Chapter 12 #2
She slides the laptop back over and types again. This time, she’s showing me a picture of herself in the water, dressed in a sparkling swimsuit, makeup painted on, her hair slicked back into a bun at the nape of her neck and her arms held up in an artistic move.
Grace lightly taps her pen on her head on the screen. “We mix up gelatin in hot water, then paint it onto our hair with a paintbrush. Holds it perfectly through a contest. It’s a nightmare to get out but looks really good in the water. And infinitely better than a rubber cap.”
I stare at the image, blown away for a moment by how beautiful she looks in the water. The expression of complete joy on her face is contagious, and I feel a smile spreading across my face. “The gelatin is weird, but I agree. Way better than those caps.”
“Right? So I’m writing about the shifts in costumes the sport has had over the years, leading all the way up to the amazing costumes we wear now.
I’m having so much fun writing it. Then my other piece is about building a jewelry wardrobe.
What the foundation pieces are, how to layer, that kind of thing. ”
“Can I read them?”
Grace blinks. A pink flush climbs up her neck and cheeks, and I wonder why she’s embarrassed.
“Oh, that’s really nice of you to offer, Wy, but you don’t have to read it. I know it’s not anything that would interest you,” she says.
I’m taken aback by her answer. “Why would it not interest me? You wrote it. Of course I’m interested. Send it to me when you’re finished.”
Her blue eyes study me carefully. I take off my sunglasses so she can see what I’m thinking.
“That’s going above and beyond your duties as my faux boyfriend,” she says quietly.
“Gracie. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t really want to read it.”
She’s quiet for moment. “I appreciate that,” she finally says. “I’ll send it to you when I’m done.”
“Good,” I say, opening my laptop.
“What are you studying today?” she asks.
“Database management.”
She makes a face, and I can’t help but grin.
“I’ll keep my rubber swim caps,” she says, shifting her attention back to her laptop. “Oh! Are you caught up on your history reading? I thought we could do a read and review together.”
Now I’m the one making a face.
“Wyatt. We have a quiz on Wednesday. Have you read any of it yet?”
“When did you read it?” I challenge.
“On the day it was assigned.”
Of course she did.
“I’ll start it tonight,” I promise. “And maybe we can study together on Tuesday. We both have chapter tomorrow.”
Chapter. UGH, I hate going to chapter. It’s so boring and the biggest waste of my time all week.
“Maybe we can get dinner after practice on Tuesday night at the Athletic Dining Hall, then go study,” Grace says. “When are you done with hockey practice?”
“Five thirty,” I answer.
“Same for me with swimming. Do you want me to meet you outside of the rink?” she asks.
I’m about to answer when I hear my name called. “Wyatt!” a female voice says.
I turn around and see Suze, a gorgeous brunette, waving at me from across the terrace. I’ve had a couple of hookups with her in the past, but I don’t know much about her. She’s in some top-tier sorority, but I can’t remember which one.
Probably because I didn’t care.
I give her a casual wave, hoping she’ll head somewhere else, but instead, she makes a beeline for our table. “Hey, Wy, it’s so good to see you!” she says as she approaches. “It’s been a minute.”
“Yeah, it has,” I say. Because I can’t even remember the last time I talked to her.
“How was your summer?” she asks.
UGH, I don’t want to be a dick, but I don’t want to make small talk with her, either.
“It was good,” I say. “Hey, Suze, this is my girlfriend, Grace. Grace, this is Suze.”
Suze’s eyes widen in surprise. To my amusement, so do Grace’s.
“Oh?” Suze says, as if she doesn’t believe it.
“I know, it’s a shocking plot twist, but yeah, I’ve finally gotten a girlfriend.” I reach across the table and pick up Grace’s hand, lacing my fingers through hers. Her hand is soft and delicate, and I love the way it feels in mine when I hold it.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she says, smiling at Suze.
“Well, I just came by to say hi,” Suze quickly says. “Nice to meet you, Grace. Wy, I’ll see you around, I’m sure.”
I smile. “Bye, Suze.”
She turns and walks away. I turn back to Grace, and I feel her lift her hand out from underneath mine. “I think she wanted to do more than say hi,” she says, smiling mischievously at me.
“Nah,” I lie. Then I lift an eyebrow. “Did you like the literary phrase I used? Plot twist?”
Grace chuckles. My stomach tingles at the sound of her soft laugh.
“Incredibly well done,” she says.
We get to work, but to be honest, I find it hard to work next to Grace.
I try to read and take notes, but I find myself distracted by her.
The smell of her perfume. The way she always reaches up and places her fingers over the necklace she wears.
I’m so conscious of her presence, and I’ve never had this kind of awareness outside of a hockey rink.
I clear my throat and try not to think about what this means.
Because it can’t mean anything. This is fake. For a month. I don’t do relationships, and now is certainly not the time to flirt with that idea.
Shit. Am I flirting with that idea already?
No. No I’m not.
I’m just tired from last night. And maybe my dad has fucking ESP and sent me that text this afternoon for a reason.
“I can’t call you Wy.”
I blink. Grace is touching the G of her necklace again, her soft pink lips twisted in thought.
“You can’t?” I ask.
“Well, if I’m your girlfriend, I should have a special nickname for you. Not one that’s used by other girls.”
My pulse quickens. She didn’t like that Suze called me Wy.
Why do I like that so much?
“To be fair, Sebastian calls me Wy, too. Guys on the team call me that. Or Jacobs.”
She flashes me a smile. “Then I definitely can’t call you Wy. I’m not sure what I’ll call you, but I’ll know it when it comes to me.”
Grace reaches over to the vacant chair to her left and unzips her backpack. I can hear stuff rustling and then she sets a bag of candy in front of me. I glance down and smile when I see it’s Cadbury Mini Eggs.
“Okay, I know we’re both training, but they are tiny. We can each have a couple,” she insists.
I pick up the tiny packet. “What? This is like snack size!”
“Right, but a bag of candy isn’t good for us.”
“It’s a tiny bag!”
“We can each have two.”
“Are you the Mini Egg police?”
She bursts out laughing, a sound of pure joy escaping from her lips.
I begin to laugh, too, but I try to repress the feeling of pride that I have because I’m the one making her laugh like this.
I open the packet and pop two of the Mini Eggs in my mouth. Grace watches expectantly for clues if I like it or not.
I finish them and then reach for my iced coffee, taking a sip.
“Well? What do you think?” she asks, a hopeful expression on her face.
Even if I thought they were disgusting, I’d tell her I like them just to see her smile.
“You might be on to something with these,” I say, grabbing two more to eat.
Grace takes the bag back and helps herself to some. “Right? I ran over to the store to get us some.”
Us. It feels so real when she says it.
And that scares the shit out of me.
“WALSHIE!” a male voice calls out.
Grace looks over my shoulder. I turn around and furrow my brow.
Asher Ryan has his eyes locked right on Grace as he approaches our table.
Asher is the quarterback of the Ocean Cove football team.
He’s a top athlete, one of the top passers in D1 in the nation.
He has a full ride, and a perfect grade point average in some kind of engineering.
He’s also the best-looking guy on campus.
An uneasy feeling sweeps over me as Asher gets closer. He’s giving her THAT smile.
The smile that says he’s one hundred percent interested in her.
And I don’t like it. AT ALL.