“Here?”I repeated, following after him.“You like ithere?”
“Why is that so surprising to you?”
“Because you just seem more like a downtown guy, where all the hustle and bustle are …”And all the cheerleaders.I leaned against his car and closed my eyes, enjoying the sounds of nature around me.“It’s so quiet here.”
“It’s not quiet,” he said.“If you listen closely, there’s a stream to the east.It’s a bit of a hike, but there’s a small waterfall about thirty minutes southeast of here too.Maybe when it’s warmer, I’ll take you.”
Butterflies spread through my chest, and I had to remind myself that this was all fake.
We wouldn’t even make it as a fake couple until late spring, early summer.
“Maybe,” I hummed.“But I don’t hike.”
“You’d hike with me.”
I opened my eyes and glanced over at him.“Oh, yeah?What makes you so sure?”
“Babe,” he murmured, leaning against the car beside me, his body heat radiating off him in waves and making me hot in places that I really shouldn’t be.Yet I couldn’t stop thinking about the last time that he’d brought me out here.“I can’t give away my secrets.”
After crossing my arms, I faced him.“That’s because you don’t have any secrets.”
He mirrored me, crossing his arms and craning his head down at me.“Is that right?”
“Mmhmm.”
His gaze traveled across my face, from eye to eye, then down to my lips, lingering for a moment more than it should’ve.I nervously licked my lips, heart pounding heavily inside my chest.
Stay in control, Astrid!This is fake.F-A-K-E!!!!
“You’re coming with me tonight to the race,” he said when his hazy gaze met mine.
“Race?What race?”I asked, trying to snap out of the trance this man had me in.
No wonder why he was a player.I knew that we were fake dating, and he still made me feel like the most important, most desired girl in the entire world.God, what was wrong with me?!If I let this continue …
“Rush is racing,” he murmured, releasing his crossed arms and pulling me closer, his hands on my hips.
“Racing?Like … cars?”I whispered, heat exploding through my body.
“No, racing ice cream trucks.”
I playfully rolled my eyes.“God, you’re so sassy today.”
“I’m not sassy today.”
A small giggle escaped my mouth.“Yes, you are.”
“It’s not a today thing.I’m like this all the time.”
I arched my brow.“No, you’re not.You’re a flirt all the time.”
“Look at you, putting me in a box,” he murmured.“Stereotyping.”
“Look at you, the player using metaphors and big words.”
An unreadable expression crossed Frasier’s face.“Player?”
I poked him hard in the stomach, trying to lighten the mood that had suddenly dropped out of nowhere.“You know that you’re one.”
