Girlfriend
RILEY
It's past nine by the time we have eaten.
Easton made pasta. He didn’t ask if I wanted to eat. He set the bowl down in front of me on the couch with a fork in it.
“Eat.”
I don't have an appetite, but with the look in his eyes and his tone, I know he isn't asking. So I eat.
Easton’s on the other end of the couch. His feet are in my lap. There is a low light on in the corner of the living room, and the kitchen is dark behind us. A random show is playing on the TV, but we’re not paying attention to it.
He’s on his phone, and I stare at the TV screen.
It looks like a normal evening in a normal home.
A home. That’s what this place has become. Between staying all day indoors, reading my favorite books, making dinner with Easton, and the sex…
Lord, the sex.
We’ve settled into a routine. Our small routine and it’s comfortable. Except my baggage has to come find me.
The memories pour in, but only one word sticks to my head.
Girlfriend.
He told Preston I was his girlfriend.
I’ve been turning it over in my head since the door closed behind him.
The way he said it. The way Preston’s face flickered for half a second before it smoothed over. The way Easton had said it with the kind of finality that made it almost believable.
My eyes find his.
He's no longer looking at his phone.
“Want me to do anything for you, sweetheart?” he asks, his gaze fixed on mine.
I quickly shake my head.
But I feel it too. The warmth that spreads through me. The way he said the word, sweetheart.
Boundaries. We needed to set boundaries.
Whatever we have now, the sex, the lie we’ve told to Preston, we need to keep it going.
“Um… I was thinking.”
He drops his legs from my thighs and reaches for me, pulling me until I’m lying on his chest between his legs, with his arms wrapped around me, and our eyes locked.
My core tightens.
“Tell me about it, if you don’t mind.”
“The lie you told Preston. We need to…” A frown crosses his face, but it’s gone in a second. “We need to decide if we’ll keep up with it.”
“That you’re my girlfriend?”
I nod. His fingers move from my back and slide into my hair. A sigh leaves my lips.
The TV is still playing in the background, and I’m on his chest, his body’s warmth seeping into mine. I could get used to this. His fingers massage my scalp so well that I forget what I’m supposed to say, and my eyes close.
“Riley...” His voice is barely above a whisper.
My eyes fly open.
He's closer now. So close I don't remember him moving. His lips hover only a breath from mine.
“It doesn't have to mean anything,” he says quietly. “You know that, right?”
I don't know how to answer.
Because I want it to mean... something. But I don't know if it does for him.
And I'm not ready for anything more, either.
I just walked away from a six-year relationship.
A toxic one. How am I supposed to know what I want?
How can I trust myself to make the right choice when I've spent years making the wrong ones?
He doesn't push.
He just looks at me, patient as ever.
I push myself upright until I'm straddling his lap.
“Easton...” I shake my head. “I'm a mess. I ran away from my own wedding. You don't need this chaos in your life. I'm all kinds of fucked up.”
“Hey.” His hands settle on my waist, gently pulling me closer until my palms rest against his chest. “You're not fucked up.”
His eyes never leave mine.
“You've been through something hard. That doesn't make you broken.”
His thumbs brush slow circles against my hips.
“And I'm not asking anything from you, Riley. We don't have to put a label on this. We don't have to be anything you're not ready for.”
His smile is small but genuine.
“I just want you to feel safe. To put yourself first for once.”
He pauses.
“But if, someday, you decide you don't want to carry all this by yourself anymore...” His smile grows. “I don't mind a little messy.”
A laugh escapes me before I can stop it.
“Why did you tell Preston I'm your girlfriend?”
“I told him whatever I could to get him out of your hair.”
“And…” I watch his face carefully before I say the next words. “The sex?”
He leans forward until our foreheads touch. “If you still want me,” he murmurs, “I'm all yours, baby.”
A shiver races down my spine.
“And honestly?” His smile turns lazy. “That arrangement works just fine for me.”
I smile back. “Okay. I think I can live with that.”
I hesitate. “But... one last request?”
“Yeah?”
“What if we keep selling the lie a little longer?”
His brows lift.
“You'd publicly be my fake boyfriend. Just until everything dies down. No one has to know it's fake except us.”
I bite my lip. “It'd give me a chance to step back into my life without everyone asking questions. To reclaim it on my own terms.”
I glance away. “I know it's a huge thing to ask, especially with your career and everything, but...”
He kisses me.
His lips slant over mine, and I moan into the kiss. Before I can deepen it, he pulls away.
“Done. I think the fans will be thrilled to see a woman on my arm, so you’ll be doing my drowning Playboy reputation a solid one.” He flashes his brows, and I chuckle.
I don’t laugh too long because he’s kissing me again, and Lord knows I can’t resist. Not when his fingers are buried in my hair, and his free hand is sliding down my lower back into the waistband of my shorts.
He pulls away and stares into my eyes with a smirk.
“Wanna seal the deal upstairs?”
“Your playboy reputation is really in the mud if this is your game.” I swat at his chest, but he catches both my hands before I can make contact. Laughing, I lean down and kiss him again, lingering against his lips. “In a few minutes?”
“Okay.”
I move from his chest and grab my phone from the couch.
“What are you up to?”
“I… I need to call my mom. I think it’s time I speak to her before Preston blows the story out of proportion. Enough time has passed.”
He nods.
“Do you want me to leave the room?”
I don’t have a response to that because I don’t know what to say. Do I want him there?
Yes. Thoughts of being on a call with my mom after these past two weeks have my heart racing. I have no idea what I’ll say, but it has to be done, if it’s not already too late.
Part of me wants Easton there because he's been nothing but supportive.
The other part wants to do this on my own. He's already done more than enough for me.
It’s time I face my fears head-on, the same way I ran out of that wedding without second thoughts.
This was what I wanted, wasn’t it?
Before I can fully decide, he’s up on his feet. He reaches for my free hand and squeezes softly. He leans in for a quick kiss.
“I’ll be in bed waiting for you. Take all the time you need.”
And he’s gone.
As soon as he’s out of earshot, I drag in a deep breath and sit back on the couch.
I stare at my phone for a minute, unsure if this is the right decision, but eventually, I unlock the screen. I scroll to her name and click on call before I can think about it.
She picks up on the second ring.
“Oh Riley, honey…”
Her voice. Hearing it brings tears to my eyes, and a small smile too.
I hear the worry in it, and I immediately realize the past few weeks must have been very difficult for her.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Riley, Sweetheart, where are you?”
“I-I’m safe, mom. I’m staying with a friend.”
“A friend we know? Where? I’ll come pick you up now, if you can just tell me where you’ve been. I’ll tell your dad, Mason, Preston… We’ll… We’ll all be there for you, honey.”
Listening to her breaks my heart all over again. She still doesn’t see it. She doesn’t get it.
She still believes everything will go back to how it’s always been. With me. With Preston. The fairytale he’s sold to them. She doesn’t understand.
“Mom…” A lone tear rolls down my cheek, and my chest constricts.
Maybe the call was a mistake. Maybe it’s too early to believe they’ll see him for who he is and stand up for me.
“Riley, your father is beside himself. Preston has been devastated. He came to see us this evening. He was so upset, he…”
My heart skips.
He met them after he left here. He’s told them.
“He has been so patient with all of this, Riley. He understands that you have been struggling. He just wants to talk. He’s searched for you all over, but no traces.
Please come home. Or at least give up your location.
I’ll come for you myself. If you don’t want to see him yet, that’s understandable.
But please promise me you’ll be home soon. ”
He didn’t tell them.
That scares me more. He knows where I’ve been but hasn’t revealed it.
Preston has never been that nice. This is another strategy. He’s plotting.
My heart races as I think of the possible headlines that’ll come up soon.
Famous Hockey Player, Easton Blake, kidnaps the Sinclair Bride? Has an affair with Preston Sinclair’s fiancée?
Oh God…
He’s up to something. The freaking bastard.
I need to leave Easton’s home. Need to get out of this city. Move to a new place.
“We’ve all been so worried about you, Riley. But the poor man has been through hell. He looks a mess. You need to…”
“Mom!” My voice comes out harsher than I intend.
A wave of remorse immediately hits me, but that gets her to keep quiet.
I exhale.
“Mom. Listen to me.”
I close my eyes. There’s no point hiding it anymore. I need to spell it out.
“I'm not coming back to Preston. Not in a week. Not in a month. Not in a year. I'm done. I need you to hear me when I say that. I'm done.”
“Riley.”
“I can't tell you everything yet. I'm not ready.” My voice wavers. “But when I am, I'll tell you everything.”
I swallow hard. “I'm just asking you to wait until then before you decide what to believe. Please.”
A tear slips down my cheek.
“And... please try to calm Dad. This is all so much. I'm still trying to make sense of it myself.”
I take a shaky breath. “I loved this man, Mom. I really did.”
The words hurt more than I expect.
“So please... give me a little time to put myself back together. When I'm ready, I'll tell you the truth.”
I wipe at my eyes.
“But I need you to know one thing now. If I come home, it won't be for Preston. It won't be to get back together with him.”
I shake my head. “It'll be because I miss you. Because I miss Dad. Because I still want you in my life.”
My voice breaks. “I just... I need you to be on my side. Please.”
There is a long pause on the line.
“Honey…”
“Mom,”
“You sound tired.”
“I'm tired.”
“This isn't like you. You and Preston have been so happy. Surely whatever has happened, the two of you can sit down with someone, a counselor, a—”
“Mom…”
“I'm just saying that sometimes a girl needs to come home and let the people who love her—”
“Mom!”
She stops.
“Will you wait?” I ask quietly. “Will you wait until you've heard my side? Before you decide his version is the truth. Before you keep believing he's the right man for me... will you wait for me? Will you let me explain?”
There is another pause.
“Of course, sweetheart.”
I don’t hear the conviction in her voice. It doesn’t make me feel better or lighter. But I know I’ve left her with something to think about until the next time we speak.
“I love you, Mom. I have to go.”
“Riley…”
“I love you, Mom.”
I hang up.
I sit with the phone face down on my thigh.
I don’t know how long I sit there, but when I look up again, Easton is by the foot of the stairs.
“Ready for bed?”
I blink.
“H-how long have you been there?”
“Barely a minute. Just came to check on you. I’m sorry if…”
I force a smile, but my chest constricts.
I know it’ll be over soon—this comfort.
I need to be out of here before it blows over. He’s done enough, and it’s time for me to stand for myself.
“It’s fine.” I rise and cover the distance.
“How was it?”
I’m once again reminded of the call.
He lifts me until my legs are wrapped around his hips, and starts heading toward the bedroom.
“I told her the truth. Told her I was done with him. She’s yet to accept, but I hope that with time, she will. They all will.”
“And you? Are you okay?”
He helps me onto the bed, then braces himself on either side of me, searching my face.
I can't trust my voice. If I answer, he'll hear everything I'm trying so hard to hide. So I just nod.
Before he has a chance to read too much into my silence, I reach up and kiss him.
It does the trick.
He kisses me back, then pulls me close as we settle beneath the covers.
Wrapped tightly in his arms, he falls asleep faster than usual.
I don't blame him. It's been one hell of a day.
Practice. Preston. And carrying me through all of it.
Yet, I stay awake, unable to fully process what Preston has in store.