AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I feel a tiny nick in my chest. “What else?”
“The kiss,” Blake says after an awkward pause. “I saw her kiss you. I’ve seen you with a million other girls. It looked . . . different . . . with Brit.”
My entire abdomen constricts, and not just with the awkwardness of having to talk about this with Blake. “What do you mean?”
He looks even more uncomfortable than I feel. “You were into it. Far more than any other kiss I’ve seen you share with anyone else. As if you truly like her.”
“I do like her. We’ve known each other for decades. She’s not some random girl.”
Blake finally looks into my eyes. “Yes,” he says, sounding more convinced. “Could be.” He lets out a sigh. “I’ll talk to Britney and wrap all of this up. Just make sure you keep your bad boy paws off her.” He punctuates the sentence with a friendly blow to the shoulder.
The three-day old memory of thrusting into Britney in front of the bathroom mirror comes floating back to me.
“Yeah,” I mutter as he makes his way into the changing rooms. “I’ll try.”
I shower and change into my tracksuit. The hotel we’re staying at is on the other side of the stadium, so I snub the bus and stroll over there. My head is filled with one single, overpowering thought.
Britney.
This situation is messy. Even messier than the one with Janice.
And there is no one to blame. Certainly not Janice for putting me in a position where I needed a fake girlfriend. Not Blake for suggesting his sister. Least of all Brit for wanting to free herself from her father’s stifling expectations.
I can’t even blame myself. Because, when I decided to ask Brit for help, I would have never imagined that keeping my hands off her would be next to impossible.
I run my fingers through my wet hair as I climb up the hotel steps. It’s a four-star hotel away from the pomp and pageantry we had back in LA, and I’m relieved at not being waylaid by fans or screaming reporters as I climb up the stairs to my single room. My falling out with Blake meant that, for the time being, we aren’t roommates.
How am I supposed to move on from this? Brit needs to pretend to be my girlfriend for a few more months becausethe media’s intent on talking about us. And the more I stay around her, the more I—
My thoughts vanish into nothing as I spot Britney standing in front of my door, wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants and a hoodie. Her blond hair is pulled into a ponytail, and her face is free of makeup.
Even with the present circumstances, I cannot help but notice how fucking stunning she is.
“Hey.” She stares up at me. “Thought we should spend the night going over our game plan for when we return to Philly.”
I raise a brow as I walk up to the door. “Our game plan?” I ask, swiping my key card through the lock and moving back, so Britney can walk in first. It’s a horrible idea to be alone in a hotel room again, but the last thing on my mind is having sex . . . for now, anyway.
She carries herself differently. Even her walking is steadier. She appears to be in control, more assured. Her gaze meets mine more squarely, and, fuck yeah, she’s lost that irritating voice.
She’s done pretending, I realize. At least with me. Finally, I get to meet the true Britney.
“We need to keep dating for a while longer,” she starts, striding over to the mini fridge on the other side of the bed and pulling out a beer. “Surely, you thought of that?”
I stare at her, halfway between amusement and surprise. I’d seen a lot of shades of Brit over the past few weeks. But seeing her be unapologetically herself makes me feel like I’m meeting an entirely different person.
And I’m more excited than ever to actually get to know her.
I move closer and swipe the beer from her.
She frowns. “Asshole.”
I bite back a smile as I dump myself on the rug in front ofthe TV, my back against the bedframe. “Still weird, hearing you swear,” I tell her.
Brit swipes another beer from the fridge before she comes to sit down on the floor close to me. “Weirder than hearing my dad swear in front of me?”
It’s hard to suppress a grin. “Of course not.”
She reaches for the remote and starts flipping through the channels. I glance at her set, determined profile, and a million questions drop into my head.
