Page 21 of Playing the Player

“God, it’s so embarrassing.” Sasha groans, covering her blush covered face with her hands.

I take one for the team, deciding to explain everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours. “We weren't lying about dinner though, that really happened.”

“But it wasn't a date.” Sasha cuts in in a rushed voice. “It was dinner as friends, nothing more.”

“Sure, Angel. Just friends.” I smirk which earns me an eyeroll.

“Why do you call her Angel?” Olivia asks, seeming to have calmed down from the angry rottweiler she became and is now more like a bitchy chihuahua.

I wasn’t planning on ever telling anyone this, but these two are my closest friends and the most important people in my life. Why should I not tell them? “Because that day she came into the coffee shop, I was drowning in my own head, close to losing it, but I took one look at her, and I felt peace. She saved me.”

I turn my head to look at Sasha, nervous because this is the most real I’ve ever been around her, but she doesn't look disgusted like I thought she would. Her wide eyes are on me, shining bright with so much emotion that I can't place. I’ve never been good at reading people and right now, I wish I was. I would love to know what she’s thinking. When we lock eyes, everything else seems to fade away. It feels like it’s only the two of us in this room. She’s all I can see, all I can smell, and the only sounds I can hear is her shallow breathing and the beating of my heart.

The moment is interrupted far too quickly by Olivia slapping her hands against her knees and getting to her feet. “Sash, come help me with something for a minute please.”

Sasha’s worried gaze collides with mine again and I salute her as she gets up, mouthing “good luck”.

When the girls disappear down the hall, Josh levels me with a hard glare. “What?”

“What the hell are you doing, Matthews? This is crazy.”

“I’m doing her a favor. She asked me to help her out and I am.”

“And how long is this gonna go on for? Have you thought about that? And what are you getting out of this?”

“Cap, I haven't thought about any of this. All I have thought about is getting to spend time with a woman who I haven't been able to get out of my head since I first met her. This has never happened to me before.”

Josh scrubs the scruff on his jaw as he contemplates what I’ve said. We sit in the quiet, my confession making the air feel heavy. “I was the same with Ollie so I get what you’re saying.” He says and it feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest. “But, this is different.” His expression hardens again and that weight slowly starts pushing down again. “This isn’t real and at the end of it all, who’s gonna be the one getting hurt?”

9

Sasha

“What the hell are you doing?” Olivia hisses at me as soon as she closes us in the bedroom. She looks pissed and when she’s like this, she’s scary as fuck. If I had to choose to be locked in a room with Chucky or an angry Liv, I would choose Chucky. He seems to be the lesser of two evils.

“I don’t know, Liv. I panicked.” I flop onto the bed, my head hitting the soft, fluffy pillows and I sigh. “Where did you get these? They are amazing.”

“Don’t change the subject, Sash.” Olivia sits at the end of bed, her body turned so that she’s fully facing me.

“I didn’t want Max to have the upper hand. I was embarrassed that he had moved on and I hadn’t.” I rub my eyes with the backs of my hands to try and ease the tension that’s building behind them. “I didn’t think he would ask who I was dating and Conor was the first guy to pop into my head.”

“How long is this supposed to last?”

“I don’t know. A month maybe? We have Rose and Alex’s engagement party in a few weeks and then we’ll see how it goes.”

“Sasha, you do realize that the media will be all over this?” Olivia asks me, concern in her voice.

“Of course I do. That’s the whole point.”

“Did you think about what will happen when you end this fake relationship? Everyone will know about it. It’ll be all over social media. Conor is an amazing player with a social life that everyone wants to know about. This can’t end quietly.”

I stay silent. I hadn’t entirely thought this through. Like I said before, I panicked.

“And what happens when you actually fall for him? You’re gonna get hurt, Sash. Conor’s not the relationship kinda guy. I love him, he’s like a brother to me, but he doesn’t want a relationship. He’s not that kinda guy. You’ll be the one with a broken heart by the end of all of this.”

“I’m sure there’s people out there who would have said the exact same thing about you and Josh.” I snap back in defensive mode. The second the hurt flashes across her face, regret settles in. “I’m sorry.” I give her an apologetic look, sighing. “I didn’t mean that.” Olivia nods her head at me so I continue. “I won’t fall for him, Liv. This isn’t real.”

“Really?” Olivia asks incredulously. “Because what I saw out there was the complete opposite.”