5. Josh

The announcement ran in the newspaper the Monday following our engagement, not that I was surprised. My father was efficient enough to have an affair while still running this town, so of course he was efficient enough to get the engagement in the paper less than 72 hours after it was announced. He is the mayor after all. A mayor that people bend over backwards to accommodate, hence why my phone has not stopped ringing for the last four days with the wedding planner on the other end of it. I only answered the first call, and only because I didn’t know who the number belonged to. Then I stayed long enough to discover the wedding plans that were already made for my sister”s forced wedding in the spring–that I botched–were now going ahead as my own. How delightful.

I haven’t spoken to Hallie or my sister since the night of the engagement, though I’m sure they both saw the announcement. I imagine my father sent them a copy as he did me, but the only thing on my mind has been taking him down. After asking a few trusted friends, I was given the name of someone who might be able to help me. Someone I plan on paying a visit to this week, but first I have to find my fiancée and make her aware of the dinner my parents have invited us to. One to celebrate our engagement with just the family, which I know is just a ploy for my father to keep a close eye on us, but if he wants a show, I will give him one.

It’s Wednesday now, and thanks to a girl in the main office, for whom I promised an introduction to my teammate Levi, I now have access to Hallie’s class timetable. Hence why I am waiting outside the building that houses Hallie’s last class of the day. It’s late in the afternoon, but there are still a few people milling around, some of which pass and nod in greeting to me, but mostly I am left alone to wait.

After twenty-minutes or so the quiet building before me finally comes to life as people start filing out of it, and my eyes scan the crowd looking for her. Knowing Hallie she will probably be the last one out, waiting for everyone else to leave so she isn’t jostled and pushed as she makes her exit, especially given her aversion to most people’s touch. Unfortunately for me I am only half right.

I spy her at the back of the crowd like I thought, her brown head of curls piled in a bun on top of her head, with a few pieces at the front left down to frame her face. She is wearing leggings, tucked into a pair of black boots, matched with an oversized FU sweater and a bag slung over her shoulder. Except that isn’t the only thing over her shoulder. A large arm engulfs her tiny frame, and I follow the length of it around her until I find its owner.

Archer Gray.

Archer plays on my hockey team and just so happens to be Nova’s best friend. We aren’t enemies, but we aren’t friends either, just teammates. Kind of in the way that Hallie and I are just teammates in this fake marriage, yet that doesn’t stop me from storming towards them in a rage.

Hallie spots me first, her eyes flaring wide in surprise, as I interrupt whatever Archer is telling her. “I suggest you get your hands off my fiancée, Gray, or playing pro hockey will be a distant dream,” I seethe, holding him down with my stare as he takes in my arrival.

“Your fiancée?” Archer laughs, looking between me and Hallie as if this is just one big joke, but when neither of us join him in his humor, he goes from amused to confused.

“Yes, my fiancée, one who doesn’t like to be touched, so I’ll tell you one more time, get your fucking hands off her.”

Hallie still looks surprised at the turn of events, but at my second warning, she goes from shock to anger. “Don’t threaten him, you big egomaniac, he wasn’t even doing anything,” she argues, stepping out of his hold on her and moving towards me.

“He was touching you,” is all I respond, and she has the audacity to laugh.

“Fucking hell, Joshua, he had his hand across my shoulder, not in my damn pants.” Her defense does nothing to deplete my anger, especially with the people still milling around us and listening to our every word.

I close the gap between us and lower my voice to only be heard by her. “Yes and think about how this looks,” I tell her. Does she not realize what being fake engaged to be married entails?

“It looks like my financé is a raging psychopath,” she spits at me, that fiery temper that only I ever seem to bring out of her finally making an appearance, which brings the attention of our current problem even closer.

Archer steps into her side once more looking concerned. “Hals, what the hell is going on?” he asks her, and the nickname breeds more familiarity between them than I thought.

I stand back and assess the two of them again. She doesn’t look uncomfortable in his presence, there is no fake mask on her face, and she lets him touch her. “Is there something going on between the two of you that I should know about?” I demand, and while Archer now looks amused by the direction of my thoughts, Hallie just looks exasperated.

“Of course there is nothing going on between us, Archer is my friend.” Her tone sounds sincere, and I soften slightly, knowing she isn’t one to lie, but then Archer cuts in before I can answer.

He slings his arm around her shoulder again, only this time his focus is on me as he gleams, “Well, that’s not technically true, Sanders, what about our night on Halloween?” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, and I watch a blush spread up Hallie’s neck.

“What the fuck happened on Halloween?”

“Nothing, it was nothing, just a stupid kiss in a game,” she rushes out the words in desperation, none of them making me feel better, and all the while Archer just smiles in a way that reminds me why his best friend is Nova Darkmore.

“Oh I wouldn’t call it nothing, Hals, I still think about it when I’m all alone in my room at night,” Archer muses, moving towards her and making kissing noises.

“Archer, I swear to god,” I start, taking a step towards him, but Hallie is quick to step in between us, pressing her hands into my chest and pushing me backwards.

“Think how it looks,” she repeats my words back to me, and I lift my gaze to the people still surrounding us and waiting for more of a show.

I huff, but let her body restrain me as she turns towards my teammate. “Archer, just go, I’ll call you later, okay?”

“No, she won’t,” I mutter at her back, and she cuts me with a scathing look as Archer laughs.

“Whatever you say, Sanders,” he shrugs, looking between the two of us one last time before he saunters off in the direction of the gym.

We both watch him leave, a few other people joining him in their retreat until we are mostly alone, which is when she turns on me. “What the hell was that?” she snaps, pushing me in the chest, and I stumble back in surprise at her outburst. “You can’t just ignore me for days and then show up at my classes and accost me, Joshua, I’m not your fucking pet.”

Her anger shocks me, and the only thing I can do in defense is go on the offense. “No but you are my fiancée, and people need to believe that, so the only hockey player who should be hanging off your damn neck is me.” I know my argument is ridiculous, but for this plan to work, everyone needs to believe that our engagement is real.

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, please, he was not hanging off my neck, Archer is just like that, he is touchy feely with everyone.” She shrugs, standing her ground completely, and all it does is infuriate me even more.

“Well he can be that way with everyone except the person who is going to be my wife,” I tell her, not backing down from our heated discussion.

“Do you see a ring,” she claps back, holding up her empty finger. “I’m not your wife yet, Joshua.” She drags my name out like it offends her, and I have to crack my neck to stop myself from losing my temper any further.

“No, but you will be, come Spring,” I tell her in contempt, shoving my phone at her, allowing her to read the countless emails that discuss the venue, the flowers, the food, and more.

I watch as her eyes scan across my phone reading message after message until she finally sighs in defeat, “Well, shit.” Shit indeed. I see her shoulders tense as she takes in the amount of information about a wedding neither of us wants until she shakes her head and shoves my phone back at me. “None of this is ideal, but it’s not an excuse for you to be rude to me, or my friends,” she scolds, her mask of indifference now perfectly back in place.

“Archer Gray is not your friend, he’s the campus whore,” I snap in anger, and I see the corner of her mouth tug up into a slight smirk, yet still she holds her ground as she stares at me. “Fine, I’m sorry,” I add, not even sounding convincing to my own ears and still she just glares. “Hals, come on,” I plead in a softer tone. “I’m sorry, okay, it’s just everything is stressing me out, my father has invited us to dinner which will no doubt be another test,” I snarl as my phone starts ringing in my hand, and I spy the number that won’t leave me alone. “And this damn fucking wedding planner won’t stop calling me and I just feel like everything is out of my control.”

The words tumble out of me and I see Hallie’s demeanor finally soften as she sighs, stepping towards me, plucking my phone from my hand and rejecting the call. “So take back the control,” she tells me simply, her thick lashes fluttering as she looks up at me.

“This wedding was me taking back control, but apparently I can’t even get that right.” I don’t mean to sound so self-deprecating, but when you spend your entire life being told you are good for nothing in private, and god”s gift in public, it’s bound to give you a complex.

Ignoring my outburst, Hallie looks at me the same way she always does, without pity, without shame, without reason, and for a second I get lost in her stare. Just like always it calms me, but then she opens her mouth. “Let’s get married,” she states simply, so simply that I can’t help but laugh at how infuriated she makes me.

“Hallie, we are getting married, I asked you like four times, remember? You made me get on my knees,” I recall for her, and that almost smirk turns into a full on knowing smile.

“Oh trust me, Joshua, I remember you on your knees for me vividly,” she purrs, in what sounds a lot like flirting, that it almost throws me off, before she adds, “I meant now, let’s get married now, this week, our way, take back the control.”

I mull over her words in my mind, thinking she is crazy at first, but then I realize her idea is perfect. My father wants control over every little detail so he can boast about it to all of his friends, well not this time. This time I am going to beat him, and Hallie is going to help me.

“My father wants us over for dinner on Sunday afternoon,” I tell her, and all she does is shrug.

“So let’s get married on Saturday,” she replies simply. So simple and matter of fact that I can’t even respond, I just stare at her. There is no one around us anymore yet still she closes the space separating us and places her hands against my rapidly beating heart. “Josh, the only upper hand your father has is holding the wedding over your head, so take it from him, then take him down.”

Her floral scent surrounds us, as I clear my throat and respond, “I have a lead on that too.” The name and email address given to me is tucked away in my pocket for when I can give it my full attention later, and Hallie just smiles.

“Good,” she nods, stepping away from me, but then looping her arm through mine. “You can tell me all about it later, after we plan our shotgun wedding.” She begins leading us away from the building that her class was in, but not in the direction of her house.

“Where are we going?” I ask, completely confused by her total agreement in this, but not missing that eye roll of hers.

“To your house,” she states matter of factly, like I’m nothing but a dumb jock.

“And why are we going to my house?” I ask, and she shakes her head with a laugh.

“I see Peter Pan still hasn’t grown into his adult brain,” she muses with a smile, waving hello to a friend across the quad before lowering her voice. “Because people need to see us together, Joshua. You want to marry me, then you walk with me, those are the rules.”

It’s at this very moment that I know my father will always regret putting her name on the list, because he only thought of her as who she is to him, a powerful man”s daughter, an asset, a business deal. Yet he didn’t factor in who she is to me, a friend, a confidant, a person I can trust. All of which will lead to his demise, which only makes me smile as I focus back on my future wife.

“Rules, huh? Do we need to get that pesky little list out again?” I ask, letting her lead me home, and she digs her nails into my arm until I yelp.

“Don’t make fun of your future wife, Joshua, or you will be on your knees again, only this time you’ll be begging for forgiveness,” she tells me with a smug smile.

“I told you, Tink, you want me on my knees again, all you have to do is ask,” I tell her with a wink, and her answering blush makes me laugh out loud.

There has always been this tension between us, this friendly banter that I always like to test the boundaries of, and she has never been one to shy away from it. In fact she pushes every single button I have and somehow still finds more. So maybe being married won’t be so bad afterall, especially to someone who used to be your best friend.