Chapter 12
twelve
Things with Wyatt are confusing. After the kiss last night, my stomach felt like there was a swarm of butterflies inside of it. Part of me wanted to explore it to see if there was more, but the other part is scared to death about these new feelings.
So I took the coward’s way out. I congratulated him on his game and told him I needed to get home.
Like the gentleman he is, he took me home himself, leaving me at the door with a chaste kiss.
He didn’t question why I had to go home.
He accepted it without pressuring me to come in or trying to convince me to stay out later.
He’s basically everything I’m not used to, which makes him dangerous. He’s the type of guy I could fall in love with. The one I should have been with from the beginning. I guess what they say is true: you have to find the wrong one to really appreciate the right one.
There’s only one small problem. The right one is fake.
That’s the crux of it all. I enjoy being around Wyatt too much. I need to keep my distance if I want to keep my head straight.
If I were smart, I would end this whole thing before I get hurt.
I can’t do that to him, though. He put his neck on the line to save me that night at the party.
He stepped forward and claimed me without a second thought to help save my pride.
The least I can do is hold up my end of the bargain.
If he needs a fake girlfriend to keep other girls away from him, I’ll be the best damn fake girlfriend he has ever had.
“Hey, Lyla. You want to hang out today? Marla and I are going shopping.” Amber’s nasally voice pulls me from my thoughts.
I look around and see class has been dismissed. I don’t even remember most of what was discussed.
I offer her a small smile. Amber isn’t as bad as the rest of the girls I used to run with. She is part of the same nursing program I am, which bonded us a bit more than the others. She’s a follower, though. I think that’s what hurt me most about her betrayal.
She wanted to be there for me. I could tell when she would offer me a smile or a small wave, but she didn’t want to stand by me because of what the others would think about her.
Honestly, I feel bad for her. I hope for her sake that she loses that people-pleasing attitude and starts to stand up for what she believes in.
“Thanks for the offer, but we both know that they only want to be my friend again because of who I am dating,” I tell her as I pack up my things.
“I know, but I miss hanging out with you anyway. Does it really matter why they are being nice again?”
I look at her sadly. “You deserve better. I do too. The difference is I see how they are now and refuse to subscribe to it. I understand that you are doing what you need to do, but I can’t be part of it anymore.”
She nods. “I understand. You were the only one I truly felt I could be myself with. It won’t be the same without you.”
“I hope you find better friends after we graduate. Take care of yourself.”
She goes left as I turn right outside of the classroom. My heart hurts for her, but she made a choice I never asked her to make. It showed me who she is right now, and that’s not someone I want to be associated with.
My phone rings in my pocket. I almost don’t answer when I see his name. My feelings about him are still so jumbled in my head. Temptation wins out, though.
“Hey,” I answer.
“Oh thank God. I thought you were out of class, but I wasn’t sure. I need your help. Can you please come to the practice rink? I know you usually study during this time, but I need you.”
His voice is low and sounds a little frantic. It has my anxiety ramping up.
“What’s wrong?”
He groans. “I, um, can you please just come?”
It’s the vulnerability in his voice that has me changing directions and hustling toward the practice rink.
“I’ll be right there,” I tell him.
“Thanks.”
He hangs up the phone, making me move faster.
When I make it to the rink, there’s a man at the door.
“Name, please.”
I clear my throat. “Lyla?”
He raises a brow. “Is that a question?”
“No. I’m Lyla. I guess I wasn’t sure why you were asking.”
“Oh, no one is allowed in without prior approval. You are on the list, though. I was told to expect you. Go inside and down to the right. The open door will lead you to the ice.”
“Thanks,” I tell him, heading through the door he holds open.
As I get closer, I hear skates on ice. Then I step through the door.
On the ice is the hockey team, but that’s not why Wyatt called me.
No, he called me because of the group of girls all huddled on the benches behind the ice.
I walk down to the side of the ice, walking around until I’m near the goalie net.
As soon as Wyatt sees me, he holds up his glove.
I don’t know if he’s waving or telling me to wait one minute, so I just wave back and head to sit down.
After a few minutes one of the girls gets brave enough to come talk to me.
“Hey, who are you?” she asks.
“None of your business.” I ask, not liking how she approached me.
She frowns. “You can’t be in here. How did you get past the security guard?”
“My name was on the list, so I guess I’m allowed. Who would have believed it, right?”
“Are you making fun of me?”
I roll my eyes. “It’s called being facetious. What are you doing here?”
She clears her throat. “We are part of the marketing program. We have special permission to study the hockey team so that we can market them.”
I glance back over, noting all six people in her group are female.
They are using their class as a way to access the players. Smart.
“Hey, baby. Come here,” Wyatt calls out from the opening in the glass.
“Me?” the hopeful girl asks.
I snort as I stand. I don’t say another word to her as I walk over to the glass.
“I assume I’m playing defense?” I ask.
He leans over the boards, his hair falling in his eyes. I reach up, pushing it back.
“Yeah. If you don’t mind.”
I give him a megawatt smile as I lean up and kiss him on the corner of his mouth. “Go show me your moves, sweetheart.”
He smirks at me. “Sure thing, baby.”
When I return to my bench, the girl is back with her group. I don’t pay them any mind even with all the glaring they are doing.
After all, I’m only here to see my boyfriend.
My fake boyfriend.
“I owe you for that. Thank you,” I tell Lyla as soon as I exit the locker room.
“I think you owe me a chai for sure. Those girls were trying to kill me with their eyes.”
I wince. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? No holes in you anywhere?”
I pretend to look her over, turning her left and right.
“They didn’t bore any holes in me. I’m not convinced they aren’t going to go create a voodoo doll of me, though.”
I let my arm fall around her as we start to walk out of the rink. “I’ll protect you.”
She giggles. “I can handle myself, Wyatt. No need to go all hero.”
I lean in, kissing the side of her head. “I like to be your hero, though. Besides, I put you in their line of fire.”
“You did sound kind of panicked when you called. What happened anyway?”
I sigh, rubbing my hand down my face. “We didn’t know they were going to be there.
They got some bullshit approval for their class to study us.
They were specifically told to not interfere, but in the first five minutes before Coach showed up, they were all up in our shit.
Some of the guys were eating that shit up, but I wanted to send a message. That’s when I called you.”
That’s partially true. I wanted to see her anyway and figured it would be a good excuse to see her. Well, that and the one chick who seemed like their leader kept looking at me a little too long. Even when I told her I had a girlfriend, she was still trying to hit on me. I don’t do shit like that.
“Coach didn’t mind me being there?” she asks.
“Coach doesn’t like us making a habit of it, but we are allowed to have family and significant others come watch practice from time to time if we get prior approval and they don’t affect practice.
I told Coach I called when he came out and put an end to their bullshit.
I told him that you wouldn’t be an issue. ”
She beams up at me. “Was I an issue?”
I can’t tell her that I almost took a puck to the face because I was watching her most of practice. That would reveal far too much too soon. So I lie to her.
“Not at all. You were a good, studious girlfriend.”
That much is true at least. Coach commended me on picking a girl who preferred books over flirting. Told me she was allowed back if I wanted.
“Well, you were interrupting my study time. Which I hate to leave you all alone to your adoring fans, but I need to get home soon. It’s almost five,” she says, looking at her phone.
“I figured. Can I at least walk with you?” I ask.
She chews her bottom lip, which drives me insane.
“I don’t know. You have a car you could drive. You don’t always have to walk me everywhere.”
“Do you want me to drive you? I figured that if I offered that, you would argue that you could walk.”
“Well, I mean…I can walk. By myself,” she adds.
I hate that she is trying to blow me off right now. I feel like we made progress, but she is stepping back. I don’t know what to do to make her see the truth.
I am head over heels in love with her.
I push that down, though. “Yes, but a gentleman never lets a lady walk home alone. So I could drive you, or we can walk together.”
She glances over at me as we continue to walk toward her house. “Is it silly that I actually like walking? Well, at least when it’s not raining.”
“Not at all. Walking is good exercise, and fresh air is good for the soul.”
She looks over at me and frowns. “Don’t you hurt from practice, though? I know you didn’t move across the ice as much as the other guys, but it’s still got to be taxing.”
“Well, I ran drills before you got there, so you missed some of my torture. Other than that, yeah. It’s hard on your knees and hips. Staying in position for long periods of time can be uncomfortable. It’s why we move as much as we can within our box. Keeps the blood flowing.”
She hums. “Hmm. Interesting. You know, I never thought about hockey much before. I mean, my dad likes to watch the Foxes play, but I never really understood the game much. I preferred to stick my nose in a book while he and Will screamed at the TV. Now, I wish I had paid more attention.”
“Oh? You find you like the sport now?” I ask.
She gives me a shy look. “Well, my fake boyfriend happens to be some hockey hotshot. I feel like I can’t appreciate that as much as I should because I don’t understand what’s going on. I’m learning, though. I even plan to watch the game with Dad tomorrow night.”
I latch onto that. “I’ll be free. If you wanted me to come watch too. I could help teach you the game while enjoying it with your dad.”
She leans in a little closer to me, almost as if on instinct. “Maybe. We will see how he is doing.”
I want to push her to say yes, but I understand. Her dad comes first, and if he’s having a bad day, she won’t subject him to a stranger in the house. Even if he met me before, I will always be a stranger to him. That’s what this disease does to people. It steals their life from them.
I’ve started doing my own research on it. As much as I want to throw money at it, there’s not much they can do. Even the best doctors in the world say the same thing. It’s a disease they can slow down a little, but they can’t stop it.
Not truly.
As we arrive at her house, she turns to face me.
“I’m safely home,” she states.
“I can see that. You’ll text me later? When you can?” I ask.
She hesitates before nodding.
Leaning down, I press a kiss to her cheek. I want to kiss her lips again, but with this whole fake nonsense I started, I’m not sure I’m allowed. She’s kissed me before for her own reasons while I kissed her when my emotions got the best of me yesterday. It’s unfamiliar territory for both of us.
“Go inside so I know you are safe,” I tell her.
“Yes, sir. What if I leave after you leave?”
I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’m not here to control you, Lyla. I want you to be safe always, and if you leave, I would love a text to know you are safe, but you don’t have to. No matter how much I would like it if you did.”
She swallows hard. “I was kidding, but yeah. I can let you know if I leave again tonight. I won’t, but still…”
“Thank you.”
This time it’s her that pushes up on her toes, and she wraps her arms around my neck, hugging me to her. When she pulls back to kiss the side of my face, I turn, capturing her lips with mine.
“What was that for?” she whispers.
“What do you think it was for?” I challenge her.
She doesn’t answer. Instead, she backs away, looking at me shyly.
“Goodbye, Wyatt.”
“Goodbye, Lyla.”
After she is safely in the house, I force myself to leave.
Lyla Wayne is one hell of a woman. I have got to figure out a way to make her fall in love with me before it’s too late.
Who am I kidding? It’s already too late.