I sit up and look at him like he’s lost his mind. “You’re joking, right? The girl hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you. She just doesn’t know you. That’s why you should go to the game with her tonight.”
“Assuming I wanted to go with her, which I don’t, there’s no way she would agree to it. I’m telling you, she hates me.”
“That’s not what she told me.”
I cock my head. “You talked about me with Kristen?”
“I didn’t bring you up. She did. She said you seemed nice and that you were fitting in and making friends, which isn’t easy at Twisted Pine.” He reaches over and holds my hand. “You’re doing an awesome job. You must’ve got your acting skills from your uncle, not your dad.”
“Wait — why was Kristen talking about me? Did you tell her we’re dating?”
“No. She figured it out on her own.”
“How?”
“She’s seen you at my house. More than once.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. I told her we’re just friends.”
“Trust me, she knows we’re together.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because of our agreement. We said if either one of us found someone, the friends-with-benefits thing ends. It ended right after I met you. She knows what that means.”
“She doesn’t know it’s me.”
“You’re the only girl she’s seen at my place.”
“Jackson, why aren’t you freaking out about this? If she knows about us, she could tell Braden, or someone else on the team. Our whole plan would be ruined.”
“She wouldn’t tell.”
“She might. I’m telling you, she hates me.”
“If she told on us, she’d be doing it to hurtmenot you, and she’d never do that.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because we have a history. I’ve covered for her plenty of times. She’s not gonna turn on me. She owes me.”
“You’ve covered for her? For what?”
“Can’t say. The point is, she’s not going to tell. I trust her.”
“I don’t. And you shouldn’t either. Telling you she likes me? It’s a lie. That should prove you can’t trust her.”
“How do you know she doesn’t like you? What’d she do?”
“Her fake smile. The fake nice act she puts on.”
His brows rise. “So she smiles and acts nice to you? That’s proof she doesn’t like you?”
I sigh. “It’s not like that. It’s fake. I know fake from real and she’s definitely not being sincere.”
He gives my hand a squeeze. “Why don’t you just go with her tonight? It’s only for a few hours and you’ll boost your social standing by about a million being seen with her.”
