Chapter 8
EIGHT
LAINEY
Tearing my gaze away from Alex’s ass while he lowers the heavy boxes he insisted on carrying for me, I tick another item off my to do list in my journal for the benefit.
He threw me off by texting to ask where I was, then showing up freshly showered after his morning practice and offering his help.
The last hour has been distracting rather than productive because the soap he uses smells incredible, temptingly fresh and minty.
I’m still not sure why he wanted to spend time with me. Surely going to his game and the party were enough for it to get around that we’re dating as far as everyone is concerned. Temporarily.
“That the last one?” He brushes his hands off and saunters over.
The veins of his hands stand out, catching my eye with their tantalizing shape. Images from the romance book I read late last night flit through my head, Alex’s large hands taking the hero’s place while he wrapped them around the heroine’s hips as he thrust—
“See? Wasn’t so bad. If you’d let me call the rookies over, it could’ve been faster. What’s next?”
His earnest tone breaks me out of the fantasy. I shouldn’t be thinking about him as the star of the spicy scenes in my books.
“I can do the rest myself,” I mumble, cheeks flaming.
“Nah.” Alex swipes the journal from me and scans it. “I said we’re hanging out the whole day and you accepted. This isn’t exactly how I’d show off my boyfriend skills, but we’ll make it work. I’m helping.”
I huff. “Helping me overheat.”
“What?” His gaze slides to me.
“Nothing.” I pluck my journal from his hands, satisfied when he gives it up without a fight. “We need to let the maintenance guy know we’re done dropping off the table linens so he can lock the banquet hall up.”
“Got it. I’ll be right back.” Alex clasps my shoulder and plants a quick kiss on my forehead. “Meet me in the lobby.”
My tongue twists itself into a useless mess and I stare at his back. There wasn’t anyone around to see, yet he did anyway. He does this stuff so naturally. Kissing my head, holding my hand—for a guy who isn’t known for dating, the boyfriend role suits him.
I cross my arms, wondering if my mom’s AHL player was like that to woo her away from her marriage and family. Maybe they’re all this smooth.
Sighing, I give the ballroom one last check before maintenance locks up. Alex snags my hand on our way out to the parking lot.
He taps the dashboard clock when we climb inside his truck. “Let’s do the tickets now. The quad will be busy with people coming and going for lunch.”
My lips twitch into a frown. “I was planning to get the supplies for the book arch that people will enter under next. But you’re right. If we’re going to maximize ticket sales, then now is an optimal time.”
Nodding, he rests a hand on my headrest to back out, handling the wheel with the same ease as he handles his hockey stick. For some reason, it leaves me short of breath.
Alex doesn’t let me carry the table or the chairs he packed in the back of his truck.
I’m ready to fight him over the bi-fold sign, but he lets me carry it by myself.
Once we’re set up on the quad between the two biggest dorms on campus, I eye the people passing us with trepidation.
This is like the flyers all over again. I feel on display.
“Hey guys. What’s up?” Alex’s smooth voice cuts through the fear creeping up my throat.
He rests a comforting hand on my leg and waves a couple over.
“Have you seen the flyers for the Ballgowns for Books event? Tickets are on sale now. You get points for a sweet date night and we’re supporting a charitable cause to help a local small business. ”
The girl’s eyes sparkle. “I never got to go to my prom. This sounds awesome. I want to do it.”
“We’ll take two tickets,” her boyfriend says.
“Hell yeah. You’re going to have a great time.” Alex rubs my leg. “How much do they owe for two, baby?”
I gulp, not sure if my stomach is fluttering from nerves or from his touch. “Fifty-five each.”
They hand over their money and nod to Alex. “Thanks. Great game last weekend.”
Once they leave, a group of girls buy tickets.
Then a guy recognizes Alex and ends up picking up a pair for him and his girlfriend.
Within twenty minutes, we have a line. Things move so fast with Alex doing the talking and me handling the money box, my self-conscious anxiety fizzles into background noise, overtaken by the task at hand.
“This isn’t what I pictured,” I say during a lull. “I didn’t know how I was going to get people to come to the table other than the sign, or sell enough tickets to make a difference for the bookshop.”
I certainly wasn’t going to get up and talk to people like Alex has. A band tightens around my chest. If I care so much about this, why is it so hard to do what he does without overthinking it?
He gives me a carefree shrug. “Once they see there’s a line, it’s easy. Everyone wants in on whatever’s going on.”
I’ve always seen Alex as an extension of Theo. A hockey player I thought was full of himself like all the rest. But he’s not what I expected. His charisma and crooked smiles aren’t only his weapons for flirting. He’s not an aggressive caveman like Mike.
This side of him has challenged my view on hockey players.
“Thank you for helping out with this. You didn’t have to.”
“This is really important to you,” he says.
I nod, twining the cuff of my sweater around my fingers. “I want to bring the magic of reading a great story to life. To walk through its pages and experience the world within. I…”
Hesitation clogs my throat. I bite my lip, gathering the courage to open up about something I never talk about.
“I love books. They’re my favorite escape.
Derby Bookshop means everything to me. Not just because it’s where I work.
” I keep my eyes on my hands. “It’s where I found an outlet after my parents divorced because of my mom’s affair.
Dad and Theo have always had each other and hockey, but I have my books and a safe place to work hard on my studies. ”
Silence stretches after I finish speaking. I lift my head and choke back a gasp at the way his green eyes pin me in place beneath their intensity.
“Lainey—”
“Alex? Oh my god, yes!”
We both look up as a trio of friends approach. It’s the girls who sat next to me at the game. They wave to him, then light up once they recognize me.
“Ahhh!” The first one who spoke to me when she saw me wearing Alex’s number jumps up and down. “Hi! You look so cute. What’s this for?”
“The Ballgowns for Books benefit.” I’m proud of myself for answering without mumbling. I even made eye contact. “It’s a winter formal to support the bookstore next to the coffee shop. The theme is walking through your favorite fairy tales.”
“Stop it, that’s so cute,” her friend gushes. “I’m going to have a Belle moment? Sign me up.”
“I’m texting our sorority sisters, they’ll definitely want to hear about it,” the third girl says. “We’ll grab three tickets, please.”
“Thank you,” I manage.
“Give us your number, too. Want to get ready with us?”
“Oh, uh. Maybe?” I nudge my phone across the table. “I have to be there early.”
“We’ll figure it out. Text you later!”
I blink. Did I make friends and not realize?
“Doesn’t look like there are that many left. I think we can move those for sure,” Alex says once the girls leave.
“What? No way.”
Sure enough, when I count what I have left in the envelope, there are less than twenty. Amazed, I count the remaining tickets again. It takes a moment to sink in how successful we’ve been today.
“We’re almost sold out. I doubt I would’ve sold this many tickets without your help,” I admit. “People tend to ignore me. Most days, I like that arrangement just fine. But I was worried when it came to this benefit that no one would care.”
“I didn’t do anything, sweetheart.” He rests an arm across the back of my chair, absently rubbing my shoulder to keep me warm. “This is all you. Hockey isn’t the only thing people can get hyped over at this school.”
I scoff. “Please. Hockey is all people obsess over here.” I poke him in the chest. “It makes sense, I suppose. You’re all attractive and display nimble skills when you hit the puck around the ice.”
“There’s way more to it than that.” He smirks. “Should I strip off my jacket and shirt? Watch, those last tickets will fly.”
I roll my eyes, pressing my palm against his hard body. The shove I give him has little fire in it. His deep, warm chuckle vibrates against my hand and wraps around me. I bite my lip as a rush of heat coils in my stomach, squeezing my thighs together at the decadent sound.
His laughter tapers off and his gaze rakes over me. “Has anyone asked you yet?”
I give him a questioning look. “Asked me what?”
He studies my face for a moment with an expression I don’t understand. “Are you going alone?” When I shrug, he hums, nodding slowly. He captures my hand before I pull it away, running his thumb over my knuckles. “I’d like to buy two tickets.”
“Oh.” Heat floods my cheeks.
Alex, to my surprise, is a good guy. Maybe the only exception to my hockey players suck rule. I don’t think I can deny I was wrong about him anymore. He’s great…just not mine. I forgot.
“Right. Of course.” I pull from his grasp and fumble for the money box. “I, um. Appreciate you supporting a good cause. I didn’t think you’d be interested in going, let alone bringing someone.”
But of course he’d have a date in mind. There’s always a swarm of girls around him. Pretty girls that laugh and know all the right things to say to guys like him. That don’t get uncomfortable in a crowd and enjoy going to parties to be social.
I swallow thickly and hand over his tickets. He tucks his money in with the other proceeds we’ve earned.
Another smirk tilts his mouth. It causes a dull ache in my chest.
“Lainey, can I take you to the dance?” Alex murmurs.
My world comes to a stop. It happens slowly as his question registers, then all at once, the universe snapping to a halt.
I take my glasses off and clean them on my sleeve as if the change in perspective will help me process the moment better. When I pop them back on my face, the smudge-free view doesn’t change. Alex still has a soft, handsome smile, waiting patiently for an answer.
“What?” The word trips off my tongue. “Why would you do that?”
“Why not?”
Glancing around, I lean close and lower my voice. “I thought we only agreed to fake it until the dance?”
“Right.” He takes my hand again.
My brows pinch and I try to ignore how nice it feels. He’s acting like my fake boyfriend. He wouldn’t hold my hand otherwise.
“So…? That’s more than two weeks. And besides, being in your world of jocks and partying is one thing, but pretending in mine is—”
“Don’t talk to me about your divide theory again.” He dips his head, lifting his brows.
It makes his chiseled jaw look more defined and my insides tangle into a hot, pleasant knot. I can’t help but like it when he goes from charming to commanding.
“There’s no divide. Have people been assholes today?” He sweeps an arm out. “At the party?”
He has a point. The girls seated next to me at the hockey game included me in their excitement without a second thought and absorbed me into their group as if I always belonged.
Then at the party, his teammates weren’t all that bad.
Other than my brother getting in my face, I didn’t feel entirely out of place.
Only overwhelmed because of my own anxious hangups.
No one singled me out for being a nerd.
Licking my lips, I shake my head. “I don’t…”
He smiles again and caresses my hand. “You’re going to your own party, aren’t you? You’re working hard all on your own to put it together. You’re the one who should enjoy it the most.”
“I mean, I have to be there to make sure it runs smoothly. I—I have a dress, but—”
He leans in, eyes bouncing between mine. “Go with me. I want to take you.”
Eyes wide, I stammer, “O-okay.”
“Good.”
My heart does a dizzying twirl in my chest at his devastating grin. He lifts my hand and kisses it with a gentle brush of his lips.
When I agreed to his crazy plan to pretend we’re together, I mostly wanted him to leave me alone so I could plan my benefit in peace. I didn’t think I’d get to know him, that he could make my stomach fill with butterflies and my heart race.
I never expected to feel comfortable around a hockey player as popular as Alex Keller.
Yet here I am, falling into the same trap as every other girl on campus over my brother’s best friend. I need to be careful, or I’ll end up hurt by this precarious game we’re playing.