Idiots to Lovers (bxb)

9 | Stolen Ice Cream and Sneaky Sheep

He keeps referring to the sheep as happy clouds and it's just too darned cute.

I caught myself replaying my earlier conversation with Jamie and shook my head.

This was not a date, it was simply...homework.

We left the sheep pasture and walked towards a more crowded area. Everett wanted to see if there were any more animals roaming about, but all the rest were safely confined in sanctuaries.

We went to see the giraffes and then hung around watching the baby elephants being fed. Everett started talking to the zookeeper as she finished up feeding time.

"It must be awesome to work here!"

"Yeah!" the girl exclaimed. She had a wide smile and a smattering of freckles over her nose. "I get to feed all the baby animals, how cool is that?"

"Very cool...Ellie?" Everett asked, reading her name tag.

"Yup! I picked Ellie cause it sounds like elephant, and I like elephants." She beamed.

"I think it's really cute how you guys have sheep that are allowed to just roam about freely," Everett enthused.

Ellie's eyes widened. "What?" she demanded before she grabbed her walky-talky and ran.

"Oops." Everett looked back at me contritely. "I didn't mean to narc on those sheep."

"Yeah man, you're nothing but a snitch."

"Well, that lamb did bite me," he said.

"Definitely a safety hazard," I agreed.

We walked around till closing time, talking so much that I didn't even feel the hours go by. When we finally left, Everett insisted that I sing in the car with him on the way back.

"I really can't sing that well," I admitted, pulling on my seatbelt.

"It doesn't have to be good; come on, it'll be fun."

"It's really not good at all. Besides, I have to concentrate on driving."

"Sing with me, sing with me," he chanted, poking me until I lost about half my will to live.

"Alright, alright fine." I cleared my throat and joined in the chorus of his next song.

He stopped after two lines. "God, Clementine, you're actually really bad at that."

"You said it didn't have to be good," I objected, feeling a little stung.

"Well yeah, it doesn't have to be good. I just didn't expect it to be quite so bad."

I glared at him. "I gave you your fair warning."

"I thought you were just being modest."

"Well now that I've started, I can't stop," I said defiantly. "I have no choice but to sing all the way to your house."

"Do you not care for the safety of my ears, Clementine?"

"Not really, no."

Everett teased me mercilessly about my singing until I pulled up in front of his house, but I retaliated by further destroying his hearing.

He hesitated for a moment before he got down.

"I had a nice date with you," Everett said as he was opening the car door.

"Uh, I'll see you later," I replied numbly.

Date?? Did he just say date?

He smiled at me and gave a small wave before running into the house.

I stared after him for a long moment, wondering whether I had misheard. Date sounded a lot like day...I think he just said he had a nice day.

The lines had started to blur in my mind. I reminded myself that this whole ruse came from a dumb bet, and Everett's boredom at the cafe. We weren't really dating the past six years; I hadn't even known him till two weeks ago. It's not like we were actually together.

And this had not been an actual date.

Like if Bulletproof Heart by My Chemical Romance is literally the best song ever!!

If you haven't heard it, I've added the video to the beginning of this chapter ;)

A/n: like reading about fake dating scenarios? You might enjoy this novella by authorelizasolares :)

In historical Spain, two strangers manage to escape engagements they don't want. Pretending to be married gives him purpose and her protection. But it won't be enough to evade their powerful fathers for long.