Love on thin ice

Authors pov Valerie killed the engine and sat there with her hands still on the wheel. Ten minutes, she told herself. She'd give herself ten minutes to change her mind, and then she'd drive home and pretend none of this had happened. Her phone lit up on the passenger seat; her best friend was already calling, probably worried sick about her. She turned the phone face down. The thing was, she'd already done the hard part. She'd put on the coat, driven across town, and parked in a lot where a Viper's jacket would get her laughed at or worse. Turning back now meant admitting defeat, and she was thirsty for revenge. Valerie wanted to get back at her ex-boyfriend, the one who had cheated on her, the one who had held another girl like she meant nothing, like Valerie had meant nothing. She got out, adjusting her coat on her body. Then she heard noise, something breaking, someone's radio blasting, a group of guys in Wolves jerseys passing a bottle around. One of them glanced at her in recognition; she pulled her collar up and kept walking. She knew she didn't belong here. That was sort of the point. Valerie had spent the last three weeks learning everything she could about him, trying to find out more, digging through articles and interviews and gossip columns. Not because she had any feelings toward him; she's only seen him on the rink a couple of times, and at that point, he hadn't mattered to her. But Valerie needed him for her plan, someone the whole city would look at and someone Dean couldn't laugh off. Every road led to the same name. Malachi Cole. Twenty-three, Left wing, the best hands in the league and the worst attitude. Late to practice, benched for running his mouth, caught on camera laughing when they lost. Three different articles had called him a waste of talent, and he didn't seem to care about any of them. Perfect, she thought. Someone who didn't care what anyone thought and whom Dean hated. She found him at the edge of the lot, away from everyone, leaning against a black truck. His tight shirt showed the outline of his muscles, a cigarette between two fingers. Up close, his appearance was sharper; his jawline was perfect and sharp, complementing his hard face, and his dark hair fell over his eyes. Malachi had the kind of face that could make you lose your way just by looking at him and also make you want to apologize for something you hadn't done yet. As she approached, he glanced at her briefly before returning to his cigarette. She didn't stop until she stood right in front of him. He looked at her, his deep blue eyes peeking through his hair. "You're lost." "I'm not." "Then you're in the wrong lot." He nodded past her, toward the road. "Vipers play on the other side of town." His voice was lazy, as if her presence was irritating him. Valerie had thought about abandoning her mission, but she thought of Dean's arm around some other girl's waist, kissing her as if it was already the end of the world. She was sure that if she hadn't stepped in at that moment, they would have taken it to the bed. As Valerie thought about that, it gave her the confidence she needed, and she had to follow her plan through to the end. "I know where my team plays," she said. "I'm here for you." He didn't even glance her way. "Then you either want something, or you're about to ask me for money." "I want something." "Figures." He stomped out the cigarette with his heel. "Say it fast, I’ve got a game to catch." "I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend." She blurted it out, looking him straight in the eyes. He slowly bent his head toward her face, his hair falling further over his eyes as he leaned in. "Say that again." He tilted his head. "I didn't quite hear you." "I need…" She stopped and swallowed; him invading her space wasn't helping. "I need you to be my pretend boyfriend. I need you to help me get revenge on someone, and you're the most perfect candidate for that." "And why is that? Why would I even want to help you? You work for my rivals." "Because you like pissing people off, and the perfect way to piss them off will be through me." She breathed out slowly, backing away from his proximity. "Why me?" "Because you're the one thing Dean hates the most, and I can't wait to see his expression once he gets the news. Besides, no one is going to care if you do this; heck, your own teammates won't care. I will allow you to use me to piss off Dean and my teammates. In return, I will use you to get back at Dean." "Dean." He repeated it slowly. "So that's his name." "It doesn't matter." He stood to his full height again, resting back on the truck, just enough that she had to look up. "You want me to be your boyfriend." "Pretend." "For how long?" "A month. The most important thing is making him batshit crazy and jealous, but people have to believe it before then, or it won't work." "And I get to use you as much as I want, don't I?" Valerie had prepared for this; she knew he would try to bring his own terms into it, but she had already made up her mind about her decision. "I don't care." "What's your name?" "Valerie." "Valerie what?" "What does it matter?" "It matters if I'm going to be your boyfriend." He said it lazily. "I should know what to write on the Valentines." She sighed, running her hand over her hair. "Valerie…. Valerie Chestnut." "Chestnut, huh?" He smirked slightly, as if he had just found a secret worth keeping to himself. She groaned. "Is that a yes?" "Sure." She blinked. "Sure?" "I thought you understood English." "Just like that?" "Just like that." "That doesn't…" "Look, you got what you wanted, didn't you? So why don't you f**k off and stop disturbing my peace." He sighed. "f**k you," she yelled. He looked at her longer than he needed to, then stuck out his hand. "One month, fake smiles and whatever lovers do, and then we never speak again." Valerie stared at his hand. After a couple of minutes, she clasped it in hers. His grip was cold and unhurried. "Deal," she said. Then she immediately turned on her heel, walking out of that place. Something about what had just happened made her feel uneasy; she couldn't understand why he had agreed so easily. Valerie had expected more resistance, but that hadn't happened at all. She had even expected him to walk away from her face, but everything went smoothly. And that made goosebumps appear all over her body. Malachi stayed where he was, leaning on the truck, watching her walk back to her car. He didn't move until her car was finally out of his line of sight. He couldn't help the sickening smirk making its way onto his face as he finally started up at the sky. He lit another cigarette and puffed it out into the night.