I can’t decide which of my drinks I want to try, and the pressure of knowing that there are messages from Taylor Swift’s songs attached to them makes it harder to choose. He’s going toget the wrong idea. He’s going to think I’m secretly in love with him when all I really want to do is dump my drink in his crotch.
Okay, whoa. Back up. I don’t really want to do that because then it’d hurt his dick, and while I didn’t see it to know if it’s a pretty dick, it’s certainly a talented dick, and the world needs more talented dick. So I don’t cover it in super-hot coffee. Which I think is pretty big of me considering the way he’s just sitting there all smug and smirky.
“What?” I narrow my eyes at him.
“What, what?” He shrugs, taking another giant slurp of his coffee—which is bound to be kinda gross—and blows me a kiss.
I roll my eyes and lips, trying to mask a smile, but he catches that too.
He cuffs my chin sending a shimmer of electricity dancing across my face. “It’s okay to not hate me all the time you know. I promise I’ll remind you if you forget.”
My disloyal lips tug into a smile. “I hate you,” I whisper.
“You also like me.”
I don’t answer, but my face burns hot with the silence.
When Tate’s teammate, Ares, comes over to the table, my face burns hotter. “Ares.” He shoots his hand out to introduce himself like I have no idea who he is. “I don’t think we’ve formally met.”
That. Accent.
If I hadn’t sworn off hockey players after Tate had his dick in me last night, if he wasn’t solidly off the market,andif he wasn’t a goalie—because those fuckers are weird—I might shoot my shot. “Penelope. I’ve heard a lot about you from Oli. He speaks very highly of you. Unlike some.” While I shake his hand, I sneer at Tate who rolls his eyes.
Ares waves his phone. “Eloise is ecstatic that you guys are dating, and she wants to have dinner together.”
The number of excited and celebratory emojis on his screen make me giggle. I love anyone who doesn’t hold back from living their best emoji life, even if it is about a fake relationship with a man I can’t seem to stay away from.
Tate looks over to me, arching an eyebrow.
And the weight of Ares’s expectation is heavy on my face.
Part of me is tempted to say no, but Tate stepped in to defend me against Dick and Chloe and while I was mad about it at first, I’ve relented to Karlya’s persistent narrative that it was actually quite sweet.
Just because I don’t need to be saved by a guy, doesn’t mean it’s not kind of nice when it happens. Sometimes it’s nice to not have to fight my own battles all the fucking time, so throwing him under the bus with his teammates wouldn’t be the nicest thing I’ve ever done.
I can give him a date, right? It’s just dinner. What’s the worst that could happen?
“Sure. That sounds great. We’d love to.”
CHAPTER 12
Tate
She said yes. Right there in front of her cousin, Ares, and my teammates who are doing a shitty job of pretending they aren’t eavesdropping on every damn thing that’s being said.
Subtlety is not a common trait among the UCR Raccoons. And we are like a group of gossipy old women. If I check my phone, I bet the group chat is ablaze with the four-one-one from the past twenty minutes.
Nothing stays a secret in our ranks for long.
She could have called me out. She could have told Ares that I lied about being her boyfriend, but instead, she’s playing along. I’m not sure what evil plan she has cooking up her sleeve, but for now, she’s my girlfriend, and I’m not letting that pass without a celebration.
“Is there anywhere in particular you’d like to eat, Pitstop?”
Her mouth wiggles, like something’s on the tip of her tongue but she doesn’t answer, or look at either of us.
“Guac ‘n Roll is her favorite place to eat in Cedar Rapids.” Karlya’s declaration earns a glare from my Aphrodite.
When a sharp pain radiates through my shin, I yelp.
