Chapter 4
four
Icannot believe this is happening. I went from feeling sorry for myself to following Wyatt fucking Scott without a second thought.
The look on Kyle’s face was worth it, though.
I am not a vengeful person. I don’t usually do petty things, but seeing him suck face with that girl not even a week after we broke up has me doing something I wouldn’t normally do.
Like feeling good about the pissed-off look on Kyle’s face.
Maybe now he has an inkling of how it feels to see the person you spent the last three years with in the arms of another.
Some of the embarrassment from his betrayal fades as I see others looking at me wide-eyed with amazement. It feels weird. I never had this much attention with Kyle, and he was the starting quarterback of the football team.
I look over to my fake boyfriend. He looks intense as he looks to the crowd of people around us. It’s kind of sexy to see him look so protective.
He’s doing you a favor, Lyla. Keep it in your pants.
Truth is, he probably doesn’t remember meeting me my freshman year, but I remember meeting him. I remember accidentally bumping into him. We flirted a bit before I had to go, but now I wonder what would have happened if I stayed. Would we have dated?
“Yeah, Scott! Get it.”
I cringe as a guy I don’t know yells out to Wyatt.
Wyatt turns and practically snarls at the guy, “Don’t talk about my girlfriend that way.”
Chills run down my spine at his words and how vehemently he declares them. I watch as his eyes take in the crowd before stopping. Then a smirk fills his face as he leads me to the stairs, and I follow like a lamb to the slaughter.
What else can I do? I am hypnotized by this man.
By the time his bedroom door shuts, I come to my senses.
“What are we doing up here?” I ask, suddenly nervous.
“Chill, Lyla. This is my room. We are going to hang here to drive home the fact that you are now my girlfriend.”
“Fake girlfriend,” I mutter. “Wow, your room is pretty big.”
“This is usually the captain’s room. Kellan had it last year, but he spends most of his nights with Cora, so he gave it to me this year,” he says, moving to his dresser.
I watch as he looks through his clothes.
“That was nice of him. So how long do I have to stay up here?”
He pulls out a T-shirt, then looks at me.
“This should fit.” He hands me the T-shirt with a pair of sweats. “Bathroom is through there. Go change.”
I frown. “What is wrong with what I am wearing?” I look down at my outfit.
“Nothing, but it doesn’t look the most comfortable to sleep in.” He shrugs, pulling his shirt off.
My eyes bulge when I see him shirtless.
Wyatt Scott is a fine specimen. Tan skin with at least a six-pack, if not more. That sandy brown hair is a little long, curling at the ends as it falls on his forehead. It’s no wonder women chase after this guy. He is a total catch.
A total catch indeed, and right now, he is mine.
Fake mine.
This is a terrible idea. This is going to blow up in my face. I know it.
“Listen,” Wyatt says, turning to me as he puts a new shirt on. “I know this wasn’t on your bingo card, but the damage is done. If you walk out of here now, they will know we lied. Look at it this way, no one will say shit about you and Kyle now because they will be focused on you and me.”
There is a hint of pride in his facial expression. Which begs the question…
“What’s in this for you? I mean, I know why I agreed to it. I let pettiness get the best of me. I wanted Kyle to see that I could move on too. What is it doing for you?”
He leans against his dresser, crossing his arms. “A guy can’t want to do something nice for a pretty girl?”
I narrow my eyes on him. “Not when the guy is arguably one of the most popular people on campus. What’s your angle?”
He sighs. “It’s my senior year. Since freshman year I have had girls throwing themselves at me.
They are always trying to get me to break my no dating rule for them.
I’m tired of it. I want to enjoy my senior year, and the only way to do that is to back off the vultures.
That’s where you come in. You pretend to be my girl, and at least a portion of them will back off. It will give me some breathing room.”
I quirk an eyebrow. “Really? That’s it?”
“Well, I won’t lie. I like seeing how pissed off your douchebag of an ex was too. He treated you like shit. I want to see him regret ever letting you go.”
That shocks me. I had no idea he even knew who I was.
“How do you know how he treated me?” I swallow hard, not sure I want to know the answer.
He studies me a moment, then smiles. “Honey, girls don’t cry the way you did out there because they were treated right. I hope you are smarter than most, though. Three out of four would end up right back in his bed even with his despicable actions.”
I relax a little, realizing I was reading more into his words than I thought. There is no way he knew who I was before today. Sure, I was dating Kyle, but we didn’t run in the same circles. It would be like Kellan and his girlfriend. I know he is dating someone, but I have no idea who she is.
Feeling a little settled, I evaluate his reasonings. If he is being honest, it wouldn’t hurt to fake date him for a bit. It would help keep women off of him while giving me some peace to mourn the relationship I thought I had.
“No worries there. I don’t forgive easily when it comes to betrayal. He might not have cheated, but it felt the same when he cuddled up to the girl moments after our breakup. Now he’s here with her? Yeah, he’s dead to me,” I inform him.
“Good. Now go change. It’s time for bed.”
The music is still pumping downstairs, but I can see the exhaustion in his eyes. Taking the hint, I head into the bathroom. I take my time getting changed, folding my clothes, and setting them on the counter for the morning. When I step back into the room, Wyatt is already in bed, under the covers.
I send up a quick thank you to the lord for the fact that he must have a king-sized bed. It looks like it will easily fit the two of us with room to spare.
“You stay on your side of the bed,” I warn him.
He chuckles as I slip under the covers. “Sure thing, my darling girlfriend. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I shoot a quick text to Will letting him know I am staying at a friend’s house before I set my phone on Wyatt’s nightstand and keep my back to him.
I have no idea how I am going to fall asleep next to him, but I’m damn sure going to try.
I’ve been awake for an hour, but I don’t dare move. Even when my bladder is begging me to.
Why won’t I move?
It has everything to do with the beautiful blonde-haired beauty lying across my chest.
I smile as I look down at the top of her head. She is snoring softly, but it’s not annoying. No, it’s adorable. Everything about this girl calls to me. The way she looked so frightened last night when she thought I hadn’t noticed her before tonight.
That’s why I lied to her. I didn’t want her to know that I have been paying attention since freshman year.
It’s not like I’ve stalked her. I didn’t usually actively seek her out.
I didn’t stalk her house or make up reasons for us to run into one another.
Instead, I memorized her school schedule and took glimpses of her when I could.
I watched from afar when we happened to be in the same place to make sure she was safe and cared for.
I only ever broke my rule twice, actually speaking to her. It was never familiar, though. More like someone in the bar making a comment about the bartender and you agreeing before going on your way.
There’s no way she would suspect the truth.
I know I will need to fess up eventually if I want this fake relationship to become real. You can’t build something solid on shaky ground, but she’s not ready to hear it yet.
I don’t know if it’s because she still thinks she loves Kyle or what, but she hasn’t moved on. Until she does, I will be whatever she needs. Right now, she needs a shield from the public scrutiny. I can give her that.
I feel the moment she awakens. Her breathing changes as her body stiffens. She leans up and glares down at me.
“I told you to stay on your side of the bed. What kind of creep are you?”
I smirk at her. “My love, I am on my side of the bed.”
She frowns, then looks behind her. At some point during the night she migrated over to my side of the bed.
I tried to stay respectable and move closer to the edge, but once I got to the point I could no longer move, she cuddled into my side.
I knew in that moment I wouldn’t move another inch.
I would let her use me as her human pillow even if I lost feeling in my entire body from not moving.
“Fuck. Shit. I’m sorry.” She rubs her hand down her face. “That was a dick move of me. Not only to hog the bed, but to accuse you.”
I sit up, stretching. I don’t miss how her eyes take my body in. I’m still in the T-shirt and sweats I changed into last night, but I know she is imagining how I looked when I took my shirt off.
“It’s fine. I understand. You have to be careful. I’ll never understand what it’s like to be a woman, so don’t apologize.”
She shoots me a shy smile before moving back to her side of the bed. When she picks up her phone, she curses. “I am so sorry to bail, but I need to get home.”
“Here, give me your phone,” I tell her. “I’ll put my number in.”
She hands it to me. “I’m going to get changed. Don’t be looking through my phone.”
I smile. “Never.”
I watch as she heads into the bathroom before I look down at her phone.
Part of me was worried she would have a picture of her with Kyle as her background, but I shouldn’t have worried. Instead, she has a picture of her and what I assume are her father and brother based on them looking alike.
Navigating her phone, I put myself in her contacts before texting myself so I have hers. Then I go and look at what her lock screen is. I tell myself if it’s family I will leave it, but I am relieved to find it of her and a group of girls I vaguely recognize.
Looking at the bathroom door, I make my decision. I take my shirt off and lie back on the bed. Then I take a selfie, making sure to show my abs. The lazy smile on my face completes the “just woke up” look.
I set it as her lock screen, then set her phone on the bed as I stand and look for what I want to wear today.
She comes out from the bathroom minutes later, grabbing her phone and putting it in her back pocket.
“Let me put a shirt on, and I will walk you out.” I turn toward her, pulling on the shirt, but taking my time so she can enjoy the view.
When I pull my head through, I am happy to see her staring. She averts her eyes quickly, but I caught it. At least she is attracted to me. That’s one step closer to making this real.
“Let’s go, honey bun.” I hold out my hand for her.
She frowns. “Is this necessary?”
“Yep. I don’t know who ended up crashing last night. You are my girlfriend. I would hold your hand. Really, I would be touching you all I can, but we will keep it PG,” I tease her.
She rolls her eyes, taking my hand. As we step out of the room, I try to listen if anyone is awake yet. I don’t hear anything until we near the kitchen.
As we pass by it, I glance in and see Calvin, Jason, and Kellan all sitting there as if they were waiting for me. I nod their way and head toward the door.
“I’ll see you later,” I tell Lyla, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek close to her mouth.
“Yeah.” She’s breathless as I pull back. “See you later.”
I watch as she walks down the drive and turns toward her house. I want to rush after her. She shouldn’t be walking alone, but I know she would tell me to stay home. I could tell she is still anxious about the whole situation. I need to let her ease into it.
Realizing I left my phone upstairs, I curse as I head back to my room.
“Oh no. Get your ass in here,” Kellan calls as I pass the kitchen.
I backtrack until I’m standing in the kitchen archway.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“What’s up? Can you believe this guy?” Kellan turns to the others.
“You have a girlfriend?” Calvin looks skeptical.
“She’s really pretty. Nice too. She talked to me for a bit last night,” Jason adds.
Jealousy flares inside me as I think about her talking to Jason.
“What did you talk about?” I bark out.
He swallows hard. “Nothing really. We talked about hockey. Then some guy came into the kitchen with a girl latched to him, and she looked like she might be sick, so I told her how to go out the back door to get air. I figured it would be okay.”
I feel myself settle at his words. Of course it was innocent.
“No, you did a good job. I was out back. I took care of her. Yes, she is my girlfriend. No, I will not take any further comments on the subject at this time. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go take a shower.” I go to leave, but Kellan calls out to me.
“Hey, Wyatt. I know you didn’t tell me about her, but did you happen to tell the other guys?”
His tone has me looking back at him. “No.”
He holds up his phone, showing a picture of me and Lyla from the party.
“Well, you might want to make time to tell them because this is all over social media.”
Fuck.
“I’ll tell them.”
That’s all I say as I race up the stairs.
Things are about to get real interesting around here.