Best Served Fake

thirty-five // foundation

"It's okay if you're jealous, William," said Jameson loftily. "Don't worry, I'll feel up your boobs as well if you ask nicely."

"Well," said Kai, sardonically. "Now I'm starting to feel left out."

Jamie hummed, wiggling his eyebrows at Kai. "Don't worry, darling. If Valerie ever gets her hands off that sexy ass of yours, I'd be happy to take up the duties. Seriously, anytime, gorgeous."

Kai looked over my shoulder—bringing his face to the crook of my neck, until I could feel his soft exhale against my skin—and clicked his tongue. "Damn, I'm out of pillows."

Despite the complete lack of necessity, he left his face practically buried against my neck for a moment. I could feel his soft dark locks brushing against my jawline, the black strands spilt like ink over my own light hair. The column of his nose pressed momentarily against the line of my throat; affectionate in the way that was usually bred from long-lived familiarity, almost painfully intimate, yet innocuous enough when hidden by the cut of his jaw and the curtain of my hair that it could be played off in a crowd as a simple fond gesture. What I couldn't play off was the hitch of my breath, a traitorous response, and I felt Kai's answering smile against my neck just before he pulled away.

No matter how much I might answer Kai's innate flirtiness with the casual confidence of my own—easy when it was almost a joke, easy when it wasn't real—he was truly in a different league. I liked flirting with Kai Delaney, but it was the kind of game I would only win if he let me.

But I really enjoyed playing.

A pillow smacked me in the face at the same time as I heard Jameson yelp in surprise.

I tore my gaze away from Kai to spot Cora, looking smug. At the triple-threat of glares she received from Kai, Jamie and I, she threw her hands in the air. "Jamie deserved it for being gross, and you two deserved it for being grosser."

Apparently, we were not as inconspicuous as I'd thought.

"Kai has always been utterly shameless," said Isabelle, examining one of her nails. "I just expected better from Valerie."

"Valerie's at her best when she's shameless," said Cora, with a casualness that didn't undercut the complete force with which her words hit me.

At her best when she's shameless. It was true; I was more fun when I was like this, flirty and sarcastic and playful. All the traits that I shared with Sydney, but filtered and diffused and muted because I hated garnering attention for those traits that simply existed in me. I loved Sydney—always would—but maybe she was stopping me from being at my best, my most shameless. She wasn't my best friend anymore, but she had defined my whole personality for most of my life; I had moulded myself around her edges, created a person who would compliment her perfectly.

I liked being shameless; especially when it wasn't even real, and my partner in that shameless deception was so very good at playing the game with me. In some strange way, Kai Delaney was something like my best friend. He was the person I shaped myself around, except that it was a version of myself that I was in love with as much as the person I was shaping myself around. It was more... me.

My fake boyfriend and my real best friend. It wasn't where I would've seen myself two months ago. But I liked it.

So, I shrugged, all the new Valerie, and tweaked a piece of Kai's hair. "He's hot, I don't see why I should pretend otherwise."

Kai's answering grin was downright wicked, and, dare I say it, hot. He was fucking hot. I had truly lucked out in the fake boyfriend category.

"Ugh," Isabelle said, wrinkling her nose. "Why do you have to be like this, Kai? I didn't raise you to be like this."