Toby crosses his arms. “Forget it. You’re not telling me who I can date.”

“Fine. Then I’ll have a little talk with my old friend Tori.”

As much as Tori hates Meredith, I can’t risk Tori believing her. Especially because it’s true. I won’t be able to deny a flat-out accusation from my best friend. It’s going to kill me, but I have to go along with this.

“Toby, you have to do it,” I say, shocking both him and Meredith.

Meredith laughs. “Funny, but I never thought you’d be the sensible one, Becca.”

Toby turns to me. “What are you saying? You want to end this?”

“No, but if she tells Tori, it’s over anyway.” Looking into his baby blue eyes is painful. This isn’t what I want at all.

“I’m not giving you up that easily. I’ve waited too long to finally be with you.”

I want to kiss him so badly, but I know better than to piss off Meredith any more than she already is.

Toby turns to Meredith. “One date. That’s it. And then you’ll see we aren’t right for each other and it’s over.”

“Not good enough.” Meredith crosses her arms. “One date isn’t going to cut it, and I’m not going out with you just so you can dump me again.”

“I’m not kissing you or doing anything else with you. So if that’s what you’re looking for, you can forget it.” I’ve never seen Toby look this agitated. He’s always so together. It breaks my heart more because I can see whatever this is between us means just as much to him as it does to me.

“Fine, but you will hold my hand and make it look like we’re the perfect, happy couple.”

“Why would you do that?” I ask. It seems worse than not having Toby at all.

“Have you seen what my life has become since he decided I wasn’t good enough for him?” Her face is red with rage.

“That’s not what happened,” Toby says.

“Just shut up. I don’t want to hear it. I want my old life back. I want my old friends back. But everyone is too busy looking at me like I’m Toby’s latest castoff. They either look down on me or pity me. I can’t stand it. I’m going to rise to the top again, and you’re going to help me do it.”

“So this is about your reputation at school?” Why am I not surprised? I was stupid to think that she really loved Toby. Of course she doesn’t. All she cares about is her social status.

“Word of caution, Becca.” Meredith lowers her arms and steps right in front of me. “Toby doesn’t exactly live up to the hype.” She looks him up and down and laughs. “Which is why after a few weeks, once my reputation is fully restored, I’ll be dumping you—rather publicly.” She smiles. “Then you can see what it feels like to plummet down the social ladder. I’m sure Becca will be waiting for you at the bottom.”

“Get out,” Toby says. “I’m not going along with this, so just leave.”

“Fine.” Meredith starts for the door. “So, Ryder and Tori went to the movies, right? I’m sure I’ll be able to find them.”

“Wait!” I rush toward her and grab her arm. She eyes my fingers and shrugs them off. I turn back to Toby. “Please, just do what she wants. It’s only for appearance’s sake.” I look to Meredith for confirmation. “Right? That’s all this is?”

She nods. “He’ll have to kiss me in public. For appearance’s sake, of course.”

God, I want to smack her so hard! “Give us a minute.” I take Toby’s hand and lead him into the dining room.

“You can’t be serious about this, Bec.”

“I don’t know what else to do.” I squeeze his hand, not wanting to ever let go. I just got him. I can’t lose him already. “Are you ready for Tori to find out about us? Because I’m not. I don’t want to lose her. Or you.”

“You don’t think the longer we hang out behind her back the worse it will be?”

“I can’t imagine spending time with you could ever be a bad thing.”

He smiles and brushes my cheek with his thumb. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

The only way I could see Tori accepting me and Toby was if we were in love, but it’s way too soon for that. I’m in “great like,” but that won’t be enough for Tori. She’ll assume I’m just like every other girl who falls all over herself for Toby.

“This could buy us some time to figure things out.”

“And you’re okay with me pretending to be Meredith’s boyfriend?” The word boyfriend is like a curse coming off his lips.

“No, but I’ll deal with it.”

He lets out a long breath. “I don’t know if I can deal with it.”

“I know it sucks, but it’s only for a few weeks.”

“That’s longer than most of my relationships.” He forces a laugh.

“You don’t get in relationships, remember?” It’s stupid to push him at a time like this, but I can’t help it. I need to know all this is worth it.

“I was hoping to change that.” His face reddens a little. I’ve never seen him look so nervous.

The pain in my gut is overwhelming, but I force a smile and say, “Good. That should make it easier to get through the next few weeks then.”

“If you say so, but you’re not the one pretending to date Meredith.”

I laugh. “I would have if she asked.”

He cracks a smile. “You’d pretend to be a lesbian just to avoid telling my sister we’re dating?”

I shrug. “What can I say? I’m desperate.”

“We both must be.” He pulls me in for a hug. “This is all so crazy. Why does my sister have to be a possessive control freak?”

“That’s your twin and my best friend you’re talking about.”

“Okay, why does my twin and your best friend have to be a possessive control freak?”

He knows that’s not what I meant, but I laugh anyway. We’re both screwed and we know it. We have to take whatever little humor there is in the situation and milk it for all it’s worth.

“So I guess we’ll have to stick to our tutoring sessions and not plan any other get-togethers until this is over, huh?”

“Looks like it.” He lets go of me. “One last kiss before I go make a deal with the devil?”

I reach up on my toes, and he meets me halfway. The kiss is soft at first, but neither of us can control ourselves for long, and we soon end up a tangle of limbs. We don’t pull apart until we hear the front door slam shut.

“Do you think she left?” I ask, licking my lips and tasting Toby’s minty gum.

“I don’t know. Only one way to find out.”

But before we can even leave the dining room, we hear Tori’s voice. “What the hell are you doing in my house?”

Oh God! Why is she home? She’s supposed to be on her date with Ryder.

“What do we do?” I ask Toby.

He shrugs.

“We can’t stay here. Meredith might rat us out.” I wave him on and head to the living room. “Hey, Tor.” I try to act normally, but my insides are on fire. Ryder is with her. “Cutting the date short?”

She looks back and forth between me, Meredith, and Toby, who’s standing behind me. “What the hell is going on? You three are the last people I’d expect to find in my house together.”

Meredith turns toward Toby and me and smiles. “Toby, care to tell your sister what’s going on here?”

Chapter Seventeen

I swallow hard and wait for Toby to explain, but he looks between Meredith and me like he’s trying to decide what to do. He can’t possibly be thinking about telling Tori the truth. Not now. Not with Meredith and Ryder here. Tori will flip out and they’ll be witnesses.

“What’s up, man? You lose your voice or something?” Ryder walks over and claps Toby on the back.

Toby shakes his head and clears his throat. “No, I’m fine.” He meets Tori’s eyes. “Becca and I were studying, and then Meredith came over.”

“Why?” Tori narrows her eyes at him.

“Yeah, Toby.” Meredith gives him a great big smile. “Tell her why I’m here.” Her voice is sickeningly sweet.

Toby takes a deep breath. “I asked Meredith to come over because I realized I made a mistake breaking up with her. She agreed to give me another chance.”