50 Myths That Could Ruin Your Life

After a beat of silence, enough to make me almost hysterical, Alec smiled at Brian and held out a hand. “Yep. And you are?”

I swear I almost passed out then and there.

Myth #17: Little lies are always a bad thing.

Brian stares at the hand, then plastered a smile on his face and shook Alec’s hand. “Brian. I’m a friend of Carla’s. But you know, I gotta say, that little meeting just now, it looked like you didn’t even know her.” He laughed.

I tensed up, hoping Alec could come up with something.

“What?” Alec laughed. “That’s ridiculous. I was just shocked because I haven’t seen Carla in a couple of weeks, and I forgot how beautiful she is,” he said smoothly.

Damn. Even as a fake boyfriend, he topped my own ex and any other boyfriend I had ever seen. I had a fleeting wish that Alec really was my boyfriend, but I shook that off, telling myself to get past tonight first.

Brian raised an eyebrow. “Alright then, let’s see a kiss.”

Are you trying to kill me?

I looked at Alec in shock, my mouth forming an “O” shape. He looked at me, as if telling me that this was not what he had signed up for, and took a step forward and pressed his mouth firmly to mine.

Myth #18: You can’t really have the most amazing kiss of your life with someone you met two minutes ago.

When Alec finally pulled away, I hid my disappointment and instead focused on Brian. “There. Happy?” I asked, and grabbed Alec’s hand.

Brian looked flabbergasted for a second, then pulled himself together. “Yeah. Alright, let’s go inside.”

We lined up for the tickets. When we reached the counter, I reached into my bag for money, but Alec had already handed the girl money. She gave him the tickets as I hissed, “What was that?”

He shrugged. “Girls don’t pay for dates. You can pay me back later.” He held the door open for me, and I thanked him and walked in.

Miranda caught me holding hands with Alec, and she looked at me questioningly. I mimed texting to her, signaling that I would text her in a second, and she nodded.

We got in the line for food. “Want anything?” Alec murmured. I shook my head. He sighed. “You’re not exactly making it easy to look like the perfect boyfriend.”

“But I feel like I’m stealing all your money,” I whined.

“Just pay me back later. If it’s not cash, I’ll think of something myself.” He ordered a large popcorn and two Cokes and paid. While the guy working was getting the popcorn, Alec said, “Here, give me your cell phone.”

I did as he said.

He typed something into it, then flipped it shut and handed it to me. “There. My number’s in there. I texted myself, so now I have yours.”

I nodded dumbly. “Uh, okay.”

He thanked the boy who handed him the popcorn and drinks and handed me a Coke. “Get napkins and two straws.”

“Okeydokey,” I said, smiling. We made our way to the room where the movie was, following the group of my friends. When we got there, I nudged Alec, whispering, “Sit at the top, the top!”

“Going to the back to make out?” someone asked dryly.

“No,” Alec said sharply to Brian, “Some people have interests that don’t lead to sex, thank you very much.” He turned and walked up the steps. “Jeez. I really hate that guy.”

“You just met him,” I reminded him.

“Hey, I just met you, but you don’t act like you have a stick shoved up your ass now do you?” he muttered.

“Do you know him? Is there something I should know?” I asked curiously.

He sighed. “I’ll tell you later.”

I arched an eyebrow and said nothing. Sometimes, it’s better not to say anything at all.