It's Pucking Complicated

Step One: Fake It. Step Two: Fall Apart

ISADORA

I can hardly breathe as I watch Justin look back and forth between us, not moving an inch. It was clear that he didn't like the fact that I was here, talking to someone who poses such a threat to him on the ice, but what happens next?

He bursts out, "Are you f*****g kidding me?"

There's no turning back now, that's for sure.

"Why would I be kidding you, Justin?" I question as I loop my arms around Knox's neck. I find the way he's gripping my waist distracting, but if I don't get this right, this won't be believable to Justin, and then our grand plan will go straight to s**t.

A sound that's somewhere between a scoff and a laugh escapes Justin's lips. "Oh, yeah? And when exactly did this relationship start? In the f*****g alleyway a couple of hours ago?"

"We've been seeing each other way longer than that," I snap. "Not that it's any of your business anyway. Come on, Knox, let's go to bed."

Knox turns his face to stare at me. His grip tightens, yanking me flush to his side, and the pressure is enough to push my cleavage so deep that I'm half a breath away from a wardrobe malfunction. They're nearly spilling out of my bra. His gaze darts to them and my face flushes. At the same time, his hand moves lower so it's resting just above my butt.

Oh?

In a low, husky voice, he asks me, "You're sure you don't want me to drive you back to your dorm, baby?"

"No," I reply almost breathlessly. "I wanna stay here with you."

Knox turns his head so his eyes are on Justin's face, and he murmurs, "Alrighty, then. I guess you're spending the night."

Without directing another word at Justin, Knox takes my hand in his and starts walking, dragging me along with him. I look back at my half-brother, who looks like he's one angry thought away from murdering me, and you know what? That makes me feel better than I have in years.

When we reach Knox's room, he opens the door and we disappear inside.

"Ha!" I let out in a low voice. "That was amazing! Did you see the look on his face?"

"Told you it'd work."

"Do you think we were convincing?"

"Even if we weren't right now, we'll have three months to drive him crazy," he claims. His gaze slides to our clasped hands and I pull my hand away immediately. For a moment there, I got so excited that I forgot he was still holding it.

Knox clears his throat and pulls out a swiveling chair from under his study table. "Here. Have a seat."

I look around quickly and I think it's safe to say that Knox's room is...not what I expected it to be. His bed has been pushed against the wall, and a massive window is right above it. The view is surprisingly stunning. I can see Hartwell U from a distance as well as the other dormitories. Even though it's dark, the numerous trees that are all over campus make for a pretty sight, too. From here, it looks like the university has been built in the middle of a forest.

What I mean to say is that his room's pretty neat. For an athlete.

I was expecting a real mess.

We make eye contact briefly before I sit. He sits directly across from me, right on the edge of his bed. As I stare back at him, I can't figure out why things got so awkward all of a sudden. It's probably what happened out there with the touching and all, but I can't bear to think about that right now, so I won't.

I guess, at this point, it's safe to say that I've pretty much declared war against Justin.

So did Knox.

A whisper of a smile tugs at the corners of his lips as he sits on the edge of his bed. His gaze is fixed on me intently and it's disconcerting as heck. I only met him tonight, but I can positively say that Knox Mohrelian stares at people like he's peeling off their layers one by one to reveal what's underneath. And it's impossible to tell what he's thinking.

"Why'd you do it?" he suddenly asks. "You told me you'd think about it. What changed?"

"I'm not sure," I admit while sticking both my hands between my thighs. "I guess it just...clicked into place when I saw the two of you arguing."

He leans forward slightly. "If you wanna back out, now would be the perfect time. Come morning, we can go our separate ways and act like none of this ever happened."

I frown. "I'm pretty sure my actions spoke for themselves."

"I'm just giving you a way out in case you want one. Because once word gets out that we're together...it'll be almost impossible to undo the damage."

"No, we're doing this," I state firmly. "I don't see a plausible reason to back out now, not when he was clearly bothered at the sight of us together."

Knox nods. "Good."

Silence lingers between us for a few seconds. I try to think of something to say, but nothing positive springs to mind. Ultimately, I settle with, "What happens if we're wrong and he ends up not caring toward the end?"

"He'll care," Knox answers dismissively. "I know he will."

All I can think of saying is, "Okay."

More silence. I'm starting to get the impression that he's not very talkative. Then he says, "Well, since we're doing this, maybe it's time we establish some rules. Or boundaries. Depends what you wanna call them. I don't wanna cross any lines with you and I'm sure you don't want that either. It's just a precaution so this doesn't fall apart before it even starts. Oh, and we need to keep it really down. He might be listening."

I nod, shifting uncomfortably in the chair, and move closer to him so our knees are only a few inches apart. "Agreed."

He asks in a really low voice, "What're your deal-breakers?"

I've never fake-dated anyone before, but I have an idea of what things are meant to go. We'll have to put on a convincing show, and for that, we'll have to get into each other's spaces a little. What happened moments ago is a prime example. That was definitely too close.

"Uh...No touching without previously discussing it first?"

The corners of his mouth twitch and something flashes across his eyes. "Anything else?"

I search his eyes. "Is there a problem?"

"Why would there be one?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"I'm trying to respect your deal-breakers here, alright? So, why don't we move on to something else?"

"Yeah, after you tell me what was wrong with what I said."

Knox leans forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. "I'm just trying to figure out how we're going to discuss touching beforehand. We can't script every second. Maybe we just need to establish what we're okay with and what we're not okay with."

"Yeah. That's what I meant."

He gives me a look, then straightens up. "Fine. What're you okay with?"

"I think...holding hands and maybe an arm over the shoulder when we're in public should be enough to read as a couple. I'm okay with that."

"Anything else?"

I narrow my eyes at him. "No."

He looks at me for a few beats, then gives me a questioning look. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. Is something wrong?"

Once more, silence falls upon us and this time, I don't care about breaking it. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he asks, "I'm sorry, did I say something to make you upset or...? I'm not sure why you went quiet all of a sudden."

"I could ask you the same thing."

He has the audacity to look confused. "What?"

I lose my patience. "So, we're establishing what we feel is okay and what isn't—"

"Keep it down."

"—and I'm talking about what I think is okay for me and you keep making those faces and looking at me like you don't understand a word I say. You have a staring problem, do you know that? It's disconcerting."

He looks amused. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, so you're not aware of what you're doing?"

Knox lets out a short laugh. "No, I'm not. If I were, I wouldn't have asked."

"Just stop. This doesn't work if you're going to be so—" I cut myself off to breathe. Yeah, this isn't gonna work.

He grows more serious. "I'm not doing anything. I'm just listening to you. You talk, I listen. That's generally how it works, isn't it?"

I stand up and move closer to the door. "No. You're looking at me like you're mocking me and it's really uncomfortable. Look, I'm sorry if I don't have everything figured out. This was all your idea, not mine. I don't really know what to expect. I said the first thing that came to mind. Why don't you share your brilliant ideas first, Mr. I've-been-planning-this-from-the-moment-I-saw-you?"

"I'm not judging you about anything," he claims, standing up, too. "You're being really unreasonable, you know that?"

I scoff. "Oh, now I'm unreasonable? You're a condescending prick, you know that? Screw you."

I try to open the door, but the door won't open no matter how hard I try to pull it and I don't remember him locking it. Sighing, I look over my shoulder and see him holding the key. "You're not going anywhere until we talk this through, Isadora."

Oh, we'll see about that.