Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ASTRID
“You didn’t bring me here to kill me, did you?” I asked, staring out into the forest.
Frasier had parked his car in the same place he had when he brought me to school the other morning, where we … had fucked.
Memories of that morning flooded through my mind, and I pressed my thighs together.
A low chuckle left his mouth, and he exited the car. “No, I just like it here.”
“Here?” I repeated, following after him. “You like it here?”
“Why is that so surprising to you?”
“Because you just seem more like a downtown guy, where all the hustle and bustle are …” And all the cheerleaders. I leaned against his car and closed my eyes, enjoying the sounds of nature around me. “It’s so quiet here.”
“It’s not quiet,” he said. “If you listen closely, there’s a stream to the east. It’s a bit of a hike, but there’s a small waterfall about thirty minutes southeast of here too. Maybe when it’s warmer, I’ll take you.”
Butterflies spread through my chest, and I had to remind myself that this was all fake.
We wouldn’t even make it as a fake couple until late spring, early summer.
“Maybe,” I hummed. “But I don’t hike.”
“You’d hike with me.”
I opened my eyes and glanced over at him. “Oh, yeah? What makes you so sure?”
“Babe,” he murmured, leaning against the car beside me, his body heat radiating off him in waves and making me hot in places that I really shouldn’t be. Yet I couldn’t stop thinking about the last time that he’d brought me out here. “I can’t give away my secrets.”
After crossing my arms, I faced him. “That’s because you don’t have any secrets.”
He mirrored me, crossing his arms and craning his head down at me. “Is that right?”
“Mmhmm.”
His gaze traveled across my face, from eye to eye, then down to my lips, lingering for a moment more than it should’ve. I nervously licked my lips, heart pounding heavily inside my chest.
Stay in control, Astrid! This is fake. F-A-K-E!!!!
“You’re coming with me tonight to the race,” he said when his hazy gaze met mine.
“Race? What race?” I asked, trying to snap out of the trance this man had me in.
No wonder why he was a player. I knew that we were fake dating, and he still made me feel like the most important, most desired girl in the entire world. God, what was wrong with me?! If I let this continue …
“Rush is racing,” he murmured, releasing his crossed arms and pulling me closer, his hands on my hips.
“Racing? Like … cars?” I whispered, heat exploding through my body.
“No, racing ice cream trucks.”
I playfully rolled my eyes. “God, you’re so sassy today.”
“I’m not sassy today.”
A small giggle escaped my mouth. “Yes, you are.”
“It’s not a today thing. I’m like this all the time.”
I arched my brow. “No, you’re not. You’re a flirt all the time.”
“Look at you, putting me in a box,” he murmured. “Stereotyping.”
“Look at you, the player using metaphors and big words.”
An unreadable expression crossed Frasier’s face. “Player?”
I poked him hard in the stomach, trying to lighten the mood that had suddenly dropped out of nowhere. “You know that you’re one.”
Frasier stepped back and stuffed his hands into his pockets, leaning against the car and finally looking away from me and into the forest. “Yeah, yeah. So, I’ll pick you up at ten tonight. The race starts at eleven thirty.”
Pausing, I stared at him for a few moments and then glanced at the ground. Did I say something that he didn’t like? Why the sudden change in mood? It was a complete one-eighty from just a moment ago.
“Who’s going to be there?” I asked.
“Me,” he said, jaw clenched. “Doesn’t matter who else.”
Rush hated me. Would he want me at his races? Probably not.
Was that the sole reason why I wanted to go? Of course.
“Okay, I’ll be ready at ten then.”
After a moment, Frasier lifted his gaze back toward me, the harshness suddenly gone and replaced with those curious, flirty, familiar eyes. “Make it nine.” He took my hips again in his large hands and pulled me closer. “For me?”
Fuck! How does he do it?!
Frasier tilted his head to the side, his nose gently brushing against mine. I swallowed hard, breathing in his minty breath, my heart racing.
“Nine,” I repeated in a breathy whisper.
“We can grab dinner beforehand.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and swallowed hard as his fingers rubbed circles on my exposed skin. “Yeah, we can do that.”
I peeked up at him, catching his gaze on my lips again. And we were so close …
Kissing my boyfriend was normal, right? That was the most logical thing to do in a situation like this, wasn’t it?! Except he wasn’t really my boyfriend and I wasn’t sure which of these feelings inside me were fake and which ones were real anymore.
Besides, I couldn’t fall in love with one of the guys from The Crew. I wasn’t even supposed to have a crush on any of them—cough, cough, Calix. But I was doing this because of Calix … to make him jealous.
If I didn’t practice kissing Frasier, how would it look real, right?
My heart pounded so hard that I could hear it in my ears. Right?
I lifted myself onto my tiptoes, our lips grazing against each other’s. Right.