The Fine Art of Pretending Read Online Free PDF

tanned thighs. If she keeps dressing like this, she’ll get more than Justin’s attention. “I realized the clothes aren’t going to be enough. Unless I can get everyone to take my transformation seriously, I’m destined to stay invisible and single for the rest of my life. I have to get people to start seeing me differently…”
    Aly’s voice trails off, and her body stills. She tilts her head to stare at me, and from the prickle on my neck, that can’t be a good sign. I catch her eye before looking back out at the road. “What?”
    She opens her mouth and closes it. Several times. Then she shakes her head and says, “Nothing. It’s stupid.” After only a few seconds, she continues. “It’s what I said about getting people to see me differently. It reminded me of all those dumb Hollywood movies—you know, where the makeover actually works? But in those movies, it normally takes that one popular guy asking the girl out for the rest of the school to realize how awesome she truly is.”
    My eyes cut to her, but she’s staring straight ahead. She leans forward and adjusts the air-conditioning vent, refusing to look back in my direction. “I was just thinking, hypothetically, that if you pretended to hook up with me—just pretended—and helped sell the whole Casual thing, that the guys would be more likely to buy it. And then maybe they’ll find me dateable, too.” As soon as the words leave her mouth, she hides her face in her hands. “ God , that sounds stupid. It was like I could hear how it sounded out loud and, just…Never mind. Forget I said anything. I’m a dork, and it’s stricken from the record, okay?”
    Aly squirms in the seat beside me, fidgeting with her fingers, her hair, her skirt, and the neckline of her top. I keep glancing back, hoping she’ll turn toward me so I can see her face, but she’s looking anywhere but in my direction.
    I’ve seen the dumb movies she’s talking about, mostly with her when it was her turn to pick. They’re dumb because the plots are completely bogus, just like her idea. But I know Aly. She honestly thinks her crazy idea could work. And, though she’ll never admit it now, she was completely serious.
    Aly is on a mission, and I know from experience she won’t stop until she gets what she wants. Her fierce determination is what I admire most about her. She’s convinced she wants to be a Casual , and nothing I say will change her mind. Hell, I’m the one who put the idea there to begin with. But maybe if I step in and join her in the crazy, it’ll keep wolves like Justin away.
    “What, exactly, would the pretending involve?” I ask.
    Her head snaps up, and her jaw drops. “Um, I—I guess it wouldn’t be much different than what we do now. We’d just call it something else. Maybe add holding hands in public or something?”
    I park in front of Carmela’s and turn off the engine. She’s probably right. Even when I’m going out with someone, I normally see Aly more than the other girl anyway. People always get the wrong idea about us or assume we’re hooking up on the side, so it won’t take much to get them to believe we’re together for real. And with the camping trip starting tomorrow, it’ll be easy to spread it around quickly.
    Shit, the camping trip .
    I scrub a hand over my face, picturing a Lauren-sized shadow for four days.
    “See, it’s stupid, right?” Aly says, her cheeks pink with a blush. “Forget I said anything.” She yanks off her seatbelt and throws open the door. I put my hand on her arm to stop her.
    “Actually I was thinking it might be nice not to worry about girls for a while.”
    Her blue eyes flare with hope, and I jump out from my side of the truck. I’m not ready to say yes to her crazy-ass scheme yet, but I’m close. I round the hood, and as I help Aly down, I can practically hear the wheels turning in her head. The door to the restaurant opens, and the familiar sound of the mariachi band wafts outside. One of