Page 83 of Fake Crown

“What girlfriend wouldn’t want those things?” Val scoffs. “And then to see you giving them so freely to her.” She tosses her hand in Posey’s direction. “After you’ve known her for five minutes.”

A twinge of annoyance rises at her casual dismissal of Posey. “You cannot pretend like you and I had some great love affair. None of the shit you posted was true.”

“So that means I couldn’t have wanted it to be true?” Val crosses her arms, and her purse bangs her thigh.

“But you didn’t,” I say. “Even you said in Bermuda that we had an arrangement that worked for us. That’s not a relationship.” I fumble for the right word. “It’s a transaction, a business arrangement.”

“I couldn’t get what I wanted, so I took what I could get,” she says.

The food court is starting to get busier, and more people are beginning to take an interest in our conversation. Not a good look for any of us.

“That wasn’t the impression you gave me,” I say. Sponsorships, branding, follower counts, and the mysteries of the algorithms were the only topics Val ever discussed with me. We had a partnership, but it had nothing to do with romance.

“Desperate isn’t a good look on anyone.” She gives a pointed stare at where I’m still clinging to Posey’s hand.

Whatever. She can think what she wants. But she needs to back the fuck off. “What do you want me to say, Val? Because things either calm the fuck down or Posey and I go low. You’re not the only one with photos from Bermuda.” Granted, she’s in the background of some of them, but she’s clearly pawing at Trev’s cousin in a few of them. A lucky find on our part since I didn’t include her deliberately. I’ve got no problem zooming in and posting those with my own detailed assessment of our relationship.

Val’s jaw works, and for the first time she turns her attention to Posey. “Did he cheat on me?”

“Not with me,” Posey says. “I can’t imagine him cheating at all. That’s not who he is.”

Such a simple statement, but it makes me feel a hell of a lot better about where we’re headed. She didn’t hesitate, even though we’ve only known each other a few weeks.

Seems unbelievable that Val blew up Posey’s life because she thought I cheated on her given her own behavior. Doesn’t seem fair.

“We just want you to stop spreading lies,” I say. “Let all this die.”

“I’m not removing anything or taking anything down.” Val shifts her purse onto her shoulder.

“That’s not going to work,” I say. “I need you to take down the photo that makes it look like I fucked around on Posey. We both know how you got that picture. Your live video you’ve got saved on your profile also needs to come down.”

Posey squeezes my hand.

“That photo makes me look like I went back and forth between you, Val. Is that the impression you want people to have of you? If I post my Bermuda photos, it’s going to look even worse. You and Trev’s cousin were not subtle.” I’m more concerned about the long-term impact on Posey if those lies are lurking out there, and I’ll do what’s necessary to get them down.

“I’ll delete the caption and the comments.” She huffs out a breath. “I’ll take down the video. I don’t know that I believe you weren’t cheating, but I don’t have any proof either way. I don’t understand how you could have gotten so close so fast. Doesn’t make any sense to me when you gave me the bare minimum.”

The truth is that I gave her what she allowed me to give, and I wonder whether, seeing what I’m capable of, she has regrets over not insisting on more. If she’d pushed, I’d have walked. That was our pattern for a year and a half. She asked for more than I was willing to give, and I called off our arrangement. She lured me back. Rinse and repeat. As Posey pointed out, sex was the only thing we had going for us. Not sure I would have believed I had room for more.

With Posey, it’s been the opposite. We started with sex and built something meaningful. I’ve been the one inching toward a relationship, and she’s been the one stubbornly standing still. Not backing off, but not letting herself get too close. I have a clear idea of how a future could work with Posey, and I never saw one with Val. None of that will make Val feel better about where we’ve ended up, and the truth might freak Posey out. Though, I’m beginning to think she might be almost ready for my honest assessment of us as a couple.

“I’m sorry I was a shit boyfriend to you.” It’s the best I can do. Val and I were always too different in the wrong ways to succeed. We should have been a brief affair, not a long-term relationship.

“I’m sure you’ll slide into old habits,” Val says. “And then he’ll be ignoring you too.” She gives Posey a saccharine smile. “It’s not like you’re anything special.”

I open my mouth to tell her exactly what I think, and Posey covers it with her palm.

“Sure, I’m not special. Your opinion of me really doesn’t matter. But if you start spreading rumors again about Brent or if you keep telling people he cheated, we’ll be posting those photos of you and Trevor’s cousin and going live with our own version of events.”

Val rolls her eyes. “Oh, sweetie. You’ve got a lot to learn. He’s only got room in his life for one love, and it isn’t you.” She fishes into her bag and takes out some gloss to smooth across her lips. “Are we done here? Seeing the two of you together makes me sick.”

“Yeah, we’re done.” She’ll either uphold our bargain or Posey and I will be forced to go low. I’d really prefer the train of lies ground to a halt without me having to trash her in the process. Not a good look for any of us, and as Posey noted earlier when we were talking Val strategy, the internet doesn’t forget.

Val slings her purse over her shoulder, and she storms through the athletic complex as though she doesn’t have a care in the world.

“Do you believe her?” Posey asks.

“About which part?”