Chapter 26
26
Katy/Katherine
“ I ’m so glad you came to the dance with me. I can’t tell you how many girls approached me, wanting me to be their date. You saved me. You’re my hero.” Ethan clutched his chest and pretended to swoon in his seat.
“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes at his joking manner even though I detected his sincerity. He spoke truth about the number of girls, because once again, I was a topic of discussion. This time no one cared whether or not I’d been pregnant. Instead, they were all upset that last year I’d snagged Mason and this year, I’d gotten my grubby little paws on Ethan, not giving them a chance. Although I did hear some of them wonder if he’d be completely like Mason, letting them fuck him since I was too prudish to do that. How I went from being the whore of Babylon that got pregnant and gave birth to a prudish virgin, I’m not sure, but logic didn’t seem to be a requirement when it came to the rumour mill.
“Seriously, I am glad you came. It was a lot of fun because you were there.” He pressed a kiss to the back of my hand.
He was right. The dance was fun which was surprising since last year I hadn’t been having fun and had been grateful when it was stopped early after the crazy slide show to bully Jake’s and Josh’s girlfriend. I’d gone into tonight without high hopes, only wanting to get it over with, but spending time with Ethan made it fun. Even when I felt Peter’s gaze on me as Ethan and I danced to a slow song, it still hadn’t dimmed my fun. And fun was something I hadn’t experienced much of lately.
It's why I decided to tell him that I’d be his fake girlfriend. When I thought about it. Almost every time I felt carefree, I’d been with him. I would have said that I felt the same when I was with the guys, but I didn’t. I was happy and loved being with them, but our interactions were tainted by all my unresolved feelings. I didn’t have those with Ethan. He was a friend, someone safe to hang around with. And that’s exactly what I needed. Fun without stress or pressure.
“Hey Ethan, remember that question you asked me?” His eyes scrunched up but then widened as he realized what I was referring to. “I finally have an answer for you.”
“And… don’t keep me in suspense, woman.”
I chuckled. “Calm your horses. I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”
He laughed. “Fuck. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of you throwing out farm or country terms at me in everyday conversation.” He held up both hands and bowed to me. “I await your word, mistress.”
“That’s master to you. I’m not your sidepiece.”
“That you’re not. You could never be a sidepiece. You shine too brightly. That’s why all the girls are jealous of you. They know that in any true, unbiased competition, you’d win hands down.”
Crap. He was going to make me cry. It didn’t help that my period was due on Monday, making me more emotional than usual. At least I wasn’t crying myself to sleep anymore. After talking with Peter and then hearing the same things from Jason and Jarrod, I felt more at ease, not as torn between helping a friend and not doing something that would hurt them. Because as much as I tried to deny it or ignore it, I still loved them, still wanted to be with them.
Not wanting to keep dwelling on them, I spit out my answer. “I’ll do it.”
“You’ll do it?”
“Yes, I’ll be your fake girlfriend.”
“Thank you.” Ethan pulled me into a hug over the centre console in his nice, higher end SUV. “You don’t know how much this means to me. You’re saving me, helping me to keep my dreams alive. If I make it to the European leagues, it’ll all be because of you.”
I pushed away from his hold and swatted his shoulder. “If you make it overseas or even getting to play professionally here, it’ll be due to your skill and work ethic. Not because I agreed to fake date you.”
He grasped my chin, making sure that I looked him in the eye. “Don’t sell yourself short. What you’re doing is going to allow my work ethic to do its thing and help increase my skills. Without this, I’d be forced to go on dates, put up with girls hounding me, pulling me away from practices and rehab.”
“Maybe. Although you seem to text me a lot. Can’t imagine that any girl would keep you more involved,” I teased him. He did text a lot, but that was usually through his voice interface while he was driving to or from Winnipeg to help pass the time. That and later in the evening before bed. Then he’d text to ask questions about schoolwork or to talk about the day.
“Wow, I think my fake girlfriend gets snippy when she’s out too late and doesn’t get enough beauty sleep. Get out and go to bed. We can make it fake official at school on Monday if that works for you.”
“That’s fine. I’ll follow your lead.” And then I surprised myself. I leaned back over the console and kissed his cheek. “Good night. Drive safely.”
He nodded as he placed his hand over his cheek. But thankfully he didn’t say anything else because I didn’t know how I’d answer if he asked why I’d done it. I really didn’t know why. It had just been a reflex. Maybe it reminded me of all the times I’d sat in a car with Mason, and we’d talked. Or maybe I did it because I felt so comfortable with him, like I was with Mason and the guys. Either way, none of those reasons could stop the self-recrimination that was going on in my head. The kiss had been nothing, something between friends and yet I still felt like I’d cheated on the guys. I’d never felt that way with Mason which was why this was bothering me so much.
I rushed into the house, barely pausing long enough to watch him drive away before I raced into my bedroom and threw myself on my bed.
Sleep. That’s what I needed. Everything would be better, clearer in the morning.
At least that’s what I hoped.
Monday morning dawned bright and early. I took extra care when getting ready for school, needing the added armour since my period arrived, making me a little touchy and full of self-doubt.
“You look pretty, sweetie. It’s not picture day or something that I forgot about, is it?” Mom handed me a cup of coffee since she’d beaten me down to the kitchen.
After taking a sip, letting the caffeine do its magic, I answered as I grabbed out the ingredients for breakfast. “It’s not. It’s just the first day that Ethan and I will be official.”
Mom stared at me as if I had two heads, reminding me that I hadn’t told her about our plan. And from the excited way she was looking at me, I didn’t know if I should. Maybe letting her think our relationship was real would get her off my back as well. It’s not like she was trying to fix me up or anything, often telling me she was glad I wasn’t boy crazy like the other girls, but at the same time, she’d tried to push me towards Mason, wanting me to date people and not spend so much time with the guys. It was as if she was suspicious of us being together although she’d toned down on some of it once she realized that Peter and Jarrod were really a couple. And when Jasonwas officially added to the mix, she’d relaxed even more.
“Ethan asked me to be his girlfriend after the dance.”
“Oh, sweetie. That’s awesome. I’m so happy for you.” She pulled me into a hug. “Ahh, young love. There’s no other feeling like it.” She pushed me away but held me by my shoulders. “But don’t get carried away. I don’t want your grades dropping. Good thing you’re on birth control because I’m too young to be a grandma.”
“Mom!”
“Relax, dear. I know you kids are sleeping around. Well, maybe not you, but certainly a lot of your classmates are.” She placed her hand against my cheek. “Just take your time and don’t jump into because you feel like you have to. Promise me.”
“I promise mom.”
“Good. Now let’s make some breakfast. You’ll need the fuel for school if you’re going to be telling people.”
Crap. Just what was I getting myself into if mom thought I needed to fuel up? While I was happy that mom took the news so well, I also felt sad, wondering how she would have reacted if I’d said I was with Jason, Jarrod, and Peter. Would she have been as happy or proud looking? Or would she have locked me up before calling the police on Peter? Not knowing bothered me. Mom had always been someone I looked up to, someone I’d admired and wanted to make happy. If she’d reacted badly when I told her who I really loved, I’m not sure how I would have taken it.
Before I was ready to face school, Ethan knocked on my door, so he could drive me to school. As I walked out the door—after giving him a kiss on the cheek for mom’s benefit—I glanced towards their house and nearly died on the spot when I noticed Jarrod watching me. He gave me a soft smile and waved in greeting, alleviating some of my fear, but still I worried. How had he felt watching me kiss Ethan? Had it hurt him to see me with someone else? Someone who wasn’t Peter or Jason.
“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked as he parked in the school lot. Crap. I’d been so lost in thought that I hadn’t even realized we’d arrived.
“Nothing,” I told him, but I knew he didn’t believe me because he took my hand in his and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles.
“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. Or we could take some more time.”
“No, it’s okay. I just probably freaked myself out because I’d never had a boyfriend before. Not a real one. Not that this is real, but you know what I mean.” When he started to laugh, I pushed his chest. “Fine, laugh at me. I’m being silly, I know.”
“You are. And it’s so cute.” I thought he was done, but then he got a mischievous look in his eye that worried me. “I’m hurt. You made it sound like people wouldn’t believe that I was a real boyfriend.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not you, you idiot. It’s me people won’t believe. I mean, no one has ever asked me out before, but somehow, I managed to land you, the man who all the girl’s want.” When I saw his chest puffing out, I decided I needed to take a little wind out of his sails. “I mean you and every other guy, because these girls are boy crazy. Even mom talks about how they are.”
“Sure, say something nice about me and then take it away.”
I laughed. “Come on, boyfriend. Let’s get this over with because I have classes to attend.”
“You just want to avoid listening to them all talk about you again.” He opened his door and motioned for me to stay put. After sliding his bag over his shoulder and shutting his door, he raced around his car to open mine. “But I don’t blame you at all. I’d want to hide to after what they put you through already.”
I took the hand he offered, lacing our fingers together. Might as well start of strong. I pressed another kiss to his cheek, thanking him when he held my bag in his other hand.