“Get that look off your faces, it wasn’t goingthatfast.”
Levi and Alissa look to Blake for confirmation, but he doesn’t give them a glance as he keeps his eyes on me, tilting his face ashe looks me up and down like he can still see the cracks in my armor.
His smile widens as he rises, pulling out my chair and motioning for me to sit. I tense as I comply, feeling every pair of eyes in the restaurant trained on me, and watch him like a hawk until he scoots his chair closer to the table.
Two waiters appear with plates balanced in their hands, and despite having yet to order anything they set one of them in front of me. The sight of the massive steak and fries pulls at my stomach and I look at my siblings, brow raised in silent question. They better be the ones paying for this; this meal costs about the same as my weekly budget.
“Get that look off your face,” Levi says, echoing my earlier words. “Lis told me about your extreme budgeting. Dad will kill me if he sees you like this.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie, my mouth filling with saliva at the mere sight of all this food. It takes a tremendous amount of effort not to scarf it down in one go right this minute.
My brother shoots me a look that says he knows I’m lying, but thankfully doesn’t dwell on it. Instead, he digs into his chicken and places his focus on Blake, talking about something related to hockey. Though, I can’t be sure what, as any mention of the sport makes me tune out immediately.
Alissa’s hand finds mine under the table, giving it a light squeeze. Even without saying it she knows what just happened, why I'm acting this way. As Hudson’s former friend and with his future on the line, I can’t bring myself to tell Levi what’s been going on. But Alissa is my roommate, and as she often wakes up before I do to go to practice or the batting cage, there was no hiding the gifts and notes stuck to our door. Shehadto know; there was simply no way to hide it.
Besides, Alissa is my twin, my best friend. I need her love and support like I need air.
I’m halfway through my plate when I notice all eyes are on me.
“What?” I mumble, half a fry still sticking out of my mouth. I had of course completely forgotten this is technically a really weird date, and that I should probably eat like I’ve seen food before. But something about today makes all reason fly out the window.
Besides, I’ve seen my date do worse. Like the time he smeared barbecue sauce on his torso in a way that made it look like he had abs.
To my left, Blake is grinning, but Levi just shakes his head. “You truly have the manners of a desert rat.”
Oddly specific.
“I was just asking about your major,” Blake says calmly. “You strike me as someone creative, but too fearful to pursue that…is it English?”
Levi or Alissa must have told him, or he looked me up because no one is this good at guessing. And while I’ve chatted about classes with Levi at the house before, I highly doubt any of them remember my name, let alone pay attention to what I say or do. There’s no way he knew it without being clued in.
Or maybe I’m just that obvious. “You Googled me before this date, didn’t you?”
“So I was right?” Blake’s face erupts into a dazzling, slightly cocky smile. It’s a curse, really, that it only makes him more handsome. If it didn’t, I might have found an excuse to drop this plan altogether.
It was a lot easier to ignore Blake when he was just my brother’s teammate. But now that he’s my date and potential fake boyfriend, I have no choice but to pay attention to every part of him. Like the way his scruff is just the perfect length to besexy or the way he has put more effort into the way he’s dressed tonight than he usually does.
There’s no backward cap, no hoodie or sweatpants in sight. Instead, there are dress shoes, normal black pants and a navy button-up with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. Blake catches me staring at them—I have a thing for muscled arms, let me be—and I quickly take a sip of water to play it off.
“Yes, you were right. What about you?”
“History. Not sure what I’ll do with this degree, but there’s no rush to figure it out.” He must see my confusion in my face, as he leans in with a laugh to say, “It’s one of the perks of being a trust-fund asshole: complete and total freedom.”
The brutal honesty and self-awareness in his answer puts me at ease. A lot can be said about Blake, but it is clear he is trying his hardest to make this work. “Must be nice.”
“Oh, it is. Which is why, if you want to, say, borrow the money—no interest of course—you can, and you don’t have to play alone with thesePanem et circenses.”
Oh, he’s a history major for sure. Only a nerd would phrase it like that.
“That’s a kind offer, truly, but I can’t accept it.”
My siblings cover their eyes in unison, shielding themselves from the train wreck of my decision-making. “I cannot be in your debt. I’d much rather drop out of school than be in anyone’s debt. So if this isn’t something you can go through with I fully understand, and I won’t take it personally. But I can’t take your money.”
Blake holds my gaze for a long moment, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. Taking his glass off the table, he winks. “Oh, I do love a challenge.”
“Taylor,” Levi says in a warning tone.
Blake laughs. “I meant the competition, of course.”
