Page 19 of Your Kiss Is On My List

“You know Summer?” Dani says to Lou, then she swerves an accusing look at me. “I thought she wasn’t anyone serious?”

“I never said one way or another.” Shit.

Summer bounces through the milling people with—shit—Nate—following her, wearing a shit-eating grin. I know I’m fucked now if Dani questions Nate about Summer and if Nate questions Dani about our history. It’s not like we have a cover story. “Dani, don’t—” I whisper too fucking late to ask her to play it cool. She puts her arm through mine and drapes herself over me like upholstery on a couch. Exactly the kind of behavior that’s going to instigate both Summer’s and Nate’s curiosity.

“Great game, Trey,” Summer says. Heather agrees and Dooley gives me a high five.

“Well, well, I see we got here just in time,” Nate says. He grins thoroughly and wiggles his eyebrows at me. “You didn’t mention you had your hot girlfriend waiting for you after the game.”

“A secret girlfriend. I like it,” Dooley says. “Lots of drama and potential for—”

“Are you shitting—?” Lou starts, but Dani shoots her a death stare and squeezes my arm hard. I’m not sure what she’s up to and so very sure it’s not good for my sanity, but I don’t give her up. I’ll go along for the next five minutes and give her a chance to explain to me what the fuck she’s doing spreading this girlfriend-boyfriend thing even further, almost cementing it as fact. Because it’s starting to feel more real—at least to me.

“A big secret?” Summer says. She’s suspicious and eyeing us. The last thing I want is for Dani to lose face with the campus queen, self-proclaimed or not, so I wrap my arm around her shoulder and lower my head to her ear.

“You owe me,” I whisper. To Summer, I say, “Not a secret exactly, more like a recent development.” Lou covers her face to hide her smirk like it’s all a big joke, but Dani isn’t joking around.

“It was hot and fast and so intense I couldn’t stay away, so I transferred here from NYU to be with my baby.”

“Your baby?” Summer’s eyebrows go high on her forehead like they’re going to take off.

“Double points for pet names,” Dooley says. Lou guffaws.

“You like that?” Lou says. “Want to hear something more ridiculous? He calls her doll. It’s sick.”

“I think it’s adorable,” Heather says, serious as fuck. She’s the only non-jaded person among us and. Unless I count Dani. Because she’s far from jaded, but she’s not serious except about faking our status to keep me away from the unwanted Summer. Unfortunately, she’s setting herself up for a monumental rivalry.

Still, even being new on campus and three years younger, I put my money and no doubt my reputation on Dani winning any contest, because I don’t know anyone more determined, more driven or more charming than Danielle Innocent. But her real advantage is that she’s genuine.

It’s too bad for Summer that Dani genuinely doesn’t like her, or doesn’t like her intentions toward me, more to the point, because she’d probably get along with her fine—like she does with everyone else she’s ever met. Yeah, she’s that girl. The one everyone loves, old people, kids, and especially everyone in between. She was like that all growing up until I left the end of her freshman year of high school.

“Let’s go and put the wild into Wildbeast Pizza,” Dooley says. “It’s damn cold out here.” He wraps an arm around Heather and another around Summer and leads us on the short walk to the campus pizza joint.

“Shouldn’t we drive?” Summer says.

“Are you going to be the designated driver?” Dooley asks. She shrugs.

“I don’t mind walking. It’s a gorgeous, starry night,” Dani says. I keep my arm around her and place the other one around Lou.

“I’m only letting you touch me because it’s so cold out,” my sister says. “And what’s with you?” she says under her breath to Dani as we trail behind the others.

“What do you mean?” Dani says. “Oh, the girlfriend thing?’ she whispers, then pauses a few beats while I wait with more anxiety than I should have to hear her answer.

“Yes,” Lou whisper-shouts and rolls her eyes. “You know he doesn’t need any encouragement. He already has a giant head and more girls—”

“That’s the exact problem,” Dani says, slowing us down and whispering quietly. “Summer still has a thing for him and I rescued him. The last thing Trey needs is the distraction of having to repeatedly discourage unwanted female attention when he’s trying to concentrate on hockey. This season is for all the marbles, Lou.”

“I’m right here, you know. I can—” Dani turns her green eyes on me, sincere and innocent and convincing enough to make me forget what I’m going to say, forget all about my point. Why am I even arguing?

“You think he’s going to become a monk until the end of the hockey season?” Lou says.

“Again, I’m right here.” I give Lou a stern look that says quit it. “There’s only another six to eight weeks left with playoffs. I’m perfectly capable of keeping my eye on the hockey prize and --”

“Are you shitting me? This is a real thing? I mean you’re really pretending to be boyfriend-girlfriend?” Lou pings her eyes back and forth and I look at Dani.

“Yes,” she says like it’s a monumentally important thing, like she’s accepting my hand in marriage. Fuck if my heart doesn’t stutter.

When we arrive at Wildbeast Pizza we head for the team’s tables at the back of the bar, their boisterous celebration making them unmissable and drawing a crowd.