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“Girlfriend?” She glanced briefly at our interlocked hands but didn’t pull away. “Don’t make me correct you again. You know we’re alone out here, right?”
“I know.” I shrugged. “I’m just practicing.”
Violet’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t argue, and I was convinced I saw the hint of a smile on her lips. We made our way toward the arena exit, and her grasp on my hand tightened when we walked past a few Saints players who had just arrived. They were all glaring at her like she was their enemy too, and she was clearly uncomfortable around them.
“Are you okay?” I asked once we were outside.
“Yeah, I guess.” She slowly released a breath. “It’s just, even though I knew Jeremy would be pissed about seeing us together, I didn’t really think about how the rest of his team would take it. It’s like I’ve made an enemy out of everyone in Sunshine Hills.”
“That’s the thing about teams,” I said. “We tend to stick together. But if it makes you feel any better, those guys were mostly glaring at me.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
Unlike me, Violet couldn’t have been used to so much negative attention. She was sweet and fun, and I couldn’t imagine anyone ever having a reason to so much as look at her wrong. She didn’t deserve to be treated this way by Hoffman or his teammates. There wasn’t a whole lot else I could do to help her though. I could always threaten them, but that would just make them even more angry at her.
“If you like, we could go kick a few Saints players’ cars?” I suggested.
A snort escaped her as she failed to hold back her laughter, and her eyes twinkled as she glanced up a me. “I think my car-abusing days are over.”
“I’m glad to hear it, Sunshine.”
She turned her eyes up toward the sky but she appeared to be fighting a smile. It was like she couldn’t decide if I amused her or annoyed her.
When we reached my truck, I opened the door for her to climb inside. “So, where am I taking you for dinner?” I asked. Her car would be in the shop for a couple more days, so I’d told her I’d give her a ride home after practice.
“Dinner?”
“You know, that big meal you eat at the end of the day. I was thinking we go to Nino’s. They have the best pizza around here.”
“I know what dinner is.” She seemed to be leaning more toward annoyed with me right now. “But don’t you think me coming to your practice was enough fake dating for today?”
We couldn’t have spent much more than twenty minutes together tonight, and that was never going to be enough.
“I told my brother we were getting food,” I replied. “If I head home too soon, Parker’s going to think something’s up.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Well, he isn’t great with secrets and has a very big mouth. He can’t be trusted with the truth about us.”
“Ah.”
“Plus, it will be good if we’re seen out together. There are always a few kids from school at Nino’s on a Monday night, and we want our relationship to look convincing, right?”
As if my stomach knew exactly what we were talking about, it gave a small grumble of complaint. It was pretty loud, and I couldn’t even attempt to hide it.
Violet smiled as she caught the sound. “I guess we could grab a quick bite to eat.”
“Done.” I grinned as she pulled herself into the truck, and I closed the door behind her. Our dinner date might not be real, and I might have had to coerce Violet into it, but my stupid heart couldn’t help feeling excited because I had a little more time with her tonight.
14
VIOLET
As Reed drove us to the restaurant, I was still recovering from my encounter with Jeremy at the rink and struggling to get it off my mind. The way he’d spoken to me today was worryingly similar to the night of the bonfire and when he’d cornered me at school. He didn’t seem to understand why I was done with him. He was convinced it was only a matter of time before I forgave him and came crawling back into his arms.
I hadn’t expected him to hold on to our relationship so tightly, especially once he knew I was with someone else. But seeing me with Reed only seemed to fuel his desire to win me back. Was it because he really cared about me, or was he just too proud to lose me to his nemesis? I just had to hope Reed was right and, by the time our agreement was over, Jeremy would get the message and move on.
“Any news on my car?” I asked, trying to take my mind off Jeremy.
