Did they, though?
Eden and I never talked about it before. Granted, we hadn’t done the whole fake dating thing for long yet, let alone known each other for longer than a hot second. But I had never seen Austin talk to Eden before. And as far as I knew, Eden wasn’t very fond of him either.
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I just thought I might come talk to you,” Austin said, putting his signature smile back onto his face. God, he looked so good when he smiled, and he smelled so nice, and his voice was an actual dream.
But he was talking bullshit.
Now, that was disappointing.
“My friends are throwing a party next weekend, and I thought you might want to come.” His charming smile disappeared for a second when I hesitated to reply. “You could bring Eden, but I suppose he’ll be too busy.”
“How do you know that?” I asked, forcing myself not to reach for my necklace to play with it. The last thing I wanted was to appear nervous in front of Austin Bennett.
Austin chuckled. “Doesn’t he have a game next weekend? Their finals or something.”
Did he? I really wasn’t sure.
Wait, no… I knew the answer to that. Eden and I were just talking about it. “They’re not even in the playoffs yet,” I told him. “But I guess you’re right. He is busy that weekend.”
Though Eden promised he’d be back on Saturday morning, we also had plans to go to his dad’s friend’s charity event on Sunday.
Austin shrugged. “You can still come. I can keep you company.”
I had no idea what possessed me at that very moment, but before I could even think about his intentions, my mouth already opened. “I don’t think my boyfriend would like that.”
His smile faltered immediately, though once again, it quickly recovered. It almost seemed like Austin wasn’t used to rejection, wasn’t used to hearing anyone say no to him.
It didn’t surprise me.
If he had asked me to come to his party a couple of weeks ago, I wouldn’t have gotten a single word past my lips. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t have hesitated to say yes.
But as it seemed, things had changed. And while Austin was still very much my main goal, it didn’t hurt to see him fight for me at least a little bit, right?
Besides, for all he knew, I was in a relationship… why was he acting and talking so strangely?
Austin’s eyes flickered with a hint of something unreadable before he chuckled softly. “Ah, I see. The same boyfriend who can’t keep a girlfriend for longer than two months, right?”
But that wasn’t Eden’s fault.
For whatever reason, I tensed at his words, feeling as if I had to get defensive on Eden’s behalf.
Sure, I knew Eden had been in a bunch of relationships before, and was kind of seen as a player, but nobody knew the real reasons why. Honestly, it really wasn’t Eden’s fault that every single person he liked ended up wanting nothing but fame from him.
Either way, I straightened up and met Austin’s gaze. “Eden’s nothing like you think he is,” I said firmly. “And since you goway back, shouldn’t you know that?”
Austin’s eyes darkened, and this time, they didn’t seem to recover again. “Well, if you do change your mind, you’re always welcome in my house.”
What was that even supposed to mean?
I mean, I had an idea, but I wasn’t going to entertain that thought.
I thought our conversation was over, that we’d leave it at that, but Austin had different plans.
He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper that sent an unwelcoming shiver down my spine. “You know, I fuck way better than King ever could. So you’d be missing out if you don’t find me next weekend.”
I took a step back, shocked and disgusted by his audacity.
How could someone look so great and be so arrogant and disrespectful?
