2. Blake
Chapter 2
Blake
I let myself fall onto the wooden bench and pull my water bottle from the gym bag at my feet. To my left, Eric is still bitching about his latest girlfriend, as he has been doing since we stepped off the ice half an hour ago. It’s getting harder and harder not to tell him she’s too good for him. Maybe I’ll slip her a note at the next game, tell her to dump his sorry ass and find someone better.
The door opens and I nod in greeting as our team captain, Levi Moore, walks past.
“And then she started getting all excited about that dumb radio thing, telling me how those dates sounded so cute and she could use the money for her family or whatever. But that girly shit would bomb my reputation for sure, so I shut it right down.” Eric stretches his arms over his head, trying to exaggerate the bit of muscle he has, his pale skin still glinting from the shower.
“Hold up, so she told you she needed the money, and you just…decided not to help her?” I repeat slowly. I promised myself not to get involved, but once again my lack of impulse control decides otherwise. “Dude, if that were me, I’d have gone and signed us up on the spot. She’s supposed to be your girl. ”
Eric shoots me a look like I just stepped in shit. “Why do you care? You just hit ‘em and leave.”
Technically true—I do very much enjoy one-night stands. But I always make sure the girls know what they’re getting into. None of them have ever entered my dorm under the illusion that they’d see me again, and they don’t care. So while I’m not well-versed in actual relationships, it doesn’t matter. Because for the short time that those girls are with me, I’d do anything for them, and I treat them like it too. Something Eric clearly doesn’t relate to.
Eric is the embodiment of the kind of masculinity my father wishes I had, the same kind he himself has. The kind I despise, as it is nothing short of toxic. That need to dominate and be aggressive, to crush your feelings to a pulp so you can appear like a real man, whatever that means. If he had any common sense he would see the flaws in himself and work on them instead of his reputation. Maybe then he’d be deserving of the girls he beds.
“Sure do,” I say, pulling up my jeans and grabbing a shirt. “So you can tell Bella to come find me once she dumps your sorry ass, and I’ll show her what respect looks like.”
Eric’s nostrils flare, the same look in his eyes as he gets when he prepares to slam someone into the boards. I brace myself for the attack but refuse to back down, holding his gaze as I watch him mull it over. He shakes his head and picks up his gym bag, walking out the door without another word.
“Are girls okay? Why do they willingly go near that guy?” my teammate and friend, Rafael, says with a shake of his head.
I crouch down to tie my shoelaces. “Beats me.”
Eric might be a good hockey player, but off the ice, he is a complete and utter dick. I’ve never understood why girls flock to him the way they do, even if they rarely last more than a couple of weeks. Respect to them—I wouldn’t make it five minutes.
Raf stares at his phone while he waits for me to finish up, probably hoping to go for a burger on the way home. It beats soggy leftovers any day. Maybe, if I'm really lucky, some of the cupcakes Levi’s sister dropped off yesterday will still be there on that fancy plate by the time we get home.
Levi’s voice echoes through the empty locker room. “Taylor, mind hanging back for a second?”
I motion for Raf to go on without me before walking over to where Levi stands on the other side.
Levi jerks his chin towards the benches. “Were you for real back there?”
Here it comes. The reckoning. As captain, Levi is strict on a few fronts: no drinking or parties during the game season, no infighting, and no outside drama on the ice. By calling out Eric I’ve squarely broken rule #2.
“Look, I know we’re supposed to be good, but he gets on my last nerve when he’s acting like that. Someone had to speak up,” I say, and on instinct I cross my arms in self-defense.
“Not that. What you said about the contest,” Levi says with a calmness that holds a sense of authority, a warning to straighten your back and listen. “Were you serious when you said you’d do it?”
In a single moment the nerves that built up inside of me fall away, and I laugh. “I don’t know, probably. Why do you care, Moore? Are you looking for a date?”
Levi’s expression doesn’t change as he says, “Not me. My sister. She’s not as lucky as you and I; she could really use the free tuition, or she might not graduate.”
Screwed . Utterly, royally screwed. That is what I am. There is no way around it—if he is asking me to be her fake boyfriend…he might as well kill me on the spot.
I look at him for a long moment, weighing my words, trying to figure out which ones oppose the rapid beating of my heart. “Why would you need me for that? Isn’t your sister a lesbian?”
A flicker of recognition passes through his eyes. “You’re thinking of Alissa—and she’s bisexual. Lis got into some kind of fancy art program, so she doesn’t need any help. Alexis is an English major, though, so not much chance of a scholarship there.”
“Wait, you have two sisters?” I close my eyes, pretending to wonder why I hadn’t put that together before. “So that’s why the hair keeps changing. I figured she was just really into wigs or something.”
Levi laughs, which happens so little it takes a moment to get used to. “They’re identical twins, obviously. Alexis has long hair, Alissa’s is short and pink. Anyway, would you be interested? Scamming the school out of a couple of grand seems like something you’d enjoy.”
I shove his shoulder with a shake of my head. Fine, so I set a few small fires and misled various administrations a couple of times. What can I say? I like causing trouble. Harmless trouble. Levi is right, though; scamming this place out of a big lump of money without consequences sounds like a fucking dream.
But no one will believe I’ve settled down. For the past two years, I’ve built a solid reputation of being a one-time-fling and nothing more. Me trotting around the same girl for months with no side action? Well, I can name a long list of people who’d call bullshit. But that’s not what’s holding me back. No, the real reason is much, much worse.
I know damn well who Alexis Moore is. She has occupied my mind every day since I first heard her laugh right here on this ice. Better yet, I cannot count on my hands the times I have tried to make her laugh like that again, falling for her a little bit more every time she comes by our place. When life gives you sunshine as pure as her, you bask in it. And fuck if I’m not willing to be blinded by her light.
But there is no way this can end well, no way someone as pure as her could ever fall for me. So I lie. “I don’t know, man. I mean, I’m sure Alexis is awesome and all, but a relationship isn’t really my style.”
“Fake relationship. Touch her and find out what happens.” Levi holds up a finger, a stern look in his eyes. Though he’s barely half an inch taller than me and one of my best friends, there is something about him that never allows me to fully relax, always wanting to impress him. “But if you choose to help out Alexis, I’ll talk to Coach Tucker and do my best to make you captain when I leave.”
I let out a low whistle. He’s pulling out the big guns now, poking at the one thing he knows I want more than anything. Being captain would make me irresistible to the ladies, solidify my importance to the team, and maybe even earn my mother’s approval. “You’d do that?”
“You’ve got the talent, man. But being captain is more than wearing the jersey. It’s a whole lot of responsibility, hard work, and dedication, and from what I’ve seen these past few years you’re not the type to stick with anything that doesn’t impact you directly. Do this for Lex, show me you can invest in something bigger than yourself, and who knows? Maybe you’ll wear this jersey next.” Levi claps a hand to his chest, where a large C is splayed across the fabric.
He can get it done. There’s no questioning it. He might not be rich enough to buy his way to importance, but he doesn’t need to. Levi Moore commands a room on his own might, and I know for a fact that Coach Tucker values his opinion.
The objective is clear: pretend to be in love with the girl I’ve been crushing on hard for two years, get her that prize money and I’ll be captain. It sounds simple enough, especially that first bit. But I know I’ll fuck it up in no time at all. Still, when will I ever get another chance like this?
Slowly, before I can let myself chicken out by something as stupid as rational thought, I nod. “Set up a date. I’ll be there.”
A smile spreads on Levi’s face, the one that leaves every girl on campus swooning in its wake. “You better not let me down, Taylor.”
“Let me guess, you know where to find me?” Most of us on the hockey team share a house, so Levi’s room is down the hall from mine.
“Sure do. But I’m not the one you should be worried about,” Levi smirks. “Alissa did seven years of baseball—still has the bat, too.”
A shudder runs down my spine at the thought of being at the receiving end of that bat. “If—and that’s a big if—we end up doing this, I’ll be a perfect gentleman. You have my word.”
Levi scans my face, and for a moment I think he already regrets asking me. But then he dips his chin in acknowledgment and turns to get changed.
A clear dismissal.
I rush for the door before he can say anything to make this situation even worse, and as the door closes behind me I blow out a breath.
Holy shit .
What on earth did I just agree to?