She frowns again. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t want any distractions senior year, and neither do I. Right?”
“Right,” she rasps before clearing her throat.
“If we pretend we’re dating, it sends a clear message we’re not available, meaning Hemsworth will leave you alone and the cheerleaders will leave me alone.” I hope. “Then we can both focus on our goals without worrying about outside distractions.”
“Us being exclusive will not deter some of the girls at school,” she says, confirming what Thor already said.
“I’m aware, but I can handle them. In time, they’ll get the message.”
She looks off into space for a few beats before swinging her gaze back to me. “How would it work if we were to do this?”
“We’d have to set some boundaries, I guess, but, eh, I could drive you to and from school the days I don’t have training or a match, sit with you at lunch a couple of times a week, and we could go to the diner or catch a movie sometimes. I mean, we’re friends, right? We’re going to see each other on Saturday mornings and over the weekend at the resort, and I’m guessing there are plenty of Nevan-Hunt joint family dinners in our future. It won’t be that difficult to pull this off.”
She knots her hands in her lap. “To make it believable, we’d have to appear to be close, like boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“We can hold hands, and I can put my arm around you. We can kiss sometimes if we need to.” I shrug like it’s no big deal, like my heart isn’t racing like crazy at the thought of putting my lips on hers.
“Would we tell our friends the truth?”
I consider it for a few seconds. “Just our best friends. It’s better to limit the people who know so there is no risk of the truth getting out.”
“And what if one of us wants to end it?”
“Then we end it. If we’re not both on board, we call it quits.”
“What would we tell our parents?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to say we don’t tell them, but that’s not what comes out of my mouth. “We tell them we’re dating too.” Ma would be fucking delighted, and it would suggest I’m settling in here, which might get Da off my back. Besides, everyone knows everything about everybody in this town. If we didn’t tell our parents, someone else surely would.
“I don’t know, Callan. I don’t like lying to my parents or my friends.”
I should have guessed this was coming. Astrid is too good to deceive anyone. It was probably a stupid idea. “You’re right. It’s not a good idea. Forget about it,” I say, climbing to my feet.
“I’m not saying that.” She jumps up. “Just…let me think about it for a bit.”
“You need to decide before school on Monday.”
“Yeah, okay.”
My heart is pounding in my chest. “We should probably stick close together downstairs. We don’t have to do anything obvious, but we need to set the stage in case we decide to do it.”
She audibly gulps, and a blush stains her cheeks as she holds out her hand. “Yeah, we should keep our options open.”
My hand closes around hers, and warmth seeps into my skin while delicious tremors snake up my arm.
This isn’tprobablya stupid idea. It’s the worst idea I’ve ever had because I know deep down the risk of the lines blurring is high.
But it’s out there now, and I’ve put the ball in her corner.
What the fuck have I gotten us into?
13
ASTRID
Arhythmic thump, thump, thump accosts my eardrums as I stand alongside Callan, holding his hand. “What the?—”
