CHAPTER 6 KAYLEE
It’s Monday morning before school when a text from Ellie comes through.
Ellie: Wanted you to hear from me first. Can you swing by after school so we can chat out our plan of action? LINK PREVIEW: Billy Peters Latest Celebrity Snaps
My eyes widen as I read the link preview.
Oh shit.
The first bell rings, which means kids will be filing into my room any second, but I click the link anyway.
“Billy Peters here with your latest Celebrity Snaps!” The popular celebrity gossip vlogger snaps his fingers and a picture from last night’s red carpet appears on the screen.
Damn, this guy works fast. “First up we have Vegas Aces’ tight end Ben Olson with a gorgeous mystery woman on his arm.
That alone isn’t news since Olson is often spotted with gorgeous women around Vegas, but who’s this new lady he’s giving his signature Big O Thunder to?
Let’s take a closer look.” The screen zooms in on my face.
“Early reports are telling me that this hot new couple isn’t really a couple at all, but the woman in question might be the little sister of the Dalton brothers.
Our sources have spotted the Big O coming and going from the very sexy Jack Dalton’s house on many occasions, and all reports indicate Ben and Jack are besties.
” He snaps his fingers again, and the words FAKE NEWS flash across the screen.
“A source close to the couple is claiming they’re faking a relationship to help bad boy Ben’s bad boy rep.
My people will be digging deeper, so stay tuned.
But for now, let’s listen to Ben’s Big O Thunder on repeat a few times and imagine him roaring like that…
well, you know.” He snaps and the screen flips to Ben on the field roaring at the camera.
I don’t have to imagine him roaring like that in any other setting. I’ve seen it. Naked. And it’s hotter than that dumbass Billy Peters could even imagine.
I draw in a deep breath as I quickly text Ellie back to let her know I’ll swing by after school, and when I look up, my room is filled with kids and I need to start teaching.
The bell rings, and before announcements even start, Caleb in the front row asks, “Did you really go on a date with Ben Olson this weekend?”
I blow out a breath.
So that’s how this Monday is going to go.
And that is how it goes. It starts with Caleb asking me about Ben, and pretty much every class walks in tittering with the gossip.
I’m asked whether he’s my boyfriend. I’m asked whether we’re faking a relationship for the media.
I’m asked if I’ve been to his house, been in his car, and met his dog.
And these are just the questions my students—and other teachers—have asked me to my face.
Don’t even get me started on the gossip mill or the things I’ve heard in passing.
By the way, middle school kids are freaking perverts.
So it’s really no surprise that Janet and Mr. Delnor walk into my room during the last period of the day. I shut down all questions and put the focus on my lesson, but still, it’s even less of a surprise that they stay until the final student walks out of the room.
“Have a seat,” Mr. Delnor says, and he and Janet both stand over me as I sit in a student desk like a child.
“Ms. Dalton, you’re becoming quite the distraction to our school community here,” Janet begins.
I press my lips together. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think what I do in my personal life would have any bearing on my ability to teach.”
“Clearly it does,” Janet says snidely. “We can’t have our teachers paraded around the gossip sites and maintain an environment of learning.”
Blood pounds through my veins angrily, but I maintain a calm exterior as I nod. “That’s fine because I won’t be returning next year.”
She looks neither surprised nor taken aback at my announcement. “Oh, Ms. Dalton. Are you absolutely sure? Your teaching abilities have come so far this year and—”
I hold up a hand because fuck her. I’ve learned a lot this year—not from her, mind you—and one of the most important lessons is that I’m not cut out for teaching middle school language arts.
Which is why I’m about to light every fucking bridge on fire as I leave this place.
“Save it, Janet. No job is worth what you’ve put me through this year, and it’s really unfortunate for this school that you turned me into the enemy.
I have a lot of pride in my workplace, and I would’ve been more than happy to invite my brothers or my new boyfriend to help out with the football team or for charity events.
They’d do anything for me, and if I asked them to donate a state of the art gym, they would’ve done it.
If I told them how badly we needed new textbooks, they would’ve helped out wherever they could.
But instead you cast your judgment and decided I wasn’t fit to teach at your school.
You won.” I stand from the chair they forced me into.
“I’m leaving when the school year ends, and I’m taking my teaching abilities that have come so far along with my very charitable brothers and boyfriend with me somewhere else.
” I walk back toward my desk and toss my final words over my shoulder without looking at them.
“Thanks for the opportunity. You can go now.”
I’m sure they’re both standing there flabbergasted, but I don’t bother to look. I hear the door click shut and I do a gleeful little victory dance.
It was a tough road making this decision, but I’m positive it was the right one.
Especially now that I have a plan. Not only do I get to have a fun competition and raise money for charity with the very sexy Ben Olson, I also get to plan an entire fitness program that could have ripple effects all over the United States.
Things are sure starting to look up…even though I need to jet over to Ellie’s and figure out how to put a pin in this Billy Peters business.
“Come on in,” Ellie says when she opens the door upon my arrival, and I follow her through the house toward her office. Ben’s already sitting on the purple couch in there and Kate’s working at her desk.
“Hey boyfriend,” I say brightly.
“Hey,” he says, nodding at me. “How was school?”
“I told Janet I’m not coming back.”
“You did?” Ellie and Kate gasp at the same time.
Ben grins. “That’s my girl.”
“I also burned all the bridges by letting them know I was taking my charitable brothers and boyfriend with me. Oh, and I told her no job was worth what she put me through this year.”
Ben holds up a hand, and I high-five him with a smile then sink down beside him.
“How do we handle this gossip snap video thing?” I ask Ellie.
“How did it even get out?” Ben asks. “Who’s the source close to us?”
“My best guess is Shannon,” Ellie says. She sighs as she sits at her desk, and she tucks some hair behind her ear. She glances a little nervously at Kate, who nods at her, and then back at Ben and me.
“First, can I just say how good you two look in that picture Billy obtained?” She smiles, and I get the feeling she’s trying to butter us up for whatever her plan is.
“And you two are good at faking it. Like really good. Ben, the way you’re looking at Kaylee in this one…
” She turns her computer screen around to show us one of the photos.
“It really looks like you two are in love. Or at least like you’ve seen each other naked. ”
Kate barks out a laugh from her desk near the windows while Ben and I remain silent.
Ellie raises a brow when neither of us responds. “Have you seen each other naked?”
“No!” I exclaim, and Ben just laughs.
“She wishes.”
I push his shoulder, which doesn’t even make him budge. “Do not.”
Ellie laughs. “Okay, so anyway, back to our game plan here. It depends what you want to do, but we have a couple of options. Each comes with a host of pluses and minuses, and I’m here to help talk you through them.
Option A, we continue with the plan as is and just ignore gossipers like Billy.
Obviously a solid choice, but date one already has people waggling their eyebrows. ”
“Waggling?” Ben repeats. He glances at me. “Is that a word?”
I shrug. “Sure. Like wiggling plus wagging. Waggling.”
Ben raises his brows, clearly impressed. “Huh. Learn something new every day.”
“Option B,” Ellie continues, “we scrap the whole plan and you just took your friend’s sister to an event, no big deal.”
“A lot of cons there,” I say. “We’ve made a whole plan for the charity thing, which I want to talk to you about next.”
“Ben?” Ellie asks, turning toward him.
“Huh?” He’s obviously not paying attention.
I elbow him in the ribs. “Do you agree Option B isn’t really an option?”
“Yeah, sure. Fine.” He shakes his head like he doesn’t really care. “What’s C?”
“Option C,” Ellie says, and clearly this is the one she rehearsed since she glances over at Kate for approval. “We take your relationship to the next level.”
My brows push together. “What does that mean?” I ask at the same time Ben says, “Like we have sex in public?”
I elbow Ben in the ribs. “That is so not Option C.”
Kate’s giggling at her desk. “You two are too much.”
“Maybe you’re not just dating,” Ellie says, emphasizing her last word. “Maybe it’s more serious than that.”
Ben chokes on something as her words start to register.
I clear my throat as I try to grasp onto what she means. “You mean we get fake engaged?” My wheels start to turn.
An engagement would pique the interest of our followers, and piqued interest would only mean good things for our charity.
In the interest of raising more money—and of beating Ben in our little competition—my mind goes to all things bride. The dress. The hair. The honeymoon outfits. The rehearsal dinner. Venues and vendors who would pay top dollar to be showcased on our little corner of the internet.
She raises a brow. “Would that be so bad? Like what does it change, really? And if you’re so inclined, an actual wedding would really shut those critics up.”
Ben blanches as I gasp. “You want us to get married?” The engagement idea was interesting, but to do it for real?
I don’t know about that.
“Not for real,” she says. “But nobody would have to know it’s not real. It’s easy to fake weddings these days. A little photo shoot, a nice white dress, you each wear a ring…and boom! Everyone thinks you’re married.”
Ben stands. “No. Not a chance in hell. I’m not getting married.
I’m not pretending to be married. I’m not pretending to be planning to be married.
” He walks toward the door and turns around for a parting shot.
“Get all those thoughts of weddings and engagements the fuck out of your head now because it’s not happening. ” He leaves the room.
“Well that went well,” Ellie says. She dusts her hands together like that particular matter is taken care of, but it’s not.
My wheels are still turning despite Ben’s reaction. “You really think it’ll fix things?” I ask. “If we were married, or if people thought we were?”
She shakes her head. “Probably not. It was just an idea.”
“Could someone slip to the press that we got married in private without having to do the photo shoot and the white dress and all that?” I ask.
She shrugs and glances at Kate. “I suppose that could work, but you’d be missing out on a lot of potential.”
I nod. She’s right. Besides, critics would balk if we faked a wedding in secret, and we’d have even more accusations that it was fake if we didn’t put it on a stage for the world to see.
“And if the truth comes out, you’d be in an even bigger mess,” Kate points out.
Ellie nods. “True. So if you want to take your relationship to the next level, you’d have to either get engaged publicly or actually tie the knot.”
“Let me think about it, okay? You know how against a fake wedding I was for you and Luke,” I say to Ellie. “I just don’t like the idea of lying to everybody.”
“I didn’t either, but you do what you have to do to protect the people you love.” She shrugs. “And I know you and Ben are just friends, if that even, but your brother is his best friend and he’s practically family.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. That’s only a part of why I feel like I’m at a crossroads here. The other part is because I actually am falling for him, and fake marrying him would only be setting myself up for emotional suicide later.
But what’s that old saying? It’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.
Seems like a bunch of malarkey, and certainly it doesn’t apply to marriage. There’s probably a reason why “it’s better to be married and divorced than never to have been married at all” isn’t a real saying.
Still, though, it might be worth it just for a few blissful months with Ben Olson. At least doing it this way, I’ll have the ability to brace myself for the end.
“I’ll talk to him,” I say. I just don’t have any idea if I’ll actually be able to convince him.