Chapter 7
seven
. . .
hadley
If Vivi thinks she can talk me into pretending anything with Jett, she is out of her mind. As my best friend, she should know this. “Whatever it is you have to say, the answer is no.”
She just stares at me.
“I said no.”
A couple of blinks.
“I am not throwing a tantrum.”
Her eyebrows hitch a little.
“Fine, I am.” I drop my arms to my sides. “I’m still not—”
Vivi gathers me in a hug. “I’m so sorry you were hurt. I know it was terrible. Jett did you wrong. He broke your heart, and as far as judgments from the universe go, he deserves to be hanged by his toes.”
I don’t say anything. Because yes—she’s right. Tears burn at the corners of my eyes, and I sniff. My arms slowly wrap around her. “I just… can’t, Vivi. I can’t act as if nothing is wrong when the universe has decided to turn itself upside down and let that jerk walk back into my life.”
My best friend leans back. “Maybe he’ll tell you why and give you a little closure.” She brushes a strand of my hair out of my face. “Girl, I love you so much. I want to see you happy. You’ve compared every guy you’ve ever dated to Jett—”
“I have not—”
“You have. You may not see it, but I do. You deserve to be loved and cherished. You deserve to move on.”
I chew my lip as I continue to blink back tears. Vivi is putting aloe on my heart and soul, and I feel it cool the burn. I have wanted answers.
She gives a devilish little grin. “Besides, I am the PR manager… Perhaps I can work something out with the Bobcats that will make it worth your while.”
“They’re broke,” I say as we disengage from the hug.
“Yeah, but they’ve got something better than money. They’ve got pretty faces and VIP boxes.”
This is such a bad idea. Like, horror-movie-don’t-go-into-the-basement bad. But Vivi’s got that look—the one where she’s already imagining the fake engagement photos and picking out social media hashtags for the wedding.
I’m going to regret this. I know it. Future me is somewhere screaming into a pillow. I know I should say no… but…
Instead, I say, “Warden Cameron said I should talk to…” and now I’m negotiating with the universe like it’s a used car salesman. “Maybe the kids could have VIP seats at the championship if they bring up their GPA by one full point.”
“You’re assuming they’ll make it to the championship.”
“Now that Jett’s here, I don’t see how they’ll lose.” I mean, I hate him, but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize that he’s one of the best players in the league.
Vivi narrows her eyes, suspicious like a cat about to pounce. “Have you been watching games again?”
“No.” I pull away and look down at the carpet. Okay, yes, I have but just since he returned to Briarwood. I’d sworn off hockey when he dumped me. I just couldn’t watch a game without thinking about him. “I mean, sorta.”
I can feel her eyes on me. I know the look she’s got. That one that says, “Liar, Liar, pants on fire,” although, usually we say it, “Liar, liar, plants for hire.” It makes zero sense, I know. Don’t judge us.
“Well, it’s not a bad idea to get back into the fandom if you plan to give this fake dating thing a whirl.” Vivi leaves me, walks to the door, and says, “Okay, come back in.”
Coach and Jett amble back into the conference room.
“Is she on board?” Coach’s lips quickly turn down when he looks at me. “I mean, I’d really appreciate it if you were.”
Jett won’t look at me. He’s crossed the conference room to stare out the window. Part of me wants to hurl insults while the other wants to hug him and tell him everything will be okay.
“She’s willing to help, but she wants something in return,” Vivi says.
Coach crosses his arms across his chest. “All right, what do you want?”
When Jett faces me, a smile is on his lips, but it almost feels fake.
“Well, it’s a little more complicated than just VIP seats.
” I lock eyes with Jett. “I want the kids to bring up their GPAs, especially the ones participating in sports. They seem to think they don’t need to worry about grades, and I want to give them an incentive to work harder.
I’m thinking a box for the championships. ”
Coach starts to shake his head. “Now, hold on, those bring in a lot of money—”
“Done,” Jett says, but there’s something in his voice that feels off. I just can’t put my finger on what it is. “I’ll pay for the seats.”
Coach claps his hands together. “Then I’m game.”
“And I want the players to show up to encourage the kids throughout the semester,” I add.
I know it’s not what Vivi and I agreed to, but it just hit me that maybe it’d keep them motivated.
“I’ll talk to the guys. I think I can get a few of them to agree to that.”
“Great.” I walk to Jett and stop about a foot from him. “Then here are my rules. No kissing. No hugging. No anything. We’re fake dating. Got it?”
His shoulders slump. “And no one will believe we’re dating if all of that is off the table.”
Perhaps I didn’t think this through as well as I should have because he has a point. I wish I’d thought about all the touching and feeling and lips before I agreed to this. “Fine, but we keep it to a bare minimum and only when we have to. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it.” He hangs his head for a second, and when he lifts his eyes to mine again, I see a depth of sorrow I’ve never seen in them. “I’ll pick you up on Friday for our first official date. Okay?”
Why do I want to comfort him so badly? I’m the one who was hurt in all of this.
He got to live his dream. Pro hockey. Glitz, glory, and girls.
I saw the pictures, at least for the first six months.
After that, I packed my life with Jett away and vowed to actively avoid anything to do with him or hockey.
“Yeah.” I stride to the conference door. “I’ll see you on Friday.” I look at Vivi. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“See ya!” Vivi replies.
I slip out into the hall and make a beeline for the exit.
I’ve just signed up to fake date Jett Monroe.
There are two ways this is going to end. Horribly or terribly. There’s not a chance it ends well, that’s for sure.