Chapter 11
Sloane
“Oh my god, you should’ve seen how red Lisa’s face got. And then my mom hinted at the two of us having sex. I swear, I wanted to die. Right there on the spot.”
Thankfully, the moms were gone by the time I’d gotten out of the shower. But the damage had been done. The memory of Lisa and my mom assuming we had just finished having sex before they intruded on our morning… Branded into my brain. Forever.
Zoey, of course, had gotten a good laugh out of that when I called her this morning, promising very lightheartedly to rein our mother in. To which I responded with a laugh and a ‘good luck’ before ending the call.
I had a sneaking suspicion that this wouldn’t be the only drop-in now that we were ‘officially together.’ She and Lisa were probably already planning the wedding.
How the hell was I supposed to lie to them for six months and then crush every dream they’d ever had for the two of us?
I forced the thought from my mind. This was not the time to remind myself that the whole relationship had the potential to hurt more people than help.
After an abnormally long shower to avoid my mother, I’d also spent the rest of the morning tiptoeing around Rhys as I was getting ready to leave.
Something was off. But he also had that look on his face that told me he had no intention of talking about it anytime soon. Which was unfortunate, considering he had another game tonight. Distracted Rhys would not play as well as he did last night if he wasn’t focused.
Maybe the visit from our moms had affected him more than he showed. Maybe he was starting to regret the agreement.
Maybe he was still shaken up about the confrontation with Stu last night. I tried to brush it off, but I was constantly looking over my shoulder and keeping my head on a swivel, terrified he would catch me off guard.
Or maybe it was the kiss. Kisses. Plural. Two.
But until I had the chance to talk to Rhys, that dejected look on his face would remain a mystery.
As if she knew my afternoon was clear and I needed a good distraction, Cami called and demanded I meet her for lunch.
Why? She wouldn’t tell. But it was ‘absolutely crucial’ for me to be there.
So, there I sat. Soaking up the sun and, unfortunately, the heat that came with it, on the outdoor patio of our favorite lunch spot, reliving the morning.
Cami’s laughter died down as she used her cloth napkin to dab her eyes. “Okay, but are you surprised? A sweaty Rhys opens the door, you’re hollering obscenities in your room, and you come out in a robe? Of course, they assumed you were having sex!”
“They’ve never made that assumption before!”
“You weren’t living together and dating before,” she points out, taking a sip of her water.
I sighed, fiddling with the napkin in my lap. “Fake dating. And sleeping in separate rooms. But I guess you’re right.”
“Um, speaking of fake dating. Babe. That kiss last night!” Her eyebrows shot up, eyes gleaming as she fanned herself. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did go home and—”
“Don’t finish that!” I interrupted. I’d been doing my absolute best to forget about the kiss cam moment, confused about the way my stomach flipped every single time it flashed through my mind.
But the second I was alone with my thoughts, I would replay it in my head.
From the second I saw his head pop up over the dugout, to the searing kiss that cleared my brain of every single thought it’d ever had.
Rhys kissed me. Like… kissed me. And I don’t think I’d been the same since.
Of course, I knew exactly what I signed up for. I knew there would be moments like that. What I wasn’t expecting was the effect those moments would have on me.
I wasn’t expecting to not be able to think a single coherent thought for the rest of the night, even after running into Stu. I wasn’t expecting the way my cheeks would flame whenever his head poked over the dugout to make sure I hadn’t run off.
He didn’t say that’s what he was doing, but I knew. Rhys was terrified that he’d freaked me out and checked in every second that he could to make sure I was still hanging around.
The unexpected feelings led to one too many beers and another mind-altering kiss outside the apartment when Stu had been waiting for me.
I had no intention of kissing Rhys twice last night, but I panicked when we saw him standing there.
The panic only grew at the pure, unadulterated rage possessing Rhys.
He was already in enough trouble as it was.
Cami would shit herself if the next leaked article involved Rhys pummeling the Chief of Police.
“Okay, but we have to talk about the kiss.”
“Do we, though?”
Cami rolled her eyes. “Yes, we absolutely do! You and Rhys kissed!”
“This is your doing, might I add! Why are you so surprised?”
Her mouth dropped. “Wait. How did you find out?”
“Find out what?” My brows furrowed at the confusion that shifted to yet another sheepish look on her face. “What did you do?”
Cami’s eyes widened as she chugged her water.
I reached over, pulling it away from her mouth. “Camille Hart. What do you mean, ‘how did I find out’?”
She sighed, sinking back into her chair. “That I paid Mike to keep the kiss cam on you until you and Rhys kissed,” she all but whispered.
“Camille! You did what?!” Of course she did. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why the camera was on me for so damn long. It should’ve moved on the second I waved it away, motioning that I had no intention of kissing the man next to me. But it had lingered for entirely too long.
I should’ve known.
I used my napkin to slap her arm. “I can’t believe you!”
She shielded herself from another slap, ripping the napkin from my grasp. “I mean, come on! I had to! After the fiasco at the store, you basically left me with no choice. I had to make it believable!”
“You could’ve warned me!”
She rolled her eyes. “You and I both know if you had any forewarning, you would’ve taken off. Tail between the legs, disappearing into a cloud of dust.”
Well, she had a point there. I would’ve run for the hills.
Not only was it her fault that I was in this fake relationship to begin with, but it was also her fault that I couldn’t stop thinking about my best friend and what it would be like to share a kiss like that with a little bit of privacy.
“What I meant was that it’s your fault Rhys and I are in this fake relationship to begin with. I think we all knew we were gonna kiss eventually.”
Cami shrugged. “That might be true. I’m not surprised that you kissed. I’m surprised at how natural it looked. So, either you guys are secretly in love with each other, or you took acting lessons overnight.”
“Okay, well, it’s neither of those things.” Rhys in love with me? Please. Apparently, Cami had missed the many shocked and uncomfortable looks Rhys had donned while the subject of a relationship with me came up.
His claustrophobic ass would rather be stuck in an elevator with a web of spiders than enter a real relationship with me.
Cam looked like she didn’t believe me. She leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, her left eyebrow lifting to confirm my suspicions.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I sighed.
Now I was never fessing up to the second kiss of the night.
“Like what?”
I rolled my eyes. “Like you know something I don’t.”
“I think I do know something you don’t. Or maybe I know something that you know but you refuse to acknowledge. That sounds more like you.”
“Cam, come on. We are not—We’re not here to talk about this. Actually, I don’t know why I’m here.” I paused, narrowing my eyes at her. “Is that why I’m here?”
Cami laughed, sitting forward and resting her elbows on the table.
“No. I know you were planning on skipping the next round of home games, but I think you should go. There’s an after-party for the coach’s birthday at the end of the month, and everyone will be there.
Press included. I think it’d be good to see you guys out and about, acting like a real couple.
Especially after the store and the string of away games coming up. ”
I ignored the amusement in her voice. “I can’t. This whole relationship has thrown me off. I’m behind on contracts and—”
“I’ve already talked to Andre.”
“You what? Camille. Are you serious? You cannot be serious.” There were a lot of things that I would let her get away with. She was my best friend after all, but meddling with my career for the sake of Rhys’s bad reputation was over the line.
She smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes. “I love you. I knew you would say no. I need you to do this for Rhys. It has the potential to really turn around everything that was pictured at—”
I shook my head, trying to keep my irritation bottled up.
Yes, I was frustrated with her, but I also knew that whatever I was feeling was likely leftover, pent-up frustration from my situation with Stu.
I’d been on high alert almost all day, waiting for him to show back up, and while what Cami did was irritating, she didn’t deserve the freak-out that was itching to make an appearance.
“You shouldn’t have done that. I get that your job is to protect Rhys, trust me.
As his best friend, I appreciate all that you do.
But this is my job. My livelihood, Cam. This whole thing with Rhys is just a favor.
I’m not getting paid for what I’m doing, and there is a long list of other players on the team who are paying me for what I do for them.
I already agreed to this relationship, and I will support him in every way that I can, but I refuse to put his career before mine. ”
When our families got together for the holidays, no one ever asked me about my work or how I was doing. They wanted to know about Rhys and his training, how the off-season was going, and whether his contract was being renewed.
Never mind the fact that my paychecks were just shy of what he was making.
My career had been put on the back burner for years in everyone else’s eyes. This was just another example.