Page 97 of With the Assist

He is my fake boyfriend. We’re in a public setting for a team outing, so it’s all part of the arrangement.

My body does not care about logic.

Someone bumps into our table, sloshing my drink. Nathan’s hand comes out automatically, steadying my glass before it tips. His fingers linger a little too long around mine.

“Careful,” he whispers close to my ear.

My pulse reacts, remembering how his breath felt as it danced across every part of me, only two weeks ago. Would we go there again tonight? Should we?

Harper sighs loudly and finally locks her phone.

Avery turns to her immediately. “Where’s James?”

I widen my eyes. Avery always teeters the line between straight to the point and flat-out rude, but this time, she’s asking the same thing I’ve been wondering.

Harper shrugs, a little too quickly. “Home. Busy.”

“Busy doing what?” Avery presses.

Harper lifts her drink and finishes it in one long pull. “Being tired.”

I catch Avery’s eye to confirm that she’s as worried as I am. James has never been our cup of tea, but he’s never been this MIA either.They’ve only been married for seven months, but Harper doesn’t seem as happy as she should be.

Nathan’s hand slides from my shoulder to my knee, and though I’m wearing jeans, the contact is distracting. I resist the urge to lean into it.

“Hey,” I say, turning toward Harper, forcing a topic change. “How’s school going?”

Harper takes the bait, launching into a hilarious story about the kids in her class. The mood lightens again instantly.

Time stretches. Drinks appear and disappear. Someone puts money into the jukebox, and something loud and nostalgic starts playing through the speakers. Liam and his mystery blonde stumble toward the dance floor. Others start crowding it, too.

Nathan doesn’t leave my side.

Every time I stand to grab another drink, he stands with me. When someone tries to squeeze past, his hand finds my waist. When a guy from another table glances my way a little too long, Nathan shifts closer, shoulder brushing mine, his presence unmistakable.

It feels like foreplay disguised as optics.

I’m very aware of it. Of him.

Becca and Haley show up halfway through the night in Blades gear, their cheeks flushed from the cold.

“Wes!” Becca squeals, throwing her arms around me. “We saw you on the screen!”

Haley grins. “You’re basically famous now.”

I laugh, a little breathless. “Trust me, I’m not.”

I’ve never really spent time with either of them until the past month, but I regret not having done it sooner. They’re nice and fun. It’s exactly what Coach Bennett was trying to get me to understand when she pointed out how my isolation hurts the team.

Grayson slides into the empty space Harper left when she went to the bathroom, flashing what I’m sure he thinks is a charming smile at Avery.

“So,” he says. “You come here often?”

Avery glances up, grabs her coat, and mumbles, “Nope.” Then she breezes past him and out the front door.

Grayson watches her go, then exhales.

“Don’t take it personally,” I say.