Almost Real

A retired NFL player who has never had trouble making friends gets an unexpected request from Sadie, the town's baker and his high school crush. She keeps to herself, and she wants his help changing that. He agrees right away.

Sadie has spent most of her life with her hands in dough. The narrator is confident he can stay just friends with her, even though his feelings for her go deep. Then she tells him she wants more than friendship. She wants to date, and she wants to practice dating with him.

He knows it is a bad idea, but he cannot bring himself to say no. As the pretend romance starts to blur into something real, he begins to suspect that being her fake boyfriend may be the riskiest game he has ever played.