Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

IVY

Last night was a colossal failure. Not only did Maximilian Aarons shut me down, but I had to watch Daisy's desperate attempts to get Ander's attention. It hurt watching my baby sister make the same mistakes I did. I knew how shitty the narcissistic bastard could make me feel after he lost a game. The way he would talk down to others to lift himself up, especially to his girlfriend that he believed was his property.

"Come on, sleepyhead." Kaia, my roommate, pulled the blanket off me and shook me awake. "We need to get in our run before class."

I groaned and pushed my face into the pillow. Running was my thing way before Ander, but when we started dating, he always got mad that my endurance was better or that I was running faster than him. Eventually, he sucked the fun out of running and only now over the summer, I started dipping my toes back into it. Pushing my body to its limits and understanding I couldn't expect myself to pick up where I left off after two years. My ego was bruised especially after the failed half-marathon over the summer when I thought I could just run it easy, like it once was. Time didn't stop while I was in relationship. My friends faded into the background as Ander demanded to be the main character in my life. If it wasn't for Kaia, I would have been alone.

"Not in the mood," I muttered.

"Get up!" Kaia clapped her hands together, and the loud noise of the curtains moving pierced my ears. "You made me promise I won't ever let you miss a run. Plus, operation Maximilian Aarons is moving into phase 2."

"Phase 1 failed." Annoyed, I pushed myself into a sitting position. I was still wearing the oversized Westpoint hoodie but discarded my shorts. "He refused."

" No is just another way of saying convince me ." Kaia sat beside me, already dressed in her cycling shorts, sports bra and running shoes.

I scoffed. "No, trust me. Max isn't interested."

"We just have to get him interested." My roommate wiggled her brows suggestively, making me chuckle. "I heard the Hillview guys run a rout in the morning too… maybe we could bump into them this morning."

I blinked at her.

"Did you really think I was flirting for nothing yesterday?" She snickered. "No, girl, I got your back. Now, get dressed, and wear cute outfits because phase 2 is about to go down."

Kaia danced across my messy room, her short blonde hair flying around her face as she walked out, leaving the door open. Music was already blasting through our little apartment and I didn't understand how she had so much energy after throwing back all those shots.

"Ivy! If you don't want to sit across Ander on Christmas Eve and be miserable, you better start getting ready!" she shouted as I was about to doze off.

But the mental image she put into my mind did the trick. I moved to my dresser and stared at the drawer of workout clothes. My eyes settled on a matching sage green set with booty short and sports bra. Max liked my eyes, but I had to remind him they were attached to a body that would haunt him in his dreams until he gave in.

The weather was insanely humid and hot despite the early hour, and sweat was trailing down my body by the time we made it to the beachfront. Soon, I caught sight of Max.

He was slipping out of his T-shirt, the muscles on his back and arm flexing from the movement, and he discarded it on the bench. His friends were already shirtless and all I could see was endless sea of rock-hard abs and chest. I appreciated their carefully crafted lean muscles, contrary to the bulky build of football players.

"Kaia!" one of the guys shouted, waving at us.

"Seriously, K? Derek? You couldn't find anyone else?" I muttered only for her ears, making her laugh.

"We are only friends."

"Is code for hooking up. It's easier if you call it Netflix and chill." I rolled my eyes as we jogged toward the guys.

Max's dark eyes were on me as he stretched his arms over his head. The muscles on his stomach tightened, turning into visible squares. My mouth watered.

My eyes trailed over his chest, taking in his body before moving to his face and discovering an unimpressed scowl as we approached them. He plucked his sunglasses from the top of his messy chestnut hair and hid his eyes behind them.

"Morning, guys," I greeted them with a sweet grin, trying not to take Max's shielding as an offense. "Ready to sweat out last night?"

Kaia gave Dex a quick hug and he lifted her off her feet. I should have picked the biggest playboy, but who would have guessed Maximilian Aarons was going to have an epiphany of not dating exactly when I needed him? Clearly not me.

"Guys, this is Kaia," he introduced her to everyone. "And her roommate…"

"Ivy," I offered, and Max's grimace deepened.

Dex glanced at his captain, as the third guy, Maddox, muttered a greeting that sounded more like a sigh.

"Hi," Max said, through his clenched jaw, his eyes on Derek. "Can we go now?"

"Yes, captain." His friend mocked him, resulting in Max glancing at his watch before without another word uttered to any of us, he jogged off.

Maddox followed him, while Dex shrugged, making Kaia giggle.

Frustrated with Max's behavior and with the little exchange between my roommate and yet another Hillview player, I took off after the guys.

The pavement under my feet was soft, as with every step I took, my thick running shoes absorbed some of the impact. My thighs burned as the wind blew in my face, moving the loose strands of hair out of my face and cooling me down before my face reddened.

Max and Maddox picked a cruel rhythm as they conversed, based on the way how Max leaned his head toward his friend.

"Are you compensating for last night's poison?" he teased Maddox with an easy grin.

Such a different expression than when he was engaging with me. Or at least the way he had become after I told him about my plan.

"Yeah." Maddox's deep voice travelled with the wind. "Contrary to you, I didn't bail on the night just because I'm a pussy."

Max threw his head back and laughed. "Nicely put. Sue me."

"Waking you up at three in the morning was enough satisfaction."

Max grinned and then switched to a higher gear, running faster.

I ran after them, determined to make it as close as possible to talk to Max.

"What's the story with Sanchez's dirty laundry?" Maddox asked, referring to me.

A frown pulled my lips from the nickname.

"Is she looking to switch teams?" Maddox went ahead with the line of questioning.

"Oh, the silent treatment, bro." He barked out with a laugh. "Are you even interested? She is not your type."

Max turned to throw a glance over his shoulder at his friend, but his eyes caught mine. We looked into each other's eyes, and time stood still. Max diverted his gaze and looked at Maddox.

"She's behind you," he said as his strides slowed, allowing me to catch up to them, positioning between the two of them.

"Hey," Maddox greeted me, without much enthusiasm.

I arched a brow at him, making him grin.

"Not gonna apologize… found it funny you get conveniently dumped before the start of the season when Max and Sanchez both make captain, and now you bet your eyelashes at him. It doesn't smell right."

"What you're smelling is your own sweat from trying to keep up with Max," I retorted.

Max barked out a surprised laugh, ducking his head to hide his grin.

"Got to agree with her, dude." He winked.

My heart skipped a beat at that.

"Come on." He motioned toward the endless beachfront road. "I have a feeling you want to talk to me."

"You're a mind reader." I offered him a soft smile.

In a couple of minutes, our breathing took the same rhythm and we ran at the same pace, our feet hitting the pavement in synch. The wind calmed and suddenly the smell of the ocean and sand dissolved and all I could smell was the pine and wood scent radiating from Max. My lungs filled with his intoxicating and masculine scent.

"What were you going to reply?" I asked, catching my breath.

"Nothing. There are conversations that are not worth my effort. Maddox's teasing was one of these moments."

"Not worth your effort? Wow."

"I just select carefully what I engage in to keep my mental peace. That's why your ex could never get to me," he said, flashing me his usual signature grin.

I nodded, trying my best not to be bothered by his words.

"I understand where Maddox is coming from," I started saying, taking a different approach to the conversation. "How it looks, but… it's not it."

"Oh, I know." He chuckled. Despite his sunglasses, I could still make out his dark eyes. "I could tell by your face when you were watching your sister with him. You can fake many things… heartbreak isn't one of them. That's something that takes so much away from you. And you looked heartbroken. I felt bad."

"Not bad enough to help me out."

Max contemplated my words. "Why me?"

"He hates you," I replied immediately.

"You give me way too much credit. We are opponents."

"No, all he talks about is you. Always. It's like… he wants to be you," I insisted, remembering the endless nights when Ander ranted about Max. "He really does hate you."

"Not good enough, babe."

"Just tell me your price," I called after him when he took off once again, as we reached the sandy beach. "Max!"

He ran across the sand, as if he was running on the pavement. I watched his quad muscles flex as he kept on moving toward the water. He only stopped when he reached the shallow, wetting the bottom of his shoes, removing the sand.

I walked across the unsteady sand and joined him, panting.

"I'm just a pawn in the game, so tell me, what's in it for me."

"What do you want?" I asked. "You told me you want to stay away from girls anyway. Having a girlfriend, even if fake, keeps them away."

"What about my needs?" He wiggled his brows. "Are you going to be taking care of them or am I supposed to be cheating on you?"

If he was caught cheating on me, it would have been the same shame as my ex dating my sister. I was equally screwed unless he remained faithful and in love with me all the way. Something that was difficult to fake, and I desperately needed him for that awkward Christmas and my big twenty-first birthday celebration.

"I mean," I sighed, stepping up next to him.

Max smirked at me. "You didn't come that far in your planning, right?"

"To be honest, no," I admitted, squatting and touching the water. It was still warm, as the strong wind from the past couple of days couldn't beat the early September sunshine. "I had everything else planned, though. But… I just thought it was going to be easy to convince you, and you would want to do that."

"I'm not really a person who holds grudges or hates anyone. Some people are not worth my energy and Ander Sanchez is one of them." Max shrugged. "I would love to help you. But I'm not sure I can do this whole fake boyfriend thing. It's just not who I am."

"I understand. I guess… I'll just have to do this on your terms."

"We can be friends. If you ever need buffer, I can come in, but I'm not sure I can do the kissing and hugging and pretending. It would take way too much from me, and my focus needs to be on my game."

He was letting me down in the gentlest way ever. He was being kind about it, and nice. Even offering to help. I almost felt bad for believing the rumors I heard about him.

I nodded, disappointed. "I hope you don't think I'm…"

"Desperate?" Max offered with a sweet smile. "Anyone would be in your position. But people like Ander get the most annoyed when you ignore them… try doing that and watch him come knocking. You don't need me there for that."

"Yeah, easier said than done."

"I'm sorry." His hand found my shoulder and squeezed it. "I wish I could do more."

"Well… you can." I scoffed, ignoring the annoying little butterflies that surprisingly sprung up in my stomach. "You just choose not to."

"You can see it that way. I need to do what's best for me. But I wish you all the best, Ivy. You deserve someone who truly sees your worth."

I felt the weight of his hand lift from my shoulder and the sand by my side dipped as he turned to walk away.

"Max?" I called after him, my eyes still trained on the waves licking the sand in front of me. "What if I give you sex? We can be hooking up… during the fake arrangement."

Max remained quiet for a long second, before his laughter echoed through the beach.

"Now… you are desperate. I don't need you to pay me with sex, Ivy. If I was going to do it, I would have done it out of the goodness of my heart."

"Guess, you don't have a heart then."

"You will thank me one day. I'm keeping you from making a mistake."

"From where I'm standing, it doesn't look like that," I muttered bitterly.

"Best of luck, Ivy. You'll need it."

This time, I didn't stop him from walking away.

Suffering through my classes was painful. The whispered rumors managed to get through every doors, even the computer science lab, where I spent most of my hours. Everyone, read Ander, thought I was crazy for double majoring in computer science and marketing. The two were polar opposites but I wanted to be employed after university hence I had to make sure my majors enhanced my chances. Marketing was just way too little in today's competitive world where everyone was an influencer.

It was barely the start of the semester, but we had to pick up our last year's final project and enhance it. I stared at my fundraising website I created taking running as an inspiration and collecting money for a marathon. Building something similar to Kickstarter from scratch was supposed to be impressive, but all I saw was infinite possibilities to elevate it.

Scribbling into my open notebook, I shifted in the padded office chair, pulling my legs under me. The air turned chilly around me from the aircon blasting. I enjoyed being tucked away from the world, especially after my yet another failed attempt to convince Max. People noticed me talking to him twice already and whispers were starting up from all sides.

Weirdly, despite this not being my plan, I should have been excited that people took notice as it might have made it easier to try my luck with Max again. But people at Westpoint were cruel. They called me a traitor, a whore, and some went even as far to call me a cheater, when it was Ander who cheated on me with my sister.

"Why were you seen with Maximilian Aarons?" Daisy's voice came from the distance, and I removed my AirPods, before I turned to her. She stood at the door of the lab. She was dressed in wide-legged high-waisted light blue jeans that hugged her waist like a glove, with a tiny pink bralette, and a full face of makeup. Compared to her, my blue and white striped midi dress with a cropped jean jacket made me look like her mother. "And not once, twice."

"Excuse me?" I asked her with an arched brow. "Since when is it any of your business what I do?"

"Well, you can't just go around talking to the enemy, Ivy!" Her voice hitched, turning high-pitched, and I knew the words she repeated to me didn't belong to her. They were coming from Ander.

It was cruel how life made me realize the abuse and terror I was in by watching my sister repeat the same mistakes.

"You can tell your boyfriend he has nothing to worry about."

I pressed the word your , making her flinch.

"It's me. I was genuinely worried about you. I don't want you to get your heart broken or worse… people are already hard on you."

If she was so worried about my reputation, she wouldn't have fucked my boyfriend on our family vacation. I knew it was all Ander, but I couldn't help but blame her too. Hookups required two people, after all.

"Thanks for your concern, but I'm fine."

"You aren't. People say you are pregnant with Aarons's child," she repeated one of the stupid rumors that started up from me wearing my dress this morning. Clearly, I would be pregnant and showing from talking to him yesterday. I started to understand why Max ignored rumors and didn't engage.

"They are also saying since I lost out on one captain, I am looking to replace him with another," I mocked.

"You know, it's not your fault. You just weren't good enough for him."

There it was. The overused word from Ander that he always reminded me of.

You are not hot enough.

You are not smart enough.

There was always something I wasn't enough for him.

Every time I did something, his voice reminded me of it in the back of my head. It taunted me, holding me back.

Somewhere in the past two years, I forgot my worth.

"I'm just worried about you," Daisy went on. "I don't want you to make a mistake and make things more complicated for you."

"How would you know how it is for me?" I tilted my head, letting my messy bun tilt on top of my head. "You weren't here last year. You have no idea about anything. All you know is what Ander filled your head with."

My sister flinched, as if my words caused her pain, but I couldn't find it in me to care. I was deeply hurt by her actions over the summer and how she handled everything between us. She didn't act like a sister, and I knew she wanted to show everyone she was a big girl and show for herself that she got the most popular guy on campus, but at what cost? She was willing to pay a high price just for bragging rights, and that made me sick.

"Thank you for your piece of advice, sis. But you can tell Ander, there is nothing he should be worried about. Kaia likes Dex and I was merely there for buffer," I dismissed her with a tight smile.

The lie left my lips without having to force it out. And suddenly, I wasn't talking to my sister anymore, I saw myself last year replying to a controlling boyfriend's requests.

I hated the girl I was with him and how he turned me into a shell of myself.

Yet, I never walked away, and that was my fault.

"Okay, great." Daisy nodded.

"But a piece of advice for you…" I stopped her as she started turning on her heels, eager to get away. "Don't believe everything a guy tells you. It's a lesson I had to learn on my own skin."

"How's that working out for you?" she muttered over her shoulder, not even looking me in the eye. "There's a party on Friday at the soccer player's house. You should come. Just to show you are supporting the right team."

Even though he wasn't there physically, he was still running the show in the background.

"I'll be there."

Daisy offered a small, fake smile and quickly slipped out the door, phone in her hand.

She was far more gone than I thought and somehow realizing that I needed to watch myself around my own sister, made me feel like I lost her all over again.