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Kira can’t believe she’s going to do this. Maybe she should pretend she’s sick, there would be a lot less potential embarrassment. No, that wouldn’t work. Her parents would just postpone the trip. What if she—
‘Kira? Hey!’
Sudden movement close to her face pulls Kira out of her thoughts. It’s Allison’s hand.
‘Sorry, just… thinking.’
‘What were you thinking about?’ Scott asks.
The sun is out and bright, and it’s a nice day as long as you stay in the shade, which is why they’re sitting in the shade of a tree on the patch of grass in front of their dorm building. Well, Allison and Kira are sitting. Scott is lying with his head in Allison’s lap, getting a scalp massage from Allison. It’s such a sweet picture it makes Kira’s heart ache with want. Now is not the time for pining, though.
‘So,’ Kira starts, fiddling with her bracelets, ‘I’m going home for the summer next week, right?’
Scott and Allison nod.
‘My parents planned a trip to celebrate me finishing my first year with a 4.1 average. And…’
Her friends look at her expectantly.
‘And they were wondering if Scott wanted to come, because they somehow got the idea we’re dating, and they were so excited by it, that I didn’t have the heart to tell them we’re just friends,’ Kira blurts out. She pulls her legs in and presses her face against her knees, hiding her blush from her friends’ eyes.
‘Why do your parents think we’re dating?’ Scott asks.
Kira lifts her head. To her surprise, neither Scott nor Allison looks fazed or upset by her little rant, just curious.
Kira shrugs. ‘I don’t know. We’re friends and I talk about you.’
‘We’re friends,’ Allison points out, pouting. ‘You don’t talk about me?’
‘Of course I do!’ Kira quickly assures her, then thumps Allison in the shoulder when she sees the pout stretch into a teasing grin. ‘I don’t know why they think I’m dating Scott.’
‘So what exactly are you asking me?’ Scott asks, sitting up.
‘If you could pretend to be my boyfriend for a couple days?’
‘Why don’t you just tell your parents that Scott can’t come? Seems a lot easier,’ Allison wonders out loud.
Kira sighs and shakes her head. If only things were that easy, but they never are with her parents.
‘You don’t know my dad. He’ll probably, somehow, get Scott’s number or email, and then he’ll want to know exactly why you can’t come and will reschedule the trip for a time Scott will be able to come with us.’
Allison bites her lip, then presses a hand against her mouth to muffle her giggle.
‘I’m really sorry,’ Kira tells Scott.
He pats her knee and smiles. Scott’s smile never fails to make her feel more at ease.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ he says. ‘I mean, I’m getting a free vacation out of this!’
‘Can I come, too?’ Allison asks.
‘I swear nothing will happen,’ Kira quickly assures her. She really hopes Allison doesn’t think she’s trying the break up her and Scott.
Allison waves Kira’s concern away. ‘That’s not why I want to come. I just really want to see this. Your parents won’t mind, will they?’
‘They’ll probably be ecstatic,’ Kira groans.
~
So far, things are going well. Her parents seem to like Scott and Allison and they haven’t caught on to the lie, yet. There was an embarrassing moment when her dad told the story of how Kira refused to take off her Pikachu onesie for a week when she was seven, but if that’s the worst of it, Kira thinks she’ll survive this trip.
The house her parents have rented is nice and roomy, close to the beach, with a large deck out back, facing the ocean. Which is where she’s sitting with Scott and Allison right now. There’s a comfortable couch on the deck and the three of them decided to relax here after half a day in the car and the huge meal Kira’s dad cooked for them. Scott is sitting next to Kira, his arm casually thrown over the back of the couch, fingers tapping a rhythm against Kira’s shoulder, and Allison is sitting sideways on Kira’s other side, her legs resting Kira’s and Scott’s leg. Kira’s not sure how to deal with this. It’s not that sitting like this is something new, but knowing that her parents think she and Scott are dating fills her stomach with butterflies.
She wants to sink into the comfort of being surrounded by Scott and Allison, but the butterflies are spreading throughout her entire body, making her feel jittery.
‘I’m going to get more cookies,’ she says, tapping Allison’s legs so she’ll lift them up. ‘You guys want anything?’
‘Can you bring a blanket? It’s getting a little chilly,’ Allison asks.
‘Sure.’
Out of the embrace, Kira feels like she can breathe a little easier, while at the same time wanting to do dive right back in. There’s no way she’s going to make it out of this trip in one piece, she thinks to herself, as she grabs the plate for the cookies and walks to kitchen.
She finds her parents whispering conspiratorially together.
‘Hey,’ Kira says.
Her parents look up, both frowning.
‘Kira,’ her mother starts, her head tilted, voice low. And that’s never good. It’s how her mom looks when Kira’s in trouble. ‘Why did you lie to us?’
Oh no. They know. They know she’s not really dating Scott and that he’s actually dating Allison and they’re going to be so disappoint—
‘You could have told us you’re dating both Scott and Allison,’ her dad continues.
Kira looks at them wide-eyed, face feeling like it’s on fire. This is even worse.
‘I—‘ she starts, but doesn’t know how to continue. She doesn’t really have to, because her dad wraps her in a tight hug.
‘We’re happy that you’re happy,’ he says.
Kira nods dumbly, letting herself be pulled in by her mother like a ragdoll next.
‘I’ll put Allison’s bags in the same room as yours and Scott’s,’ her dad says cheerfully, already walking away.
What is happening?
Kira nods again. Then, still in a daze, she grabs the roll of cookies, not bothering with the plate, and backs out of the kitchen. She just remembers to grab a quilt from the dresser by the backdoor before stepping outside again. She wordlessly hands Scott the cookies, drops on the couch, and spreads the quilt over their legs.
‘Is everything okay?’ Scott asks.
‘My parents think I’m dating you,’ Kira mumbles, staring unseeing out over the ocean.
‘That was the point, wasn’t it?’ Allison asks, sounding confused.
‘They think I’m dating both of you,’ Kira elaborates.
It’s quiet for a moment. None of them move. Then Allison bursts out laughing, Scott not far behind.
‘It’s not funny,’ Kira groans. ‘My dad’s putting your bags in the room with Scott and mine.’
This doesn’t help. It only makes the two of them laugh harder. Kira tries to glare them into silence, but when faced with Allison’s dimples and Scott wiping tears from his cheeks, she can’t help a giggle of her own.
‘Good thing the bed’s so big,’ she grins.
Kira barely catches Allison before she falls off the couch.
~
Kira has never been this comfortable. She’s a little too hot, but it’s nothing she can’t live with. She’s curled up against something warm, with her head lying on something comfy and soft. A person, she realizes, a woman. Smells nice, too. Like the summer. Like sunscreen and ocean water. There’s a hand resting on the leg she’s got thrown over the woman’s hips. A hint of sea breeze moves through the room. Her parents must have opened a door or a window, Kira thinks. They must be up already.
She smiles, burrows a little further into the person next to her, and blinks her eyes open.
Oh god.
Oh no.
She’s lying on Allison’s boob!
And that’s— That’s Scott’s hand on her leg!
Kira’s first instinct is the flinch away, draw back as fast as she can, but she suppresses the urge, knowing that it’ll wake up the two other people lying in her bed. Who are Scott and Allison.
Oh god.
Breathing too fast and with her heart racing, Kira pulls back slowly. She lifts her head from Allison’s chest, then slides her leg out from under Scott’s hand and off Allison’s hips. Allison brow furrows in discontent, but she doesn’t wake up. Once Kira’s free, she slides back a little more. Then falls off the bed, hitting the ground elbow first.
‘Ow!’ she yelps. She rolls on her back, keeping her eyes closed, rubbing her elbow.
The bed creaks, and Kira knows that if she opens her eyes she’ll see Scott and Allison looking down on her, probably with concern, most likely with amusement. Which is why she’s keeping her eyes firmly closed.
‘You hurt?’ Scott asks.
‘You mean aside from my dignity and my reputation?’
‘What reputation?’ Allison giggles.
‘The fake one where we pretend I’m smooth and not clumsy at all.’
The only answer she gets to that is pillow-muffled laughter.
‘You’re horrible friends,’ Kira groans.
A hand on her cheek prompts Kira to open her eyes. Allison is leaning over the side of the bed, Scott right above her, both looking sleep mussed and adorable, and Kira can’t help a smile.
‘I’ll make you eggs and toast to help your bruised dignity mend a little,’ Allison offers, grabbing Kira’s hand and pulling her back on the bed. The three of them land in a tangle of limbs. Kira almost knees Scott in the crotch, and Allison jams her elbow in Kira’s breast, while Kira barely avoids poking Allison’s eyes out.
‘I think my dignity’s a lost cause,’ Kira says, letting herself drop on Scott’s chest and burying her face in his neck, while he pats her back in commiseration.
‘We love you anyway,’ Allison assures her.
One set of lips presses against Kira’s head, the other against her shoulder. It makes something warm explode in Kira’s chest. The warmth spreads to Kira head, making her brave. She turns to Allison, when there’s a knock on the door.
‘Your father and I are going for a walk,’ her mother’s voice sounds through the door. ‘Clean up and be safe.’
‘Oh god,’ Kira groans. She hits Scott in the shoulder when she feels him shaking from laughter.
~
Allison follows through on her promise of eggs and toast, and after breakfast they decide to lie in the sun until they’re ready to go swimming. Kira doesn’t feel her courage rise again. She’d almost asked them if maybe there was something other than friendship between them, but as she watches Allison and Scott wrestle in the sand, she’s not so sure anymore.
The rest of the day is pretty uneventful. Her parents come back just before lunch and her dad and Allison set up the parasol so they can eat on the deck. After lunch, they drive into the little seaside town. It’s nothing special. It’s not even very touristy, but there is a delicious smelling pastry shop and a small park with a duck pond. They eat ice-cream next to the pond and buy dessert for later.
They stroll around before going back to the house. Allison grabs Kira’s hand to link their fingers. Scott walks next to her, not grabbing her hand, but letting their fingers brush. Kira pretends her heart and stomach aren’t doing somersaults.
After dinner, her mother teaches Allison GO, a game Kira has never been very good at but Allison seems to be grasping quickly. Scott and her dad are doing the dishes. Laughter comes from the kitchen and Kira’s pretty sure it’s at her expense, but doesn’t care. It feels nice and real, and just like that she feels terrible again.
‘I’m going to get some air,’ she says.
Allison throws her a smile, but the dimples in her cheeks shallow almost immediately in concern. Kira makes her escape before she blurts out something that nobody’s supposed to know.
It’s a nice night. Without the light pollution of the city, the stars fill the sky, making the universe seem like less of a void. The moon is full, and it’s pale light tips the waves in white. There’s a light breeze, but the warmth of the day is still in the air. Kira sits down on the edge of the deck, her toes barely dragging through the sand below when she strains.
She should’ve known her solitude wouldn’t last for long. She doesn’t think she’s been outside for more than five minutes when she hears two pairs of flip flips approaching.
‘Everything okay?’ Allison asks, sitting down next to her and bumping their shoulders together so Kira sways into Scott, who just sat down on her other side.
‘I don’t like lying to my parents,’ Kira admits. It’s not the entire truth, but it’s enough that she knows they’ll believe her.
‘We actually want to talk to you about that,’ Allison says.
Kira looks from Allison to Scott, then out over the ocean with a sigh. ‘You guys want to stop? It’s probably best. I mean, it’s not fair to my parents, and it’s definitely not fair to you guys. You two are still okay, right? This hasn’t—‘
‘We’re fine,’ Scott says, placing his hand on her thigh and squeezing lightly in reassurance. ‘And we don’t want to stop, exactly. We—‘ He looks over to Allison for help.
‘We wanted to ask you if you’d like it to be real? Being with us. Romantically.’
Kira’s mouth drops open, her eyes widen, and her head swivels from Allison to Scott to Allison to Scott, so fast she’s getting a little dizzy.
‘We wanted to ask you before, but then you asked me to be your fake boyfriend and you seemed so anxious about it, we didn’t want to add to that in case we were wrong about you liking us,’ Scott elaborates.
‘You weren’t wrong,’ Kira says, letting what’s happening sink in. ‘I like you both. A lot. God, I was scared that you were going to find out and that you would be mad or worse, that you would break up and then we—
Kira’s rant is interrupted by Allison pressing a kiss to her cheek, quickly followed by a kiss from Scott on her temple. Then a kiss on her jaw. A kiss on her forehead. A kiss on her eye. Scott and Allison cover her face with kisses until she’s giggling and falls back on the deck.
‘Ow!’ she laughs. ‘That’s the second time today.’
Allison lies down next to her. ‘At least this time you weren’t sleeping on my boob.’
‘Oh my god, you were awake?’ Kira giggles, hiding her face in her hands.
‘You looked very cute,’ Scott adds, lifting Kira’s head, then placing his arm under it like a pillow.
Kira smiles up at him and shuffles closer so she’s pressed against his side. Then she grabs Allison’s hand and pulls her closer, too. They lay like that for a while, staring up at the stars.
‘We’re gonna have to tell my parents,’ Kira breaks the silence.
‘You think they’ll be mad?’
‘Maybe a little. They’ll mostly just be happy that I’m happy. And that they were right, of course.’
When they go back inside, Scott joins Allison in trying to defeat Kira’s mom, while Kira helps her dad make tea for everyone.
‘Everything okay?’ her dad asks. ‘Allison came to get Scott. She seemed to think you were upset.’
Kira looks over at her boyfriend and girlfriend, bent over the board covered with black and white stones, her mother most likely kicking their asses.
‘Everything’s perfect.’