Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
KENNEDY
LIAR, LIAR. PANTS ON FIRE.
“Kennedy, where can we set up?” one of the photographers who was going to be taking pictures of the learn-how-to-skate lesson asked.
“One of the equipment managers will be rolling a carpet on the ice soon. You can set up then,” I said without casting him a glance as I kept staring at my phone for what felt like the longest time in pure confusion and disbelief.
Evelyn
Hey, K! I haven’t heard much from you. How’ve you been?
The girls and I miss you so much. We’re going to meet for lunch this upcoming Sunday at 1:00 PM at Lorenzo’s and then go dress shopping for the anniversary party.
I know this is last minute, but hopefully, you can still make it! We would love to see you. :)
I hadn’t heard from her in so long, I honestly thought she didn’t want me to go to her party anymore because of the breakup. Yes, we were mutual friends, but since I walked away from Joe, I hadn’t heard anything from them.
The doubts started to creep in. I didn’t think attending was the best idea.
But another part of me, a much more insecure, pathetic part, the one who craved company and friends, came out in full swing.
Because, pity invite or not, I missed her.
I missed them all. Even when I tried to pretend my life was normal and I was okay with how lonely I’d been feeling…
I knew better. The knowledge lodged in my chest, poking me with its sharp edges like a jagged piece of a broken glass, pressing with every gulp of air I took.
Before I let my nerves get the best of me, I typed a quick text.
Me
Hey, Evelyn. I’m good. I miss you girls, too. And I’ll be there. Can’t wait!
There. It was too late to back out. Here was to hoping I wasn’t going to regret it.
“Hey,” a gravelly voice rasped, making me jerk and snap my head up.
In all his six-foot-seven glory, Henry stood in front of me, wearing a pair of black joggers and a black Strikers hoodie emblazoned with his player number.
He had a backward hat on, and his skates were tied together by their laces and dangled over one of his muscled shoulders.
And, of course, the stupid lopsided grin he always flashed when he was around me was firmly in place as his eyes raked over me slowly.
He looked annoyingly good.
My cheeks instantly heated as I remembered what I had done the previous night.
I had been trying to sleep for hours, but the ache between my legs was making it impossible.
So, because really, how much worse could my life get?
I decided to use one of my favorite toys and touch myself to the thought of my fake boyfriend.
And, oh boy, was it good. I wondered if he was as good as he was in my imagination.
“You’re late,” I shot back as I pushed the thoughts of the previous night into a mental box labeled DON’T EVER DO IT AGAIN, IDIOT.
He flicked his wrist to check his watch. “I’m fifteen minutes early.”
I stuck out my hip, resting a fist against it. “And I told you to be here thirty minutes early. We were supposed to talk before the photographers got here.”
He waved his hand in dismissal. “I’ll teach the kids how to skate, and they’ll take pictures. I think I have it under control.”
I raised an eyebrow as a grin spread across my lips. “Interesting. I didn’t even know the word control was in your vocabulary.”
Henry shifted closer to me, and his delicious bergamot scent assaulted my nostrils. I couldn’t seem to escape it. Even when I was at his apartment, every corner smelled like him. Like life wanted to give me a constant hefty reminder of the sexy giant I had for a roommate.
“Was that a joke I just heard, baby?” he asked with a hint of amusement in his tone.
“I’m simply stating facts,” I retorted dryly. “And for the love of God, don’t call me that.”
He rolled his lips, scrubbing his face. “Mmm, I could stop, but we both know you don’t want me to.”
He’s got you there.
No, he doesn’t, I hissed back at my brain.
Great. I was having conversations with myself now. Just what I needed.
My phone buzzed in my hand, and a sense of dread settled in the pit of my stomach before I even read the text.
Evelyn
Yay! The girls are going to be so excited.
I involuntarily cringed. I didn’t know if it was me, but Evelyn sounded almost too fake. It was hard to gauge people’s intentions with a text, but I knew her. She had never been so polite with me.
Henry shifted closer to me. “Hey, you okay? You look…”
I glared at him. “Please, delight me with your detective skills.”
He reared back in surprise. “Okay, wow, yeah. You’re irritated today. Why?”
Annoyance flickered through me, because how dare he be right? How could he read me so easily and guess all these random things? But what pissed me off the most was how he could act like normal when the previous night he decided to volunteer as tribute to satisfy my needs.
This was why I couldn’t stand hockey players. They were so overconfident and full of themselves. The way he dared to walk away and act normal for the rest of the night, like he hadn’t casually thrown my world off-kilter with his comment.
The man had balls; I’d give him that much. It wasn’t like I had any desire to sleep with anyone, but it was a matter of principle. Acting like he had the right to tell me what to do was an asshole move. Though it wasn’t like I had the most active sexual life before, anyway.
Sex between me and Joe had been…okay, I guess. But he always made it seem like a chore rather than a way for us to connect through intimacy, so eventually, I stopped trying.
I hadn’t had sex in so long for good reason. I couldn’t manage that type of personal connection with anyone. Much less with Henry. No, thank you. I saw no appeal to being another number on his endless sexual conquest list.
Liar, liar. Pants on fire. Are we going to pretend you didn’t have the most mind-blowing self-inflicted orgasm of your life to the thought of him?
“I’m not mad,” I snapped. “Go get ready, the training starts in ten minutes.”
“Where are your skates?” he asked.
I frowned. “Why the hell would I need skates?”
“You’re always near me during photo ops.”
“I’ll be right here.” I waved my hand around. “In dry, normal walking land, where it’s perfectly safe.”
He looked at me curiously. “Do you know how to skate?”
I locked my phone and placed it in the back pocket of my jeans. “What kind of question is that?”
He sat and started to untie the laces of his skates. “Huh,” he murmured to himself then looked at me. “Come to think of it, every family skate event we’ve had since you started working here, I’ve never seen you on the ice.”
“I plan those events, I’m too busy to skate.”
“The family skate event is in January, right?”
God, this man was giving me a headache.
“Yes, and?”
“It’s settled, then. We’ll skate together then.”
“Hard pass.”
He clicked his tongue with a shake of his head as he started to lace his skates. His fingers were long and sleek, but he moved swiftly like it was second nature to him. “I can’t be with a girl who doesn’t know how to skate.”
I scoffed. “Good thing we’re not together, then.”
“Ah.” His eyes gleamed with mischief. “But we are.” He dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “You know, as fake boyfriend and girlfriend, in case you’ve forgotten.”
I tilted my head. “You’re enjoying this a little too much, aren’t you?”
“How dare you question my intentions?” He leveled me with a feigned innocent look.
I let out a sigh as I rubbed my temples. “Go train the kids, and we’ll talk about this later. I don’t want to be stuck here all day.”
Before I had a moment to react, his hand reached for mine and jerked me forward, sitting me on his lap.
I immediately started to squirm, trying to get away. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“The photographers are looking,” he whispered.
I tried to turn my head to see where they were, but he gripped my chin tightly. I took a sharp, small inhale when his calloused fingers made contact with my skin. The sudden touch was scorching hot, but I tried my best to focus on the situation at hand.
“Don’t look over there, or they’ll be suspicious.” He chuckled softly, the sound making my skin prickle with goosebumps. Was his laugh always this sexy? “Your acting skills are seriously lacking, Kenny.” His intense, stormy blue eyes met mine with glee.
“And you’re too damn good.” My tone held no bite. The proximity was making me feel…off. Tense. Like I was suddenly too aware of all my spidey senses.
“Relax your shoulders and lean into me.” His tone was surprisingly husky and soft, with an underlying command that made the pit of my stomach feel warm and fuzzy.
“No.” I could barely manage to be this close; if I leaned into him, it was going to be game over.
“Do it. They’re still looking.”
I was not equipped for this fake relationship shit. It was too damn stressful.
I took a deep breath, and without a word, I relaxed into him. Even with all the layers we had on, I could still feel his chiseled body pressed against mine.
“I’m going to kiss your cheek now,” he whispered. “Think about all the good press we’ll get from this.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Okay, but make it quick. I don’t know how long I can keep pretending.
Being so close to you gives me the urge to gag.
I swear, I can’t control it even if I tried,” I managed to say in a dry tone despite the way my heart trashed almost painfully at my ribcage at the possibility of having Henry’s lips on my skin.
His mouth found my ear with a gruff chuckle.
A shiver ran down my spine, and goosebumps bloomed across my skin like tiny warnings.
My thighs clenched, and my clit throbbed when his voice, dark and husky, whispered, “Oh, Kenny, you and I both know you have plenty of opinions about me, but thinking I’m repulsive isn’t one of them.
” He leaned in, and his lips brushed dangerously close to mine, the contact fleeting and maddeningly soft.