Curvy Girls Can’t Date Best Friends by Kelsie Stelting

Seventeen

Callie

Instead of going back to the house to hang out, we decided to head to Emerson Trails and go on a walk. That was safer than being at home where anyone could have overheard what was coming next. Carson and I agreed that we needed to talk more about how we were actually going to make this work. We'd been best friends for so long, and I’d steeled my heart so thoroughly against dating him, the idea of faking feelings with him seemed as possible as me throwing on a pair of tennis shoes and running a marathon.

We started down the north trailhead at Emerson Trails, which was usually less crowded than the other main paths. That suited me just fine because the fact that I needed to have a pretend boyfriend was embarrassing enough.

As I got out of the car, I glanced over at Carson. He’d somehow secured a bag of gummy worms and had one half dangling out of his mouth.

“Seriously?” I asked. “Are you always eating?”

“Or thinking about eating,” he said.

I rolled my eyes and continued toward the path. It wasn’t fair. Even when I’d been working out regularly, eating food like that would make me gain weight just by looking at it. Carson practically guzzled high fructose corn syrup and popped a few extra abs after.

Our sandals flopped against the trail as we walked side by side. The trees slowly became more densely packed, and the silence was audible. This was big, what we were about to do. Not only would Carson and I go somewhere our friendship had never gone before, he’d be committing his last summer in Emerson to dating me, closing down the possibility of love. And, no matter how much I hated to admit it, he’d be giving away his chance to spend time with his aging grandparents. Even if I wanted him around, I couldn’t ignore what he was giving up.

“Carson,” I said, “you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

He shook his head. “I want to.”

The surety in his voice was impossible to argue with. When Carson made up his mind, I knew it was better to just go with it than try to argue. Instead, I smiled over at him. “I don't know what I would do without you.”

“Probably go hungry.” He gave me half a smile and extended a gummy worm my way.

I laughed and bit it in half, chewing over the sweet flavor. There was another downside of all of this that I hadn’t considered. “My parents are going to freak.”

“You're eighteen,” he said. “It's not like they can ground you until college.”

“No, but they can say that you're not allowed to come over as much or hang out in my room... or stay in our house.”

The corner of his lips pulled down as if he hadn't thought of that yet. “Robert wouldn’t turn me away.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “He’s pretty protective.”

“Well, if that doesn’t work, I’ll rough it on Beckett’s couch. Or maybe Kai will let me stay in one of his fifteen extra bedrooms.”

This was all seeming like too much. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “It's just for a little bit, and then we'll be off to Stanford, right? When the summer’s over, we can say it was weird to be boyfriend and girlfriend after being just friends for so long and go back to how things were.”

But why did he sound so sad as he said it? Why did I feel so sad about it? “That's a good thing, right?” I asked for both of us.

The way he forced a smile and nodded told me he wasn't saying everything on his mind. But part of me was afraid to know the truth. Maybe a part of me was too desperate to just have someone think I was beautiful. To see me as I was and not what I could do for them.

“Okay, boyfriend,” I said, “how are we going to make this work?”

He kicked a rock ahead of us, and it skittered down the dirt trail. “Well, if we want it to seem real, we have to tell everyone.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Everyone?” The thought of lying to my parents, Joe, Nick, and my friends made my stomach turn. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

“We can start by making it official on social media?” he suggested.

“And then get like a million hurt text messages about it? I don’t want to keep it secret from everyone anyway. Can't we at least just tell my friends about the arrangement?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Jordan has the loudest voice ever, so no way it’ll stay a secret. And Zara is going to say how stupid it is right away, then Rory and Ginger will turn. They totally won't go along with it.”

Carson made a fair point. Jordan's voice did carry, and Zara had been rooting for Carson and me to date for months. “But won't they be upset when they find out we lied to them?”

“No one has to know we lied,” he said. “Remember, we're going to have a breakup. And we won't be dating long enough for anyone to get that invested in Carsie.”

I gave him a look.

“Okay, Callon.”

I rolled my eyes. “The issue is not with our ‘ship name.”

“Then what is it?” he asked, taking another gummy worm from his bag and biting it like this arrangement between us wasn't going to change everything.

“How can you be so laid back about this?”

He stopped and smoothed his hands over my shoulders. “It will just be for the summer, and then we can go to Stanford and have a fresh start where no one knows us as Callon or Callie or Carson. You’ll the best piccolo player in the marching band, and I'll be the hottest guy on the swim team. Our fake relationship will just be a blip in the grand scheme of our lives.”

The thought of this major moment being just a blip sent my mind spinning. I shook my head and reached into the bag for another gummy worm. “You're crazy.”

“Crazy enough it just might work?”

I shrugged and continued walking. “I still have no idea how we're going to get anyone convinced that we’re actually boyfriend and girlfriend and not just hanging out like always.”

We came to a big tree fallen across the path, and Carson jumped over it, then extended his hand for me. He looked into my eyes and said, “A little touch goes a long way.”

So I placed my hand in his and stood on the tree trunk. He reached out and picked me up, lifting me and then setting me gently on the ground.

My heart fluttered. Carson hadn't picked me up before, except when he gave me a big hug on graduation day and excitedly spun me in a circle. But I wasn't used to him helping me like that. Or putting his arm around me like he had in the diner. Could I handle this without spiraling back to having a crush on him? “What kind of touch are you thinking about?” I asked, regaining my distance.

He put his hand on my lower back, gentle and soft. “Maybe something like this?”

My stomach swooped at the contact, and I stepped away, unsettled. “You're going to get sticky gummy worm all over me,” I hedged.

He laughed and shook his head. “I promise to wash my hands before touching Her Royal Highness.”

“Good,” I said. But what I was really thinking was that I would have to find a way to smother my reaction to his touch, or find a way to be okay with never having a chance with Nick.