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When she straightens up, smiling with satisfaction, Alex gives her an irresistibly devastating grin. He says something again, and this time, I catch the word “bad” at the end of his sentence.
My pulse titters in my neck. I stare down at my thighs, feeling emotions I’m not sure I’ve ever felt before. I’m not jealous. Definitely not jealous. I’m . . . possessive. And I shouldn’t be. Everyone on this plane knows we’re fake dating. But the air hostess doesn’t. She releases another flirtatious giggle. She definitely knows of Alex and is probably aware of the stink he’s caused on social media. So, for all she knows, he’s still dating me. And yet, the bitch is flirting with him.
Worse still, he’s flirting back.
I quickly shut down the stirrings of annoyance in the pit of my belly. I could be a little possessive, sure, but I couldn’t be pissed. We aren’t even real.
But then, I think back to our time at the club. His body pressed to mine, his fingers inside me, him growling in my ear. He had eyes for no one else.
Okay, I can allow myself to be a tiny bit angry.
“It’s ridiculous people out there actually think that Daenerys is going to be a good queen.” Theo brings my attention back to him. “I mean, she’s hot and all, but . . .”
My face creases into a bland smile, forcefully looking away from Alex. He could hump the hostess for all I care. Maybe this is a good thing. If he can openly flirt with a woman he’s just met, I can put away whatever excitement I felt about him and look toward getting rid of this inconvenient entanglement.
Theo looks pleased. “You know,” he says, leaning close to me. “You look really pretty when you smile like that.”
I hold my breath, not wanting to inhale his onion-tinged scent. Is he hitting on me?
One minute ago, I’d be repulsed. Now, after Alex and the hostess, I’m almost amused.
“Well, thank you,” I say, giving my best impression of batting my eyelashes.
“I’m going to let you in on a little secret,” he says, leaning even closer.
I let out my breath in a slow exhale. Is he about to talk about our dads and their ridiculous plan?
“I can’t stand hockey.”
Of course. How could I have thought he would even think to talk about something other than himself?
I fake a surprised chuckle, hating the fact that I’m still aware that Alex is murmuring something to the hostess.
“Yeah,” he says, his voice a little higher. “I’m going to inherit this team, but I hate hockey. When I was little, I was always confused about the point of it. My dad should havegotten me a football team. And now, I’ve got to run this team for the rest of my life.”
Theodore Furman must be the textbook definition of an overprivileged asshole.
Another painful chuckle, a bit louder this time, earns me some inquisitive looks from the players. I’m aware of Alex’s voice trailing off, and I catch movement at the corner of my eye as even the hostess turns in our direction.
Alex is staring at us, watching me flirt with Theo. My anger seeps out faster than usual, replaced with glee.
Over the next few hours, I pretend to be entertained by snippets of Theo’s boring life and work over my plan in my head, extremely thankful that my dad is flying in on a later flight. Every single player around us is probably thinking that I’m getting along famously with Theo. I do not want my dad to think the same.
The plane lands at Long Beach airport after a little over five hours, and I feel a sense of relief as I unhook my seat belt and slip through the throng of players exiting the aircraft, eager to get away from Theo. But at the door of the plane, my stomach tightens.
Alex is talking in a low voice to the same hostess he had been flirting with. There’s a sparkle in his eyes. The same twinkle he had during our interlude at the Furman mansion.
Focus, I tell myself. This is a good thing. This is a really good thing.
I turn away, but not before I spot the hostess slip him a piece of paper.
I ignore the tiniest dip in my belly as I walk down the steps and toward baggage claim.
“How did he not bore you to death?”
When I turn around, Blake is standing beside me, looking repulsed.
I consider whether to lie and say something about Theoactually being interesting, but then again, Blake has always been good at calling me out on my bullshit.
