Free The Fake Boyfriend Experiment by Stephanie Rowe Page B

take it, Mom. Not right now.” Just the thought of not having it forced on me in two weeks gave me the hugest sense of relief and freedom.
    Mom started to protest, but my dad squeezed her hand. “You said you trust Miss Jespersen, Mary. Let’s give this a try.”
    No way! This had been Miss Jespersen’s idea? Having me play with Rafe’s band and postponing the audition? She’d come through for me? Maybe Rafe was right that his aunt wasn’t all bad. Maybe . I wasn’t ready to concede at this point, but for her to talk my mom out of daily lessons...wow. She and my dad must have seriously pressured her.
    The phone rang suddenly, and my heart nearly jumped out of my body. Was that Rafe calling me? How should I react? Should I be surprised? Should I—
    My mom raised her brows at the muffled sound of the phone, then reached under my pillow and pulled it out. “Hello?” She sighed and held the phone out to me. “It’s Rafe.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    I stared at the phone, my heart racing. Was Rafe going to be mad he was stuck with me? What about Paige? She would probably be upset, and then Rafe would defend her, right? Suddenly, all my excitement withered away, and I realized that he was not going to be happy.
    Or maybe he’d be psyched. I mean, we had had that awesome practice together, right? And we’d had so much fun when he’d driven me home. So, maybe he’d be cool with it.
    What should I say? Should I sing off-tune again to remind him of our bonding session just to make sure?
    My mom waggled the receiver in my face. “Lily?”
    I took the phone and clutched it to my chest. “Can I have some privacy?”
    “Sure.” My mom trailed her hand through my hair, then let my dad tug her out of the room.
    The door clicked shut and I took a deep breath. Rafe got music, so we had something in common. We were going to be in a band together. He thought I was talented. I knew he did. So, it would be okay, right? He wasn’t like Les, a football player who thought I was boring and strange. Rafe was a music guy. He’d be psyched to have me playing the keyboard instead of someone who wasn’t as good as I was, right?
    Oh, man. I wasn’t buying that at all. He was going to be pissed, and I knew it.
    I checked my hair in the mirror, put on some lip gloss, then sat on my pink comforter and crossed my legs. I took a deep breath, then put the phone to my ear. “Hello?” My voice barely shook at all. I was so in control.
    “Lily?” His deep voice rumbled across the phone line and I curled my toes into the bedspread.
    Oh, wow. I forgot how amazing his voice was. “Yeah, it’s me.” Okay, so I was going to try to pretend this was okay and not give him a chance to be mad. I mean, it wasn’t my fault, was it? Besides, we totally had a connection. It was going to be okay. Fun even. I started getting excited again. “My parents just came in here and told me that I’m in your band for the next month. Cool, huh?”
    “I don’t know what stunt you pulled to get my aunt to come in here tonight and order me to dump my own girlfriend from the band, but it’s total crap,” Rafe growled. “What’s wrong with you?”
    My elation whooshed out of me at Rafe’s anger. “It wasn’t my idea at all! I told them I wanted to quit piano and then they came up here and told me that I had to play with your band.”
    “I don’t care. Paige is furious at me. You think you’re special because you go to St. Mary’s and have this perfect little life and everyone tells you you’re this child prodigy? Well, forget it. You have no right to screw up my life just so you can have the world adore you.”
    “Rafe!” I jumped to my feet, anger boiling inside of me. What was with all these people thinking it was okay to give me grief all the time? I hadn’t done anything wrong, and I was tired of it! “Shut up!”
    There was a long silence. “You have no right to tell me to shut up.”
    “You have no right to accuse me of any of this! You think I