10. Parker

CHAPTER 10

Parker

FEbrUARY

E verything was normal. My first lacrosse game was later this week, and classes were going well. The only thing that was different was the girl lying across my bed, studying the script in her hands.

My best friend. And as of last week, my fake girlfriend.

I sat at my desk, trying to figure out exactly how we’d gotten here. Somehow, it all felt so surreal. Even before, when we were friends, we didn’t hang out like this. We met up for meals in the dining hall and walked around campus together, but I’d never had her in my space before.

Not like this.

On my bed.

With the door closed.

Looking so sweet in her pink corduroy overall dress that she’d paired with a white turtleneck and tall, tan boots. Her legs were a million fucking miles long, and I wasn’t even sure she knew how hot those boots were.

I pulled at the hoodie around my neck, fanning myself with the fabric.

“Parker.”

“Hm?” Her sweet strawberry smell filled my lungs, overriding any sense or thought.

Oh. She’d asked me something. “Sorry, what?”

“What do you think of the script?” Audrey inclined her head to the side. I’d had it for almost a week now after officially being announced to be taking over the role.

I leaned back in my chair, the script in question sitting on my desk. I’d read it three times already and was still stuck on one specific detail.

“We have to kiss,” I said instead of commenting on the storyline. “In the second act, we…” Our characters were romantically intertwined, so why had I not considered this before accepting the role?

Audrey nodded, understanding dawning in her eyes. “Uh-huh.”

I hummed. “We’re pretending to date. Which means we should be comfortable kissing each other.” I couldn’t take my eyes off her soft, full pink lips. She was wearing her usual sparkly lip gloss. I wondered if it would taste like strawberries and cotton candy, sweet like the way she smelled.

Her voice was barely above a whisper when she responded, “Yeah.”

“So we should, um, you know… practice.”

“What?” Audrey’s brows raised.

I could feel my cheeks growing warm. God, why was this so embarrassing? “If everyone thinks we’re dating , won’t it be weird if the first time we kiss is on stage at rehearsals? We need to look like we know what we’re doing.”

She fidgeted with the pink scrunchie on her wrist. One she always wore. “Yeah, but?—”

“Rosie.” I tugged on one of her blonde curls. “It’s just fake, right?”

She sat up on the bed, nibbling on her lower lip. “Yeah, I guess,” Audrey sighed, her body relaxing slightly. “Okay. Let’s… practice.” She ran her tongue over her lips like she was moistening them, and I held back a groan. “Just like rehearsals.”

Standing up from my desk, I joined her on the bed, and she backed up till she was against the wall. I placed a palm on either side of her on the mattress. Caging her in. My heart was thundering in my chest, and I hoped she couldn’t hear it.

My finger hooked under her chin, bringing her eyes up to meet mine. “You good?”

“Y-yeah.” Her voice was breathless. “Let’s just do this. Get it over with.”

Dipping my head low, I brushed my lips against her ear. “First of all, we’re not just getting it over with, Rosie Girl. Okay?”

Her eyelashes fluttered, and she nodded.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Okay.” The word was a tiny whisper, but it was all the permission I needed.

I pressed my lips against hers, just a slight brush, and Audrey closed her eyes, tilting her chin just an inch as if in invitation.

“Parker…” My name slipped from her lips, breathless .

Yes, I thought, brushing my lips over hers again. The lightest of touches. The ghost of a kiss. Just enough to leave us both wanting more.

Her hands wound around my neck, her fingers combing through the back of my hair. And then I didn’t hold back, coaxing her mouth open with mine, devouring her with open-mouthed kisses and taking what was mine. Like all along, she’d just been waiting for me to find her.

Audrey might not have been my first kiss, but damn. I wanted her to be my last.

I was right. She tasted sweet, and I didn’t even care that her lip gloss was probably on my lips, too.

When we pulled apart, she blinked away the haze that had clouded her eyes.

“Wow.” She ran her fingers over her lips. “That was…”

I felt smug. “Good?”

She laughed, pushing at my arm. “You’re a good kisser, Parker Maxwell. Who’d have thought?”

It was the reminder I needed that we were best friends . That this wouldn’t be weird. I wouldn’t let it be.

We’d promised that we wouldn’t fall in love with each other, and damn if that wasn’t the hardest promise I’d ever made. But there was a difference between loving someone and being in love with them.

No matter what I felt, I pushed the thoughts away.

We’d run drills tonight since our first game of the season was only days away. All I could think about was that kiss earlier. That damn kiss. Fuck . I wasn’t sure what the hell was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I get the feel of her lips on mine out of my mind?

Rubbing at my shoulder, I looked across the locker room.

“You good?” Samuel asked, bumping me with his knee as I sat on the bench. I’d stripped out of most of my gear, leaving me in just a t-shirt and my shorts.

I exhaled roughly, nodding. “Yeah. Just pulled something tonight.”

He made a noise under his breath. “You seemed a little distracted.”

I winced. Damn, if he noticed, had everyone else?

“Parker!” Taylor—one of our defensemen—shouted from across the locker room, interrupting my conversation with the teammate at my side. “Are you coming out with us tonight?”

The guys on the team were all heading to the bar to celebrate one of our last free nights before the season started.

“I don’t know.” I frowned, looking down at the floor. Running my hands through my hair, I looked between the guys. “I, uh, have plans. With my… girlfriend.” Coach would want me to go out with them, to bond with the team , but I had standing dinner plans with Audrey. And I hated to cancel them.

But maybe it was time to come out with it. We’d agreed to this charade a week ago, but hadn’t publicly done anything since. Dinner on campus didn’t count.

“The blonde?” Samuel raised an eyebrow. “No surprise there.”

I frowned. “What?” I hadn’t even told any of them we were dating yet.

“Come on, dude. It’s been obvious you liked her since the Halloween Party.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong about that. I couldn’t deny it. Still . “It’s still new. We were best friends when we were kids.”

“Bring her to the party on Saturday,” Derek said, slapping me on the back. “After our first game.”

“I don’t know if she’ll?—”

“Of course she’ll want to come.” Taylor grinned. “We’re the best . Who wouldn’t want to hang out with us?”

I laughed.

“You sure about tonight?” Derek asked. “Whole team’s going.”

“I’ll be there,” I promised. After dinner with Audrey.

Grabbing my towel to head to the showers, I looked up to find my coach leaning against the lockers. “Maxwell.” Shit . Coach had that I’m-disappointed-in-you look. The same one he gave the guys when they showed up to practice hungover after a long weekend. “What’s this I hear about you being in the musical?”

I winced. “I was going to tell you. It’s not a big deal. Just one weekend in early April and some rehearsals. It shouldn’t conflict with any games, I checked.”

“Thought we said no distractions.”

“We did, Coach. But my best friend?—”

“A girl?”

I nodded.

“His girlfriend,” Taylor said, waggling his eyebrows.

Fuck.

Coach raised an eyebrow.

“I promise I won’t let it be a distraction. If it gets to be too much, I’ll back off.”

“Alright, Maxwell. I’m counting on you.”

My chest felt tight. Because someone else was counting on me, too… Audrey .

“Rosie!” I shouted, jogging to catch up with her after glimpsing her pink cardigan with little bows on it and blonde hair. She was unmistakable.

Her phone was out, and I noticed it had a new pink sparkly case on it, and she’d added a pop socket that looked like a pink bow. Damn if that wasn’t as endearing as shit.

“Parker.” A small smile ghosted her lips as she stopped to face me. “Hi.”

“Hey, sunshine.” I slid my finger through the belt loop of her jeans, tugging her close to me.

“What are you doing?” Audrey whispered under her breath. We were only inches apart, standing in the middle of the sidewalk on the quad. I was still holding onto the loop of her belt and hooked my finger through the other side, too.

“We’re dating, remember?” I murmured back. “Just smile. I told my teammates today.”

“Oh.” She blinked up at me. “Okay. Right.”

I leaned in, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Relax,” I breathed into her ear. “I’m going to hold your hand, and we’re going to walk into the dining hall together, okay?”

She nodded, and I interlaced our fingers before we started moving again.

“How was your day?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Good. I only had one class, and then I got lunch with Ella.”

“That sounds fun.”

She squeezed my hand. “Yeah. It was nice.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her free hand. “How was yours?”

“Better now.” I squeezed her hand back. We were still new to this fake dating thing, but I liked it. “You know, we should really make each other our phone backgrounds,” I said, hoping like hell she’d agree.

She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, her mouth gaping open as she looked at me. “Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”

Was it that crazy that I wanted to be able to look at her any time I unlocked my phone? But maybe she liked her cutesy pink background and wouldn’t want me on it.

“Well,” I cleared my throat. “As your boyfriend, I think that?—”

Audrey giggled. “ Parker .”

I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Yeah, maybe it was a dumb idea.”

“No. It’s just…” She bit her lower lip like she was debating on her next words. “It’s sweet. And I’m still not used to you being like this.”

I slid my hand over her cheek, cupping it tightly. “Well, you better get used to it, huh? Because I’m going to treat you right, Audrey Rose. Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered, rising onto her tiptoes to press her lips against my cheek. “Thank you.”

A few other students passed by us on the sidewalk, and Audrey dropped back to her feet, waving hi to a few of the girls she must have known as they passed us.

She looked up at me, a curious expression on her face. “So, the season starts soon,” Audrey finally said. “How are you feeling?”

“Yep. Saturday. Coach has been drilling us hard the last week.” My muscles were a little sore, but mostly, I felt good. I was ready for this year. Ready to help lead the team to victory. I might not have been the captain, but damn if I wasn’t focused on getting everything right.

A light pink dotted her cheekbones, though it was probably just from the chill in the air. It wasn’t like she was affected by me. Well, not like that.

“Audrey,” I murmured the word, and her eyes darted to mine.

I knew her. I’d been studying her blush since I was too young to know what it meant. But she’d always been easily flustered. Easily embarrassed. I enjoyed teasing her because I loved those rosy cheeks.

Today, though? I hadn’t been teasing, which made that blush even more amusing.

“Huh?”

“What are you thinking about?”

Her face deepened in color even more. “Nothing.”

Maybe she was more affected by me than I’d thought. Maybe my attraction wasn’t completely one-sided.

But what was I going to do about that? No matter what, our friendship came first. I’d never do anything to jeopardize that.

Even if that meant accepting that Audrey Rose Ashford would never be mine.