’t mentioning him as an option at all.

  Probably because he was so out of my league it would just be depressing. “So, who is as desperate as I am? Desperate enough to want to go out just for the holidays?”

  “I don’t even think it’s desperation. Everyone wants to go have fun during Christmas break. And not everyone wants to have a whole relationship about it, and they certainly don’t want to have to break up with someone on New Year’s Day. So, this might appeal to more than just us.”

  “What might appeal?”

  Her eyebrows were coming together, her mouth lifting at the corner in her sneaky, calculating look that got us in more trouble growing up than she probably even remembered. “Our work to find you a holiday boyfriend.”

  I considered her. “You know that’s not how this works, right? People don’t just look around for holiday boyfriends, match up, and have a merry time of it.”

  “I know what usually happens, yes, but I think this merits consideration.”

  “What merits consideration?”

  She hummed and then readjusted my hair. She did that sometimes when she was thinking. It’s like whatever was out of place on my face bugged her until she fixed it. She didn’t even notice she was doing it anymore. And I stopped caring.

  She got some kind of weird dreamy look in her eyes and then nodded. “Just let me take care of everything.”