Audra left me at the sideline to catch up with her brother, who was already halfway towards the parking lot after practice. I balled up my socks as I watched her go, wondering if I should just come clean to her about the whole thing with Theo. She was just trying to be a friend, and the least I could do would be to return the favor. But she was JJ's sister. Could I trust that she would keep the secret? Or would she tell JJ, who would tell William, and then all of this would've been for nothing? Because if William found out the truth...
My stomach sank. I'd been so caught up in reacting to Emma's taunt that I hadn't stopped to consider what William might do if he ever found out the truth. Since the party, the thought of his reaction to finding out about this ruse had always been the point in my fretting when I'd shoved the thoughts away to focus on something else. The thought of William finding out had always made that queasy knot in my stomach grow about a billion times worse, so it was kind of ridiculous that I thought if I ignored it that it would somehow just work out on its own. Especially because now I was smack in the middle of it and I hadn't even thought it through. If William found out the truth—if anyone did—I'd look like the most desperate, pathetic, manipulative person in the entire universe. I'd lose the few friends I had here, and I'd be ridiculed by Emma and her horrible group of friends. I'd become some sort of new girl pariah, the laughing stock of Kingsbridge before I'd even been here a semester. They'd tell jokes about me while I sat all alone in the dining hall and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it because I'd have brought it upon myself.
That horrible queasy stomach knot returned, in full force this time. I chewed my lip and dug out my flip flops. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe I should just—
A bag whomped down beside me, followed by a very sweaty Theo Ellerby. "Okay, Emdubs. I'm a man of my word. Go ahead and launch into that big, long chat you wanted." He sprawled on the grass and squeezed water from his sports bottle into his mouth. His dark hair was sweaty but in an annoyingly styled way, like he'd swaggered out of a Nike commercial.
But it didn't matter that his hair looked so damn good. What mattered was my huge, impulsive mistake and fixing it as soon as humanly possible.
Before he got too comfortable, I stood and hefted my bag over my shoulder. "I hate to disappoint you, but I've changed my mind. I don't think this is a good idea."
Theo stared up at me for a beat, brows furrowing, then climbed to his feet. "I'm guessing you haven't checked your texts, then."
I folded my arms, hating the way I had to look up to talk to him. "What does—"
He pressed a finger to my lips. "Check them."
I jerked away. "Gross! Sweaty fingers are a hard no." I scrubbed the back of my hand across my lips with a grimace, but dug through my bag for my phone nonetheless.
"Point taken," Theo said. "Does that mean lips are off limits?"
I opened my mouth to tell him that yes, they absolutely were off limits, then stopped. My home screen had 4 new messages. All from William.
Hey, saw you at practice today. Hope my brother wasn't bugging you too much.
If he is, just tell me and I'll make him stop.
He really likes attention.
Anyway, I know you won't see this until after practice, but just let me know 🙂
"I got a few too." Theo unlocked his phone and turned it around to show me.
Leave her alone.
She's new. Stop messing with her.
Seriously.
She's nice. She's not into your games.
"Isn't that sweet? He thinks you're nice," Theo taunted. I narrowed my eyes at him, but then his tone turned serious. "So, now that that's settled, are your cold feet averted?"
I shoved my phone away and adjusted my bag. Around us, the rest of the team had more or less vacated the pitch, wandering back towards the dorms or the parking lot as the floodlights flickered on in the fading twilight. An enthusiastic cricket chirped from somewhere in the grass nearby.
"I don't know," I admitted. That nausea still roiled around my stomach, but I didn't dare admit that, now that I was face-to-face with Theo, it almost seemed like maybe we could actually pull this off. Or maybe it was just the enthusiastic cricket inspiring more confidence than Theo Ellerby and his ridiculous ruse deserved.
"Come on, Emdubs," Theo said, nudging my arm. "What changed?"
"Nothing. I just..." How the heck could I back out without him hounding me for a reason? Did I really want to back out or was this really just cold feet, like he'd said? I shook my head. "Forget it." With a sigh, I set off towards the dorms.
Theo hurried after me. "You just what?"
I scraped a hand through my sweaty hair. Just as I'd dreaded, he wasn't about to leave me alone until he got an answer, so I might as well hit him with the truth rather than dance around it until curfew. "I just think this is going to backfire. Big time."
Theo caught my shoulder and stopped me on the first step. Reluctantly, I turned and found myself at eye-level with him. His expression hardened, turning serious.
"I know this is reckless," he said. "But if it works—and it will—it'll be worth it. For both of us. Besides, I'm pretty sure I helped lock in your starter spot today. You held me to one goal, and that's no easy feat. Consider your skills proven."
I chewed my lip, studying him. He was right. He'd made me look like a damned good defender today. And he certainly seemed to be invested in this succeeding. Maybe it hadn't been a mistake to agree...
"Come on," he said, his trademark smirk blooming. I was almost completely and utterly swayed until he said, "I'll be the best damn fake boyfriend you've ever had."
I made a face. "Did part of you cringe as hard saying that as I did hearing it?"
He lifted an eyebrow. "I've never said a cringeworthy thing in my life."
I scraped a hand over my face. "You are so annoying."
"The feeling is entirely mutual, darling."
"Ok but seriously though, quit it with the nicknames. And at least promise that you'll make an effort not to be so frustrating all the time."
The corner of his lips lifted. "Come on, it's not all the time. Just most of the time."
I shook my head. "This won't work if you can't drop the insufferable, flirtatious asshole act when we're together."
His head reeled back and his eyes sharpened for the briefest of moments, before his easy grin returned. "Act? Emdubs, I'm afraid this is the real—"
This time, I pressed my finger to his lips. His eyebrows lifted, amused, but at least he stopped talking. "I mean it. There has to be a normal guy under all that sass, and for the sake of my patience and sanity, I'd rather deal with him. Plus, everyone's gonna think I'm some stupid new girl who fell for the heartbreaker on her first day. So if I'm gonna put up with all that for the sake of this little plot, then at least spare me from your antics."
He studied my face for a loaded moment, his blue eyes smouldering with a challenge. I dropped my fingers from his mouth.
"I still have a rep to maintain, so I can't put off all the antics," he said. "But I'll tone it down if that's what it's gonna take."
"Fine."
"So we're agreed, then? This thing is a go?" he asked, stepping up to tower over me again.
I inhaled a deep breath against my reservations. "Yeah. It's a go."
A smile spread across his face. "All right. Emdubs and Tee, the dynamic duo."
"Tee?"
"Yeah. My initials. T-E. Tee." He slid his arm around my shoulders. "If you're gonna be my fake girlfriend, you can't be that dense."
"I didn't realize that brains were a prerequisite for the job."
He let out a low whistle. "Listen, if I'm not allowed to be an arrogant asshole, you can't be this snarky."
"You started it."
"No, you did by not getting a very clear joke. I promised not to be annoying. I never promised not to tease you about being dense. Besides"—he leaned in to me as he pushed open the dorm doors—"us bickering is the perfect way to make this look real."
I scoffed a laugh. "That won't be hard."
"Exactly." He paused in the middle of the common room, releasing me so he could face me. "Now, as much as I'd really love to cement this new arrangement by giving you a very public kiss goodnight in front of all those girls gaping from the sofas"—he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear—"we're both sweaty. And I'm not gonna make a move like that until you want me to."
"Never gonna happen." I offered him a bright smile for the benefit of the other students watching us. "So I guess that's goodnight, Tee."
He chuckled at my sarcastic emphasis of his nickname. "Yeah. I guess it's goodnight, Emdubs."
**A/N: writing dialogue between these two is some of the most fun I've had writing in awhile! And the best news is that there is a ton more to come😏. Hopefully you're enjoying reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it 😊
As always, if you enjoyed it, please take a moment to vote and comment! ❤️**