5
1464 Words
CHAPTER 5.
~LUCY POINT OF VIEW~
Excitement surges through me instantly. This has always been my goal.
My lips twitch, but I stop the smile realization hitting me right there ... .Tyler Holt never helps unless he wants something in return.
I lift my gaze to him. “And why are you helping me? What’s in it for you?”
“Nothing much, Bunny,” he says with a smile. “I’m just trying to help a friend, and in return, you help me with my grades.”
I stare at him for a moment, calculating how this sounds. Risky and stupid. Coming from Tyler, I know there’s probably a play I don’t know about.
I swallow, my mind racing. I know Tyler has been failing his tests. He barely attends lectures or practical classes.
He’s only interested in hockey just like Owen but the difference is I make sure Owen gets his work done so he keeps his grades up, even if it means I miss my shifts.
I raise my gaze to Tyler’s, heat prickling under my skin. “So how do you plan to do it?”
He studies me for a moment. “It’s simple, but first you’ve got to trust me and play by my rules.”
He continues, “The first way to ruin Ivy is to crash her engagement. The second is getting Owen to like you, and the only way to do that is to make him jealous so you have his full attention. So, Bunny, we have to fake date to throw your homeboy off.”
“W-what?” I snap, eyes widening. “You must be out of your f*****g mind.”
He takes a slow breath, steadying his voice. “The deal is in your favour. I can get a dozen other students to tutor me. All I have to do is pay some cash and I’ll get at least a C. But you won’t get your homeboy to look your way, and Ivy will still be in the picture even after getting engaged.”
I stare at him like he’s just sprouted two heads, his words sinking in deeper. “So you want me to play your fake girlfriend?”
He licks his lips before answering. “Yes.”
I scoff, shaking my head. “Sorry—”
“Thirty days, Bunny,” he cuts me off. “I’m not asking for forever. Just thirty days, and by then we’ll both have what we want.”
He leans in slightly. “Think about it. Think about what happened at the fair yesterday and what happened today.”
The sting hurts more than expected as his words land. Memories flash back to yesterday when he'd kiss me in front of everyone, giving me hopes only to shatter them today.
My chest tightens with a mix of hurt and rage, but I don’t say a word.
Maybe he’s making sense. It’s just thirty days. Thirty days to make Owen miss me and realize my value. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say. Maybe I’ll take this route. It’s time to pay Ivy back in the same coin she tosses at me every time we meet.
I exhale slowly, biting my lip. “Only to tutor you? Is that it?”
He grins. “Yes. Or do you want to teach me more than just acing my tests?”
“Oh, please…” I scowl. “I’m not one of your fangirls, and I’m not interested in you. If we have to do this, you have to understand—I’m not interested in you. This is strictly for mutual benefit.”
“Noted, ma’am,” he says in a mocking voice.
“Mutual benefit?” He laughs. “Actually, no. You’re getting more out of this. You’re using me to get back at your homeboy’s girl, and you’re using me as bait to make him jealous. Not to mention I’m about to boost your profile on campus.”
His laughter twists my stomach, but I don’t react. I need this more than he does. I need time away from Owen. I think me always being in the picture is exactly what stops him from seeing me.
I look around before turning back to him. “So, deal?”
He nods. I move to walk past him, but his hand wraps around my wrist, dragging me back.
“Wait…” His voice rings out, brows raised. “Just that?”
I look at him suspiciously. “What else? We’ve agreed to fake date and make Owen jealous, so… we need to prepare and head to the arena.”
“So we just grab a cab and go to the arena? Just like that?”
“Of course,” I nod. “What else are we supposed to do?”
A smirk tugs at his lips. “You’re really naive. If we do it that way, it’s going to be very, very hard to sell especially because it’s me.”
“And why’s that?”
“I don’t date. I don’t do the dating s**t. Everybody knows that. So if we’re going to pull this off and make your homeboy believe us, we have to make it look real. We need to grab his attention, because right now he’s buried deep in Ivy’s pussy.”
“Let’s plan this well. Everything about me is perfect, so I want this to be too,” he says.
“Now…” He moves closer, draping his arm around my shoulders. I freeze instantly, every nerve locking up.
His face falls into a frown. “Exactly what I’m saying. This won’t work.”
“Please…” He turns to leave, but I sharply tug him back, grabbing his waistband. “Please… I’ll do whatever. What do we need to do to make it work?”
“You just froze up because I threw my arm over your shoulder,” he says, heaving a sigh. “So how the hell do you expect anyone to buy this? Why would my girlfriend go stiff when I put my hands on her? Everyone knows I’m handsy. I love touching my woman, so you’ll need to get used to that without making it feel awkward.”
I shake my head. “We can do this without you touching me. Why do you need to touch me?”
He hisses. “C’mon, Bunny. I’m not supposed to have touch aversion. I’m supposed to be your boyfriend, for goodness’ sake.”
My throat tightens. “We can try to convince them without touching each other. There’s no need to be all touchy-feely, you know?”
He stares at me for a moment, studying my face. “Are you really that shy?” His lips twitch. “Now I see why he doesn’t look your way.”
“Shut up!” I snap before I can stop myself. “Fine, I’ll do it. But there just needs to be a heads-up. I need to know you’re about to touch me before you do.”
“How the hell is that supposed to work? Who gives their girlfriend a warning every time they want to touch her? Come on—if we’re doing this, we have to bring our A-game or the cover will be blown.”
I swallow. He’s making sense. Owen knows I hate Tyler, so he’s going to doubt this.
“Fine,” I say with finality. “There’s no need for heads-up, but don’t touch me inappropriately.”
“Depends on what you call inappropriate,” Tyler says, letting out a dramatic sigh and rubbing a hand down his face.
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“Nope.” He grins. “I need specifics. I’m a simple hockey player.”
I roll my eyes so hard they almost hurt.
He claps his hands once. “Alright, practice session, Bunny.”
I blink. “Practice?”
He steps closer. “Yes. We need to practice because we’re going out to the arena this morning as girlfriend and boyfriend. I need to make sure you’ve got this.”
Before I can protest again, he strides forward. Too close. My heartbeat starts to slam hard as his face inches closer to mine and panic surges.
Then he stops like he's on remote control.” Good.” He grins.” Perfect. Now we're getting there. “
“Another tip bunny, your facial expression need to be free, you need to act like you're in love with me and it needs to start from your face “
“Now to the next on the list for practice.” He looks at me, his voice dropping. “ Number two on the physical contact list is kissing.”
- Writer
