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  him that well after all.

  “Bree McKennis?” Colin said. “She’s… isn’t she kind of out of your league?

  She’s, like, really popular.”

  “Sadly, apparently not,” Jake said. “She wants to go out with me. Maybe

  she sees some untapped popularity potential in me. If so, I vote for not tapping it.

  It can stay right where it is, thanks.”

  “Bree wants to go out with you? ” Colin said. Lexie was relieved, but she did not appreciate Colin’s chocked tone of voice. Why wouldn’t anyone want to go

  out with Jake?

  “Yup,” Jake said. “She informed me of this in an e-mail.”

  “No way,” Lexie said.

  “See for yourself.” Jake pulled a piece of paper out of his back jeans pocket,

  unfolded it, and slid it over to her.

  Jakey,

  Have you ever wondered what it would be like to date the hottest girl in

  school? I bet you have. I could tell you were thinking about it when I got

  lemonade from you at my sister’s graduation ceremony. You were thinking, “If

  only Bree would ever date ne.” Well, it’s your lucky summer. I have decided

  that I need a boyfriend and here are the reasons we would be the perfect

  couple:

  1. Our heights would match perfectly,

  2. We’ll both be at Summerlodge this summer,

  3. We’re both cute and popular,

  4. And so we’d be like the Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt of Summerlodge,

  only without the smelly orphans

  I imagine this feels like winning the lottery, doesn’t it? Not that I’d notice if I

  did, since I’m already so rich, but I’m guessing you would, and it would be like

  just as way exciting as this. I’ll meet you tomorrow at the front fate of

  Summerlodge so we can make our entrance together. Then I’ll also debrief you

  on the Rules of Dating Bree. How awesome will this be?

  Kisses,

  Bree

  “Oh, Jakey,” Lexie said, passing it on to Colin. “How can you resist?”

  “I know,” Jake said. “It’s better than winning the lottery. It’s like winning

  the lottery and falling down a well and being vomited on by a llama all at the

  same time.”

  Lexie laughed. “So she’s going to be at Summerlodge, too? Does she play

  tennis?” Lord, please don’t let her be in the Beginners class with me. Please find some other horrible way of torturing me instead.

  “Nope, she’s working at the pool – training to be a lifeguard. So hopefully

  we won’t have to see her too much.”

  Colin flattened out the printed e-mail on the table and videotaped it. “This

  is crazy,” he said. “I didn’t know girls ever did this kind of thing.”

  “Bree McKennis does anything she wants,” Jake said. “Which is why you

  guys have to save me. I can’t date her! First, it’ll be painful and agonizing. She’ll

  make me carry all her things and bring her sodas and buy her stuff, and then she’ll

  tell at me when I do anything wrong, and then she’ll make fun of me to all her

  friends behind my back, and then she’ll dump me and tell everyone what a dork I am and I’ll never get a date in this town ever again. I may not be the world’s most

  popular guy, but this will ruin me for the rest of high school. Remember what she

  did to Kevin Barkett? Or Alvaro? No, you don’t, because once she was through

  with them, they disappeared from everyone’s minds. Forever. ”

  “However,” said Colin, “she is really hor. Like Angelina Jolie-type hot.”

  “Ew, Colin!” Lexie said, smacking his shoulder.

  “She is!” Colin said. “Right Jake?”

  Jake shrugged. “I guess she’s okay. Not my type.”

  “Not your – seriously?”

  “Personally, I would’ve stayed with Jennifer Aniston,” Jake said. “And did

  you miss the part about the ‘Rules of Dating Bree’? Does that sound like fun to

  you? Man, I knew I shouldn’t have met her eyes when she came up to get

  lemonade. I shouldn’t have agreed to work the concessions stand at graduation in

  the first place. Now it’s going to be the worst summer ever.” He slid onto the

  floor, lay down, and crossed his arms over his face.

  “Can’t you just say no?” Colin asked.

  “Even I know the answer to that,” Lexie said. “Nobody says no to Bree.”

  Lexie understood exactly what Jake was worried about. She’d been avoiding Bree

  since elementary school. If you stayed far under her radar, you could slip by

  unnoticed and unharmed, but if you popped into her line of sight in any way, she

  would rip you to shreds with one flick of her French-tipped nails.

  “Doomed,” Jake muttered. “Doooomed.”

  “All right,” Colin said. “Tell her you already have a girlfriend.”

  Jake thought for a minute. “Like, long-distance? I don’t think she’ll buy that.

  Plus it’s only been a week since school ended. Where would I have picked up a

  girlfriend in a week?”

  “I dunno.” Colin shrugged. “You could tell her you’re dating Lexie.”

  Lexie was so, so, so glad that Colin had his eyes glued to the camera

  controls and didn’t see her expression. Jake kept his arms over his face, so he

  didn’t notice, either. She felt like she might faint. There was a really awkward

  pause, and Lexie wondered if she was supposed to make a joke here.

  She started to say, “As if-“at the same time as Jake said, “Well, I-“ and they

  both stopped.

  “What were you going to say?” he asked. He put his arms down and tilted

  his head back to look at her.

  “Um, just…as if she’ll believe that.”

  “Why?” Colin said. Lexie wished Jake would say something, but he just kept

  looking ar her.

  “Well, if you think Bree is out of his league, then I’m in another solar

  system, aren’t I?” she tried to joke.

  “Actually, it might work,” Jake said. Lexie bit her tongue, she was so

  surprised.

  “Sure it will,” Colin said. “Lexie will be at Summerlodge, too, so Bree can

  see you’re together. And it’s only for a little while, until Bree gets over you. And

  it’s not like there’s anyone Lexie wants to date, so you’re hardly putting a dent in

  her love life. Right, Lexie?”

  That’s nice. Thanks, Colin.

  “What do you say, Lexie?” Jake asked, rolling over onto his stomach and

  propping his elbows on the floor and his chin in his hands adorably. “Want to be

  my pretend girlfriend?” His eyes were like storm clouds, big and unstoppable and

  irresistible.

  Lexie, this is what you’ve been dreaming about. Correction: This is a strange

  parody of what you’ve been dreaming about. Is this really what you want? Being

  Jake’s pretend girlfriend?

  Yeah, sure, okay. Close enough!

  “Okay,” she said, feeling dizzy. “I mean, it’ll be tough pretending to like you,

  but I guess I can take one for the team. Right?”

  “You’re my knight in shining armour,” Jake said, getting up and kneeling on

  the couch next to her. Right next to her. “My hero, my warrior princess,” he said, taking her hand. “My King Kong.” He pressed her hand to his heart. She could

  actually feel it beating through the soft fabric of his shirt. It was going really fast.

  Nearly as fast as hers, but he was an athlete, so it probably
went that fast all the

  time.

  “Okay, here are the Rules of Pretend Dating Lexie,” she said. “You need to

  stop comparing me to a giant gorilla.”

  “What are the other rules?” he asked. He was still holding her hand against

  his chest.

  “That’s the only one,” she said. Was her voice shaking? Could he tell? “So

  far. I’ll keep you posted as others come up.”

  He grinned. “I’ll look forward to it.”

  “Okay,” Colin said, standing up. “I think I’ve figured out how to change it to

  night recording. Let’s go test it in the shed.” He picked up a flashlight and headed

  for the stairs. Lexie couldn’t believe her own twin hadn’t noticed how much she

  was blushing. She wanted to stay where she ever forever, but she pulled her hand

  free and scrambled off the couch.

  “Great, okay,” she said. “Sounds like fun.” She looked back from the

  doorway. “Coming, Jake?”

  “You bet,” he said, standing up and stretching. “Where my girlfriend goes, I

  go.”

  Lexie shivered.

  I always thought my first boyfriend would be Jake. But I never thought it

  would only be pretend….

  Chapter 2

  The next morning, Lexie was sitting on the front steps, tracing shapes in the dew

  with her sneaker, when Jake’s bike appeared at the end of the block. She jumped

  and checked for the tenth time whether her tennis racket was securely fastened

  to the back of her bike.

  “Bye,” Colin said from the doorway. Once of their pugs, Thorn, pressed his

  face against the screen door next to him and made a sad noise. “Have fun.”

  “Yeah, right,” she said. “You’re the one who’s going to have fun. I wish I

  could stay home all day, too.”

  He nodded, looking down at the ground. Mrs. Willis came up behind him

  and swung open the screen door. Thorn trotted out and nosed Lexie’s ankle.

  “Are you wearing enough sunscreen, Lexie?” her mother said anxiously.

  “Did you bring extra? What about the hat, did you pack the hat I gave you?”

  “Yes, Mom,” Lexie said. “I’m wearing enough sunscreen to cover the entire

  population of Australia. I think I’ll survive the sun; it’s the pain and humiliation of tennis you should be worried about.”

  “Hey, Willis family,” Jake said, skidding to a stop in the driveway. “Ready to

  go, Lexie?” She was glad he didn’t make a girlfriend joke in front of her mom. That

  would have been tough to explain.

  “Sure.” She swung onto her bike. “Bye Colin.”

  “Bye.” He went back into the house. Mrs. Willis stayed on the porch,

  waving, until Lexie and Jake were halfway up the block and couldn’t see her

  through the trees anymore.

  Lexie had hardly been able to sleep all night. What was going to happen

  that day? What did being a pretend girlfriend mean? What would she have to do?

  Who would Jake tell? What would peopll think? She had no idea how to act

  around a real boyfriend, let alone a pretend one.

  The wind whipped her hair back from her face as they coasted down the hill

  to the stop sign. Lexie could feel Jake glancing over at her, and she wondered

  whether she looked like a sweaty mess already. As they paused at the corner,

  waiting for a car to pass, suddenly he leaned over and put one hand over hers on

  the handlebars. Lexie froze. She wanted him to leave it there, but she didn’t want

  to seem obvious about wanting him to leave it there.

  “Lexie,” he said. She loved the way her said her name.

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you okay? You look nervous.”

  “Well,” she said, “you know, tennis. Me and sports, a bad combination.”

  Wow, could I sound like a bigger dork?

  “You don’t have to do this,” he said. “If you don’t want to. It’s okay. I can

  find another way to get rid of Bree.”

  “Oh, that?” she said with a nervous laugh. “I’m not worried about that.

  Seriously. Um. It’s the tennis. Never-wrecking tennis.” Oh, and maybe the fact

  that I’m alone with Jake. No Colin. No Karina. Just me and Jake.

  “If you’re sure,” he said, taking his hand back to his own handlebars. Lexie

  took a deep breath.

  “Besides, didn’t you e-mail her already?” she said. “We wouldn’t want her

  to think I got sick of you that fast.” She tried to smile.

  “True,” he said with a grin. “Okay, but just remember I really appreciate

  this.” He lifted up and pedaled ahead, and it took her a minute to recover enough

  to follow him.

  Summerlodge was down a winding road through pine trees. The camp had

  a pool, tennis and basketball courts, sports fields, and a large barn for indoor

  activities when it rained. A couple of different summer programs used the camp,

  but the one Lexie and Jake were doing was Tennis for Teens.

  As they coasted into the parking lot, Lexie spotted a thin, tan figure in white

  shorts and a fitted white baby tee leaning against the big Summerlodge sign.

  “Uh-oh,” Jake muttered.

  “I thought you told her,” Lexie said. “Didn’t you e-mail her?”

  “I did,” Jake said. “She didn’t write back. Maybe she didn’t get it.”

  Lexie felt an anvil of cold dread settle into her stomach. She’d spent so

  much time thinking about how to pretend to be Jake’s girlfriend that she’d

  completely forgotten about what Bree McKennis might do to her. Stealing Bree’s

  chosen boyfriend – that was definitely didn’t qualify as staying under her radar.

  “Just ignore her,” Jake said.

  “Very funny,” said Lexie.

  They got off their bikes and rolled them into the bike rack. As Lexie knelt to

  wrap her lock through the front wheel, she heard the clip-clop of Bree’s high-

  heeled sandals coming closer, as if an elegant angel of death were approaching.

  “Hi, Jake,” Bree said in her sultry voice. Lexie had always thought Bree was

  too skinny to have a voice so low, but it made her sound like an old-time movie

  star. It also made her sound bored a lot of the time. That, or she really was that

  bored.

  “Hey, Bree,” Jake said. How did he sound so casual? “This is my girlfriend,

  Lexie.”

  Lexie’s hands were shaking so she could barely clip her lock into place, but

  she finally snapped it in and stood up. Bree McKennis was studying her with

  narrow blue eyes. Her hair was pale, shiny blond and perfectly straight, cut in a

  close bob so that a sharp wing of hair hung down on each side of her face. She

  kept pushing it back with one long, tan, manicured hand. Bree loved to wear

  white to show off her tan, and she always seemed to stay that color all year long.

  Colin was convinced that it was fake, and that she went to a salon or used some

  product. Whether that was true or not, Lexie’s mom – World’s Most Enthusiastic

  Supplier of Sunscreen – would have been appalled to see it.

  “Lexie Willis,” Bree said slowly. “I have seen you before.” She narrowed her

  eyes even more. “I thought you moved away in elementary school.”

  Nope. I just got quieter and better at staying out of your way.

  “Guess not,” Jake said when Lexie didn’t respond. “Lucky for me.” He came

  around his
bike and started helping Lexie unfasten her tennis racket from the

  back. Bree leaned against the bike rack, watching like a snake poised to strike.

  Lexie could barely breathe, she was so nervous. Could Bree tell that they were

  just pretending? What would she do if she figured it out?

  Behind them, a car pulled up.

  “Howdy-doo, Lexie!” a voice called, and Lexie winced. It was Mrs. Kim, her

  mother’s friend. The Kim had moved to town a year before and Mrs. Kim worked

  with Mrs. Willis at the library. At first Lexie’s mom had been convinced that Mrs.

  Kim’s daughter Sally would be a perfect new best friend for Lexie after Karina left.

  But Sally was much too cool to hand out with Lexie. Bree latched on to her from

  day one, so now Sally was one of the most popular girls in school.

  Lexie waved at Mrs. Kim as Sally got out of the car and bounced over to the

  bike rack. Sally moved like there was always dance music playing in her head. She

  had perfect, really long, straight black hair, now back in a ponytail, and although

  she was short, like Lexie, she always looked long and graceful. She was wearing

  bright clean tennis whites, and Lexie glanced down at her scruffy khaki shorts and

  red T-shirt.

  “Hey, Bree,” Sally said as she came up.

  “Sally,” Bree said with a note of scandalized disapproval in her voice.

  “You’re wearing whit.”

  “Well, yeah,” Sally said. “They’re tennis whites. That’s the idea.”

  “White is my color,” Bree said.

  Sally giggled. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. My bathing suit is green. By the

  time I get to the pool, no one will ever know that I was so out of line.”

  Bree sniffed. “Sally, you remember Jake,” she said meaningfully. “This is his

  girlfriend. ”

  Sally squinted at Lexie. “No way. I didn’t know you guys were dating.”

  Lexie suddenly had the horrible realization that if Sally knee, Mrs. Kim

  would know, and that meant Lexie’s mom would hear the news before Lexie even

  had time to get home. But it was too late to do anything about that now.

  “Um, yeah,” Lexie said. “It’s new.”

  “Really?” Bree said, rolling her r. “When did you guys get together?”

  “Last Wednesday,” Jake said.

  “Friday,” Lexie said at the same time.