OFF THE ICE he's my everything

Chapter4

Madison

As soon as Rinee was out of sight, I immediately pulled away from Liam, slightly pushing him off. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

"Liam, f*****g tell me what that was all about. Have you lost it?"

"Mad..." he called, trying to pull me closer, but I raised my hand, signaling him to stop.

"Why did you kiss me? You better give me a good f*****g reason, or else... and what was that nonsense about dating?" I asked, batting my lashes in total confusion.

He remained quiet, but at the same time, I could see the struggle in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." His voice was calm, almost a whisper, his face lowered.

"It's Rinee. It's going to be so hard to forget about her, especially since she knows how much of an effect and hold she had on me. I needed someone to lean on, or at least something to help me move on."

"And...?" I prompted, still not getting his point.

I watched as he slowly raised his head, his gray eyes piercing my black ones.

"Mad," he called, stepping closer and gently taking my hand. "I need your help. I can't think of anyone else but you."

"Help? How can I help with something like this?" My voice trembled.

"Trust me, it's simple. All you have to do is..." He paused.

"What? Stop the suspense and let the cat out of the bag. You've already performed enough drama."

"Hm... hm." He looked at me like he was studying my expression, trying to figure out how I was going to react.

"Liam... I'm running out of patience."

"Be my girlfriend, and let's live together."

"Huh...?!" My scream echoed through the hallway as I flung his hand away and immediately stepped back.

"Li..." I paused, trying to calm down.

"Li..." I stopped again, smiling as I tried to process everything. "Okay, I understand. This is some joke, right? Where's the camera?" I muttered, looking around. "Are you filming some kind of content with your teammates like you always do?"

"Right, this is content. Damn, you almost got me." I laughed as I walked closer to him. I picked up his jacket from the bench and grabbed his hand.

"Let's go. You can tell them to cut the camera. Playtime is over."

I tried dragging him along, but when he didn't budge and continued standing there with a serious expression, I knew...

"Wait... you're not joking?"

"Mm. Please, Mad. Help me. You can name whatever you want, and I'll do it for you."

Quietly, I freed my hand from his.

"Liam, how do you expect me to date you when you don't even love me?"

He scratched the back of his neck, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you this part. It's a fake date, not a real one."

My eyes widened.

"Fake date?"

"Yeah. We just have to pretend outside, and once we're inside, the acting is over."

"Then why do we have to live together?"

"To make it more real and believable," he muttered, resting a hand on my shoulder.

I sighed, still thinking this was a very dangerous plan, especially with my secret crush on him. What if I ended up doing something stupid someday? I didn't trust my damn heart.

"But Liam, I still think this is way too out of line."

"Shhhh..." He placed a finger against my lips.

"Let me be the judge of that."

He cupped my face, gently caressing my cheeks as I struggled not to lean into his warmth.

"We just have to fake it for like two months. As soon as I'm over her, we can say it didn't work out and decided to stay friends. Trust me, people won't think too much about it. Besides, if I decided to fake it with someone else, I don't trust that they'd keep it a secret. But with you, I feel safe and secure. Come on, Mad. You can name whatever you want. Please."

I looked at him and sighed.

"You already gave me everything I wanted. What else could I want?" I murmured.

"More money?" He shrugged.

"The money you gave me is still stacked in my bag. I don't even know what to do with it."

"Maybe a car?" His brows lifted.

"You got me a McLaren for my birthday, remember? And it caused issues between you and Rinee because she said my car was more expensive than hers."

"That's because you're my only best friend."

"But she used to be your girlfriend."

"It doesn't matter, Mad. Now tell me, do you agree to this? Please tell me you do."

"Liam, what would your friends say? Nate, Samy, Dezz..."

"They're my friends. Trust me, they won't object. Besides, they've been wanting me to do this for a long time."

"Do what?"

"The breakup."

"But Liam, I..."

"Shhhh... thanks for agreeing to this." He muttered before kissing my cheek, leaving me in shock and giving me no room to keep arguing.

"I'll be waiting for you at the rink!" He jogged away, while I'm rooted to the spot.

How can I be living together and fake dating my best friend when I have a massive, undying crush on him? What if I slip up one day and get caught? Won't that destroy our years of friendship? Why would Liam put me in such a tight spot? How the hell am I supposed to survive this?

Throughout his entire practice, I was nervous as hell and couldn't even cheer him on like I used to. I kept pinching my thumb the whole time.

"Mad!"

I heard my name and looked up to see Liam waving at me. That's when I realized practice was over.

I stood up, grabbed a towel and a cold bottle of water, then walked over to him. He took off his helmet and shook out his hair before leaning forward, his face so close to mine. Normally, I wouldn't have thought twice about it and would've done it immediately, but right now...

"Liam, what are you doing?"

He tilted his head to the side.

"Wipe my sweat. Rinee is watching us."

From the corner of my eye, I could see her standing there with a smug smile and her arms folded.

"Fine," I gritted out.

I began dabbing the sweat from his face and neck while Liam stared at me as though I were the most beautiful piece of art he'd ever seen.

Hmmm.

I scoffed inwardly. I never knew he was this good at acting. He should've become an actor instead of a hockey player.

I had just finished and was about to step back when he suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Water."

He gestured toward the bottle I was holding in my left hand.

"Here."

I stretched the bottle toward him, but instead of taking it, he wrapped his hand around mine and drank from it while still holding my hand.

"Liam, what are you doing?" I whispered.

Just when I thought he was finished, he poured the remaining water over his head.

Right before my eyes, he shook his head, sending tiny droplets of water onto my face. Just as I was about to step back, Liam smoothly brushed his hair backward, revealing his handsome, wet face.

I gulped nervously, trying so hard not to stare, but my gaze betrayed me, drifting from his face down to his Adam's apple. I watched as it bobbed sexily, Liam's bright smile only making things worse.

"Let's go."

I quickly turned and started walking away.

"Mad."

He grabbed my hand, holding it as we walked.

"What are you doing? People are staring," I whispered.

"I'm holding my girlfriend. They can stare." He shrugged like it was nothing.

At this point, I was finding it incredibly hard to keep myself together.

We reached his car, and just as I was about to open the passenger door, Liam's hand slammed it shut.

"What now?" I asked impatiently, my brows furrowing.

"I'll do it."

He opened the door for me.

"Get in, princess."

"Are we still acting?" I gritted out.

"Hmm. Someone is watching," he replied.

Without another word, I got inside. He closed the door before walking around to the driver's side.

"Take me back home. My head is spinning."

"Liam... move back," I growled, seeing how close he was leaning as his eyes examined mine.

"Of course I'm taking you home, but not to stay there."

"What do you mean?" My face scrunched in confusion.

"I'm taking you back to your apartment to get your things. From now on, we're living together."

"Liam, no..."

"Mad, yes." He winked as he started the car and pulled onto the road.

"I can't take all my things to your place. There's too much."

"Then I'll buy you new ones."

"Liam, I haven't agreed to this."

"Yes, you have."

"Liam..."

"Shh... be a good girl."

"What?"

I turned to stare out the window, but no... I couldn't hold it in.

I spun back to face him and threw my hand up in frustration.

"Why the hell are you not listening to me, Liam?"

"'Cause you're cute when you're angry.”