It'd been two hours since the last time I saw Nolan. His words bounced around in my head.

Not for show, but for us.

As much as I wanted to believe what he said I knew they were just the ramblings of a drunk guy.

Someone snapped their fingers in my face. I blinked, pulling out of my thoughts. Gia stood in front of me, a concerned look on her face. Great. Someone dressed as a giant cat is concerned about me.

"You okay?" She asked. "You've kinda been zoned out for a few minutes. I thought you were brain dead or something. I'd been calling your name. At first I thought you were ignoring me to get out of talking to me like my sister does. Then I thought you were just acting like a zombie. You know, since you're dressed as a—"

"Gia," I said, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. I swear she'd go on forever if you let her. "Why'd you call me up here?"

We were standing in her bedroom which was pink. Very pink. With hints of leopard print on the rug and desk chair cushion. Her walls were covered in posters of pop stars and other celebrities. Like Bee, she had dozens of stuffed animals, mostly cats.

If Bee didn't let her commitment issues get in the way I think they'd be the perfect pairing.

Gia grabbed two gift bags from her desk. "I need your help," she said, handing me the bags. "I don't know which Bee would like more. Something practical or something sentimental?"

I sat the bags on the dresser. Gia watched as I opened the first bag, anxiously tugging at the tail of her costume.

"You know Bee better than I do," she continued. "So you'll know which gift wouldn't cause her to freak out."

Inside the first bag were a pair of generic red boxing gloves. On second glance I noticed there was a Muhammad Ali quote stitched on them.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a Bee

I smiled at it the word play, looking back at Gia. "She'd really like those."

"I know." She beamed. "She loves things with her name on them."

Inside the other gift bag was a book. A scrapbook to be exact. The outside was blue, decorated with stickers of Disney characters. 18 Reasons Why was written on the front.

Inside were pictures of Bee and Gia together. They spent more time together than I thought. What shocked me most was how Bee happy was in the photos.

All that time I thought she only hung out with Gia out of boredom. Pictures didn't lie, though. And those pictures told a whole other story. Bee liked Gia, no matter how hard she fought it.

"You're right," I said, closing the book and placing it back into the bag. "That would send Bee running for the hills."

Gia frowned, swiping her bangs out of her face. "That's what I thought."

"You should keep it, though. Give it to her at another time."

A small flash of hope appeared on her face. "When?"

I shrugged, not knowing the answer. Bee was still in denial about her feelings. It could be a while before she came around.

"You'll know when."

Her brow raised at my vague response. "That's all you got? Thousands of words in the English language and that's the advice you have? What is it even supposed to mean?" She grabbed the bag with the boxing gloves, leaving the room while still going on about my advice.

I chuckled to myself, following her out and back down to the party.

When we got down the stairs everyone was laughing at something, their phones out to capture whatever it was on video. Gia and I gave each other a quick glance, silently asking the other what was going on.

We got our answer when a blur of pale skin and blond hair ran past us. My jaw dropped, positive my mind was playing tricks on me. There had to be some sort of drug in my water because it couldn't be...

But it was real because everyone was chanting his name.

"Was that your boyfriend?" Gia asked, her blue eyes wide.

"I-I think so..."

She simply blinked. Speechless. Who knew she had that capability? I guess seeing a naked Nolan Chambers could do that to a person. It definitely left me speechless.

I had to do something, stop him. Pushing through the crowd of people excitedly watching my streaker boyfriend—fake boyfriend—I found Nolan out front standing on the roof of somebody's car.

People watched him. Laughing, pointing, cheering him on. Nolan stood there proud, a wide grin plastered on his face. His face. That's what I focused on, forcing my mind to block anything else. It was hard—no, difficult. It was difficult not to look below the waist, but I managed.

"Go Grizzlies!" He shouted at the crowd, throwing his hand up in the air. Everyone responded with growls.

"Alright, you perverts," Bee shouted, appearing out of nowhere, Gia at her side. "Nothing to see here!"

"There's a little something to see," Gia commented. I turned to see her shamelessly staring at my naked boyfriend—fake boyfriend.

The crowd only started to leave when Gia told them there was cake in the dining room.

"Nolan," I hissed, using my hand to block his lower half from my view. "Get down. Please."

"Jade!" He said happily, jumping from the roof of the car to the hood and then to the ground. "This night is the best night ever. No. The carnival was the best. This is the second best night."

Now was not the time for the unsanctioned butterflies in my gut. I couldn't help it. He said homecoming night was his favorite and he wasn't even drunk that night. Even running into his ex didn't ruin the night for him.

Was it because he was with me? No. I was getting a head of myself.

"Nolan, where are your clothes?" I asked.

He looked down at himself as if just noticing he was in the buff. "Oh shit," he said. Then he covered his nipples. His nipples. As if those were the problem.

It wasn't funny. I shouldn't have laughed. But I couldn't help it. Especially not with Bee and Gia cackling next to me.

"I need to find his clothes and take him home," I said once I sobered up.

"No!" He objected, gripping my shoulders and standing awfully close for a naked person. "I can't. My dad'll kick my ass."

"The both of you can stay here tonight," Gia offered. "We have a guest room."

Nolan pointed at her, or in her general direction. "I like that idea."

"Well, I can't walk him through the party naked."

Gia began stripping out of her cat costume. She was dressed in leggings and a tank underneath, thankfully. We didn't need another streaker.

When Nolan put the cat suit on, I nearly bit my lip off trying not to laugh. The legs came up to his calves, the arms almost to his elbows. It was too small, but it covered him up. That was the important part.

Gia lead us up to the guest room. As we passed the party goers Nolan was still getting praise for his drunken behavior. I sent a quick text to my mom telling her it was a long drive back and I was too tired to be behind the wheel.

Once in the room Nolan dropped onto the bed, back first. The cat costume looked like it was about to bust off of him.

"Lay on your side," I commanded as it started to look like he was dozing off. "You could choke on your throw up or something." I'm pretty sure I heard that somewhere before.

He did as I said, laying on his side. "This is uncomfortable," he mumbled into the pillow, eyes closed.

"Imagine how uncomfortable choking to death would be?"

When he didn't respond I figured he was asleep. Running around naked could really tire someone out. I turned to leave the room when his hand clamped around my wrist.

His eyes were opened now, watching me intently. "Where are you going?"

"To let you sleep."

"No," he said, scooting over to the other side of the bed. "You have to stay and make sure I make it through the night."

A brief laugh escaped me. "If you stay on your side you'll be fine."

"Who's going to be here to make sure I do that?"

I couldn't argue with that logic. I mean, I could, but I didn't want to. Instead I kicked of my shoes, climbing into the bed beside him. Nolan smiled, sliding one arm behind his head.

"On your side," I scolded.

He chuckled turning on his side. I turned to my side as well, our back to each other. After a few minutes Nolan shifted again.

"Nolan, if you don't stay on your side—" My threat was cut short when he snaked his arm around my waist.

I froze, unsure of what to do.

"Is this okay?" He asked, probably noticing how tense I got all of a sudden.

I swallowed, trying to push back my nerves. "You were supposed to ask that before spooning me."

I meant it as a joke, but Nolan loosened his hold me, pulling back a little. I gripped his arm, pulling him closer. "It's fine," I said, shocking myself. Trying to save myself from seeming desperate, I added, "This way I'll know for sure you're on your side."

A peaceful silence fell over us. I knew he wasn't asleep because I could feel his lashes against the back of my neck every time he blinked. I didn't think I'd ever get to sleep, not when it felt like every cell in my body was wide awake, reveling in his touch.

The party could still be heard below us, the music muffled by the walls of the room. It was easy to block everything else out and I did. Only focusing on us. Just us.

"Is this make up supposed to itch?" Nolan asked, breaking the silence.

The make-up. How could I forget we had zombie faces on?

"No. We should  probably wash it off."

He pulled me closer, his voice tickling my neck as he spoke. "We'd have to move. Forget I said anything."

My lips twitched into a smile. I didn't want to move either. "Don't blame me if you start to break out."

"We'll just be the pimpled face couple."

A comfortable quiet filled the room. That time Nolan had actually fallen asleep, his light snores right next to my ear.

As my own eyes shut and I began to drift asleep I forced myself to remember one thing:

Fake boyfriend.

Fake boyfriend.

Fake boyfriend.