40

Kassie

The Single Inhabitant Of The Friend Zone

Ryan looked so good, and his cologne was mouthwatering, and it was like standing in front of a dessert buffet and I wanted to try everything . Enough with the crazy sexual tension. That man gave me the kind of kiss you'd get jeered at a wedding for. It was time to jump his bones. I wanted to see how much was Ryan and how much was football padding.

After grabbing my purse from the table, I snuck another look back at the dance floor. Some donors snagged my fake boyfriend for a conversation. In my walk from the table to the outside gardens, they were still yammering in his ear.

If I stared at them hard enough, maybe they'd get the psychic feeling that he was needed elsewhere.

Something hit me hard and I whirled back. The patio rushed up to meet me.

"Kassie!"

How did I not see King? He caught me in midair and yanked me back to my feet. He looked just about as startled as I was.

"Fuck, does the tag apply?" He wheezed out, stunned.

"The what?" I sucked in a breath, getting my balance back. "The tag?"

"No—sorry—I meant—" King steadied his breathing. "Holy shit. Ryan would've killed me."

"Well, he would've laughed at me." I dusted off my dress and took another look at him. "Aw, King. You look good."

The football player grunted.

"No, I mean it. It's a great suit."

He narrowed his eyes at the door. "Adam said I looked like a villain in a kids' movie."

I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. Especially since that was probably the most words I'd ever heard out of King. We hung out plenty together, but he was a man of few words.

"That's Adam." I chuckled. "He's a professional dipshit. But we love him, don't we?"

"Do we?" he grumbled.

"Here's to hoping."

He slipped his phone out of his pocket. "Have you seen him?"

"Adam? He's inside. I just saw him dancing with a new one, I don't know her."

"I've got to talk to him before Ryan does." He took a long look at the double doors. "Because the bleacher bunny picture…Adam's this close to fucking up for real. The coaches were pissed and Ryan had to cover for him again. But this time…" He ran a hand through his hair, irritable. "The coach's stepdaughter's transferring."

"Bet Lawson's excited about that." It took me a second to comprehend the ramifications. "Oh. Shit. Adam ."

King grunted in agreement. "Adam's the only one stupid enough and if even tried to touch her…"

He wasn't wrong - Adam Russell was like a kid in a candy store. He was never without a beautiful college girl on his arm that I'd definitely never seen before. If there was anybody who'd tempt the bear—Coach Lawson or Ryan himself—it was the Marrs Manwhore.

And even if Adam annoyed the hell out of everyone, Ryan and he were still best friends. You could take one look at the pictures in Coach Lawson's office, Cleo's War Room, or any of the articles and see it. If Adam went and messed around with the coach's stepdaughter…

That wouldn't be bad. That'd be catastrophic bad. Ryan wouldn't just be yelling at a frat party. There'd be hell to pay.

At least Ryan could depend on King to help him out.

I craned my neck. "Where's June?"

"It's their anniversary." King shrugged, typing on his phone. "She skipped this one to be with Xavier. It's fine."

"Anniversary?"

He continued typing with a frown until he glanced up, blinking in confusion. I suddenly connected the dots. The red blotches on his neck, the tousled hair, the talking? Telling me confidential information?

King's drunk.

The more I stared, the more embarrassed I became. Especially when I put two and two together.

June and King. The homecoming queen and the defensive end, the picture-perfect couple who everyone wanted to be. The dinners we had together, the movies, the stiff way that King kept to himself…it wasn't because King was just that kind of guy. He was also out and about with a girl he wasn't really in a relationship with. And she was…

Dating somebody else.

At the barbecue, June had been…trying to shoptalk about fake relationships.

Oh my god .

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

I was mortified and it seeped into my words. "No, I shouldn't have…um…"

"It's—yeah." King shifted, uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck. "I usually don't…drink at these kinds of things. I'm sorry. If you could…not tell anybody about—it's not like you and Ryan. I don't want you to think that—June's great. There's no…it's fine."

I nodded like a porcelain doll, stiff and just as uncomfortable as he was.

"June's great. I needed her more than she needed me. See, I'm the problem."

It was like watching a train crash. I couldn't look away. And the way he was so concerned that I'd think bad about June, it broke my heart in two.

King wasn't just quiet. He was miserable.

And I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Ryan and Coach Lawson helped me in my freshman year." King took a moment and shook his head. "Without Ryan, I wouldn't be on the team. Kassie, I'm sorry."

I'd never seen that side of King. Every time he tried to explain something, the worse he sounded. I struggled to reassure him. "I didn't mean to…I'm sorry, King—"

My phone buzzed and we both glanced down at it. Pure relief broke on King's face. "You have to take that."

"Wait—King—"

But King was already gone. Oh, god. I'd have to talk to Ryan about that later. I checked the caller ID, halfway hoping it was Ryan, looking for an excuse to escape the donors.

ZARIAH

MOBILE

Confused, I answered the call. "Z?"

"Fuck me sideways, they turned me away at the door!"

"Who did?"

"I tried to sneak into the alumni night!" Zariah sucked in a breath. "Oh my god, I'm glad you picked up. I almost scaled the roof."

"What's going on? Did you lock yourself out again?"

"I know so many RAs now, fuck that—Kassie! Are you next to Ryan? Like right now?!"

"No." I stole a look at the windows and my lips quirked up for a smile. He was still shackled to the donors, yapping his ear off. I couldn't wait until he walked outside. "He's getting us drinks. Ryan can dance , Z. Can you believe it?"

"He doesn't want to fuck!"

I snapped out of the daydreams and stared off at the gardens. " What? "

"Girl, you are the single inhabitant of the friend zone! No one else is paying the friend zone bills on your block! Don't shoot your shot! Don't fire our repairman!"

"I don't…?" I blinked. "Z, there's no way. How'd you find out?"

"I asked him!"

"You didn't."

"I wanted to find out before you got hurt!"

My stomach twisted uncomfortably, and I paced back to the door and double-backed, wearing into the patio with my heels. "You don't understand, he just kissed me. Like…a gravity-defying kiss."

"In front of the cameras? "

"I mean…"

"Kass, were there cameras? Seriously, girl, I asked him. Flat out."

Heat rose to my face. Oh my god, that was for the cameras. How could I be so stupid? I'd underestimated how well the team captain could perform in front of an audience multiple times. The blush deepened.

"Oh my god. No," I whispered.

" Yes! "

I stumbled on the heels and rightened myself, still pacing. "What do I do?"

"Just play it cool!"

"I don't know if I can," I admitted. "Um—okay, I'm going to tell him, I'm sick, right? And then—and then—I'm coming home. Right now. We took our photos, I am clocking out ."

"Move those stilettos!"

Mind whirling, I gripped my phone. It was a fake relationship. The fakest of relationships. And I'd tripped and fallen on my face, seconds away from throwing myself at him. Nobody ever made books about those.

How was I supposed to know this was going to happen?!

I walked along the patio's railing, looking for the exit through the gardens when a voice called behind me. I flinched. Ryan's husky, delicious voice still sent a shiver down my spine, even if it hurt.

You got too comfortable, Kassie .

My fake boyfriend was a hard-working, dedicated team captain who put his goals above everything else. At least I caught on before I made a fool of myself.

As best as I could, I fixed a smile on my face and turned back like my heart wasn't thumping in my chest a mile a minute and humiliation wasn't hanging on my shoulders, vulture-style.

"Hey," Ryan breathed out, with two dark blue drinks in hand.

Oh, he's so good.

I swallowed. "How's it—um—going?"

"Better now." He grinned and offered me the drink.

I held it in my hand for a moment. I had to say something. I needed to know. With a deep breath, I gazed up at Ryan. "King and June?"

He paused. "What about them?"

"They're in a…fake relationship?"

His eyes widened and he took a reflexive step forward, dropping his voice. "You know?"

All my suspicions were confirmed. They were in a fake relationship too, one of the many in the goddamn football team apparently. A regular occurrence. Nothing special at all about it. Nothing special about the way Ryan kissed me or the way he put his arm behind my car seat when he drove out of the parking garage or how he carried my books to my classes.

Oh.

"They're like…us?" I whispered.

"Yeah." Slowly, he nodded. "Exactly like us."

Ouch .

I'd just stumbled on the reveal but I could already see how miserable King was, hanging on the outskirts while June was in another relationship. Because that's what this was. A silent transaction. Beneficial to both parties.

Where Ryan got a better reputation, more money for the school, his career ahead of him, and everything he wanted. And I had…my money for Florida. An internship that was scared stiff of me. And people who commented on my official social media pages saying how Ryan didn't have to settle with me.

I couldn't remember a single other time when I'd needed the drink more. While Ryan took a nice, respectable sip of his, I tossed the whole thing back without stopping until there were just ice cubes left. It burned down my throat.

"Art girl, that's…vodka."

"Sure is." I looked out to the garden, fighting down all the sick feelings swirling together. The vodka hadn't dimmed them at all. It amplified them. Made them too powerful to ignore. "Ryan, I'm so sorry." I couldn't look at him. Not at those dark honey eyes. "I—I feel sick, I'm going to head out. I'm sorry."

"You feel sick?" Ryan held up his hand, hovering close to me.

"Yeah—"

"Do you need…what do you need?"

"I—I need to go home." It hurt worse than I thought to lie to him but it did and I had to push through it. "Stay here. Have fun. I'm going to walk."

"You're not walking."

I need to .

Ryan drew his hand back and took my glass away. "I'm driving you home."

Say no .

"Ryan, I'm okay, really."

"No, it's late. You're not walking."

I stared ahead, glum.

I'm sure this sounds great for the interviews .