11. APRIL #2
He sounded defeated, and that had me intrigued enough to place my book on the edge of the table and fold my arms over my chest. “Do tell.”
He hesitated for a moment before looking me dead in the eye. “I need a girlfriend.”
Holy shit. I nearly fell off the chair.
“He bet you a girlfriend?” I stammered, barely able to say it. I’d heard about crazy bets before, but this was next level.
“Sort of. But that’s the gist of it, which explains the dating spree. ‘Looking for love’.” He air quoted and I burst out laughing.
His nose scrunched up at me. “What?”
“A sentence I never thought I’d hear from you. The way you had to choke the words out, I thought I’d need to start CPR.”
“Ha. Ha.” He rolled his eyes. “Your turn.”
“No.”
“Come on.”
“No.”
“Just spill it.”
Was I going to do this? Unfortunately, I failed in my search for someone else.
After Kev’s rejection, I had no interest in trying to ask anyone else from the team.
Out of desperation, I went out with Nora last night to see if I could meet someone and to no surprise, I’d had zero luck.
I weaved my fingers through my hair. This was my last chance and he seemed like he had something to lose.
Screw it. What was the worst Josh could do, laugh at me? Us? He was in a similar situation.
Sighing, I whispered, “I need a fake boyfriend.”
A grin spread from ear to ear in amusement. The smug jerk. “What now?”
“You heard me. I have a thing that I am supposed to have a date for, but he broke up with me, remember?”
He stared at me up and down, as if he was debating something in his head. Something I was certain I wasn't going to like. “I’ll do it.”
And there it was.
“Ha.” I snorted.
He flinched. “What? What’s wrong with me?”
Reaching over, I tapped him on the chest. “You, are not boyfriend material. They will see through that lie so fast.”
“Give me some credit. I can fake it.”
My eyebrow nearly shot through the roof. “No way.”
“Gimme one chance.”
“Not happening.”
“April.”
He put his elbows on the table, leaning toward me. “We’ve already crossed the line. You didn’t seem to mind then.”
My cheeks burned. “That was different.”
“Why’s that?”
“It was a one-time thing. We haven’t spoken of it since and, as far as I know, no one knows.”
He flinched.
What the—?
“Did you just flinch?” I hissed.
He scrubbed his face with his hands. “Kev knows.”
My mouth gaped, unable to say the profanities I wanted to. He sensed my rage, because he immediately tried to reassure me that Kev swore he wouldn’t say anything.
“But… Why?”
“I disappeared on him just after the fair and he saw me catching up to you.”
I rubbed the deep crease in my forehead, muttering more curse words.
Josh watched me process, probing in disbelief that I hadn’t shared what happened between us with anyone. “You didn’t tell anyone?” he pressed. “Not even Nora?”
I slowly shook my head, which earned his mocking pout that irritated me even more.
“Why not?” He pretended to be insulted, despite his lips twitching to a grin.
“Are you insulted that I didn’t tell anyone?” I couldn’t believe his arrogance.
“Yeah.” Josh shrugged. “If I’m honest.”
I blew out a breath. “I can’t even.”
“Okay. Now that that’s settled. Let’s figure out how to make this work.”
Settled? Work? “You’re insane.”
He leaned forward, grinning at me. “We’re friends, April. We can help each other out here. Give me one good reason why it won’t work.”
There were one thousand reasons. My insecurities crept up.
To begin, Josh looked like he stepped out of a fitness magazine and I…
I didn’t. I wasn’t shy about my body, but I wasn’t ready to be compared to him and every fan looking to be Mrs. Davidson.
Josh was also an ass, cocky, rude, and ruthless when it came to winning.
He sipped on his freshly delivered latte, watching me expectantly.
I huffed and added, “I’m not your type.”
He sat straighter in the chair; his eyes narrowed at me. “You’re exactly my type.”
Rolling my eyes, I quipped. “Not according to your track record.”
“You’re my track record,” he deadpanned.
It was hard to argue that since he was right. “That was behind closed doors. Last I checked, it was the supermodels you took out in public.”
His jaw ticked. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. As much as I appreciated his offer and I needed it, I doubted we could pull it off. Josh and I were an unlikely match in the eyes of the people we were trying to fool.
“I appreciate your offer, but my answer is still no.” I sipped on my latte, avoiding his stare over the rim of his oversized cup.
“If you change your mind, I’m your man.” Something about the way he stated I’m your man made my insides flip.
He dropped the topic, grabbed a book from a nearby shelf, and returned to the chair across from me. We sat in comfortable silence, indulging in lattes and pastries, reading against the window being pelted by the rain, and it was somehow the best coffee non-date I’d ever had.
When we had our fill and the rain slowed into a light shower, we walked home together. We chatted about the upcoming games and some strategies. Topics that felt safe to discuss. My head was swimming with possibilities. He’d offered exactly what I wanted and yet, I was too damn nervous to accept it.
The building was quiet today. The lobby was empty. I guessed the rain kept people indoors. Josh pushed the buttons for our floors in the elevator and my heart sunk. My brain argued with my heart. You turned him down!
The doors opened and I was surprised when he followed me out.
“You don’t have to walk me to the door,” I stammered nervously.
“Shush. Yes I do.”
“Josh.”
“April,” he mocked. “Just give me this, okay? I’m enjoying this time.”
Biting the inside of my lip to keep from ruining whatever that was, I led the way down the long corridor to my door.
When we reached my front door, I dug in my purse, happy to have found my keys. I gave them a little jingle, which made him laugh.
“Didn’t want to stay with me again?” His tone was light and teasing.
“You do snore.”
He rolled his eyes. “Not a chance.”
I laughed. He stepped closer to me and I froze. My heart was pounding on my ribcage.
“Think about what I said.”
“What about the clubhouse rules?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“We add legitimacy to our story. Rules can be swayed if we’re careful.”
My eyebrows knitted together.
“We can be discreet. Tell who we need to. No one wants to lose anyone.”
My head screamed; it was plausible. If they thought he was helping me for my Papi’s party, no one would make a big deal out of it. “But, why?”
He leaned in, his heavy breath whispering against my skin, leaving a wave of tingles. “Because you and I don’t back down from a challenge. You have your reasons and so do I.” He paused, his eyes falling to my lips, “You deserve to have someone show up for you. To show you off.”
My breath caught in my throat. He added, “We need each other.”
There was something genuine in his voice. “Let me think about it.”
“Good.” He smirked. “But I’m not giving up.”
“Noted.” I smiled.
As he backed away, it felt like he took all the heat with him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and headed back toward the elevator. All I could think was fake or not, it was tempting.