Chapter Twenty-One

Honey

"Livi," I singsong, skipping to her spot on the bleachers. Although there is a cool bite in the air, I knew she'd be out here, dutifully watching Mike's practice while doing her homework.

Olivia snaps her head up. "Honey? What are you doing here? Don't you have riding practice on Thursdays?"

Dropping my bag, I take a seat next to her on the bleachers and rest my feet against the metal in front. "Yeah, but I told my mom that I had some urgent meetings with a couple of girls for the debutante ball so I'd have to cancel."

"And she believed you?" Her lips curve into a disbelieving smile. "Even after she found out you skipped all of your extra-curriculars last month and snuck out to Kyle's party last weekend?"

Admittedly, it was a hard sell this time. Especially after coming home from an awesome night with Zach to find my mother waiting at the bottom of her climbing hydrangea bush in another pantsuit, wearing a furrowed brow. Her heels were digging into the grass, she'd been out there long, and I had to hold back from laughing because she looked so ridiculous.

"She had no reason not to believe me. I told Mary Sancho I'd give her my next pair of limited-edition Jimmy Choos if she lied for me."

Olivia lets out a low whistle, reclines, and rests her elbows on the seat behind. "You're a braver woman than I am. Ticking off your mom three times in less than a week has got to carry some serious consequences."

"What's the worst she could do now? I'm eighteen and moving to college soon." Thank goodness. Being under her thumb has been exhausting, and the way she shows she cares is less than nurturing. Moving to Indiana will be the perfect antidote to that. "Besides, I've come to the conclusion that I could follow every single one of her exacting rules to the wire, and she'd still find something wrong with it. At least this way, I'm enjoying myself."

My body hums when number 2 comes jogging off the bench.

"So I've heard," she says deadpan, watching Zach as intently as me. He's in his element down there, looking commanding and hot. The padding emphasizes his wide shoulders, and I'm left entertaining the idea of fooling around while he's in his uniform. "Not from you, though."

Olivia is about as subtle as a sledgehammer to a window. I can hear the bitterness in her tone.

"Oh yeah? What have you heard?" It's funny; I've never been that interested in football, but seeing Zach down there makes me feel like I've been missing out. His butt is magnificent in those pants.

"Don't play dumb, Honey. You know everyone's talking about you and Zach."

I throw up a cocky brow, pulling Zach's leather jacket closer. I stole it the other night, and he hasn't said anything yet. "Really? It's been a couple of months now. Surely, we're old news?"

"Maybe you would be if you'd stop screwing each other in public."

I chuckle and toss my hair over my shoulder. "We haven't screwed in public, but I'm glad you think that because that means Zach's ten grand richer."

"Honey. You're my best friend, and I love you forever, but I don't believe a word that's coming out of your mouth right now. You may act all confident, but your blotchy face and twitchy eyebrow are giving you away."

"Okay, fine. Some stuff has happened between us, but it's not sex." Not yet, anyway.

"What kind of stuff?"

I bite my lip because it's the first time I don't want to tell my best friend everything. She knew all about Jamie's fat tongue and lackluster hips, but Zach's too personal. "We just helped each other let off a little steam," I answer with a shrug. Hopefully, I've made it sound nonchalant enough she won't ask more questions.

"What?!" Olivia's eyes bug out, lost for words. Closing her eyes, she shakes her head and exhales loudly. "Who are you, and what have you done with Honey Sanderson?"

I smile sheepishly because I know she's right. This goes completely against the good girl my parents have always encouraged, and now no one knows what to do with me. "Yeah, well, I thought I knew who I was too. But then Jamie had to go and flip my world upside down."

"You did stuff with Zach to get back at Jamie?" Her voice is thick with unwanted pity for me. I'm having more fun sneaking out to fool around with the quarterback than I ever had with Jamie.

"No, of course not. Jamie has been far from my mind for weeks, but how he treated me caused me to reevaluate things." I point to Mike scuffing the grass with his cleats. "Do you remember when you and Mike started dating, and all you did was kiss?" She looks at me skeptically, unsure of where I'm going with this. "You remember that, right? You told me that whenever you kissed him, you felt like there was a seismic shift in the world. I thought that was beyond dramatic, but then Zach happened." I pause, watching him adjust his helmet before squatting down in line. "Kissing Zach has felt extremely different from Jamie."

That's an understatement. Kissing Zach makes my whole body prickle with excitement, and I don't want that feeling to end.

"That's because Jamie has a mouth the size of a horse. The only saving grace was that you guys weren't into PDA, because on the rare occasion I did see you making out, it looked like he was eating your face off." My eyes skitter to the field; for the slightest of seconds, they land on Jamie, who's sitting on the bench, waiting eagerly to be called up but never getting the opportunity. He pulls the lime-green mouth guard out of his mouth, and spit flies everywhere, making me a little queasy.

Laughing, I whack her gently on the arm. "Please don't remind me. The biggest mistake of my life was thinking Jamie had my back."

"Zach's definitely got your back," Olivia states. "Guess a little more than that too." She winks, tilting her head to the field. My heart nearly stops when Zach stops and stares at me. His eye black makes it difficult to see any of his facial expressions, but his body tells me everything. His adrenaline is pumping, and he wants some relief.

"It's not what you think. Since we started this whole fake dating thing, we're with each other a lot, and we have to kiss… a lot. Sometimes our hands drift, and one thing leads to another. That's it." The reality is that's all it can ever be.

"Honey?" Olivia says my name with trepidation as she looks straight at Zach. "Do you have a crush on Zach?"

I blow out a breath on a laugh. "No." It's a tiny fib, but there's no point dwelling on unmet feelings. Zach's made it clear what we are, and I've accepted that.

"Could have fooled me."

"We're just friends who may have accidentally fallen into the extra benefits territory," I say lightheartedly, trying to get off topic.

"Friends with benefits…. Because that always works out well in the movies."

"It's all it can be, Livi. You and I both know that Zach and I come from different worlds. Even if I had the slightest feelings for him, it's not like we'd work out in the long-term." His speech from last night echoes in my mind, the word commitment sticking out and replaying like a broken record. "Our worlds are too different." I stop short of asking myself if it's really the world I want to be in anymore anyway. I never thought of myself as a good lawyer or a housewife who spends more time drinking at the club than looking after the kids, and that's what my world is made of. It's a strange dichotomy I can't fit into, and I'm worried I'll be fighting the rest of my life to try and fit into a mold that wasn't made for me.

"How tragically sad. You're like South Point's answer to Romeo and Juliet."

"You mean if Romeo and Juliet fake dated and didn't die in the end."

"Exactly."

"So, nothing like Romeo and Juliet."

The whistle blows, and I stand and walk toward the railing by the field. Zach pulls his helmet off and runs a hand through his sweat-soaked hair. His smile burns bright, and I find my toes curling as he makes his way toward us.

"Honeybee," Zach drawls, one side of his mouth lifted in a smirk. "Watching me in practice today?" I bite my bottom lip and give him a quick nod. I'm trying not to focus too hard on how beautiful I think his eyes are.

"Thought I'd come and see my man in action." I sway, feeling a little flirty.

"Wanna see some more action?" He winks.

Jamie strides past Zach, knocking him on the shoulder as he passes, but Zach's too focused on me to care.

"Always." I dart my tongue out, daring him to watch as I lick my lips.

He sucks in a breath and uses his helmet to point to the tunnel. "Let me just shower, and I'll be in the parking lot in ten minutes."

"Okay." I give him a wry smile as I watch his sculpted ass walk away.

"Oh man," Olivia says, pulling me away from the railing. "I knew it. You've got it bad. The last time you looked this happy was when you found out your mom and dad were going to Italy for the summer and were leaving you behind."

Waving my hands, I glance around, making sure no one can hear us. We're closer to the players now, and if there's any inkling I know about the bet, Zach will be screwed.

"Like I said. It's just fooling around. That's it. Nothing else." The guys are talking too loudly to hear my whispered tone, but I hope that makes it clear.

Olivia nods but chews on her bottom lip. She looks to Mike, then back to me. "Look, I didn't want to say anything, but…"

"Oh, no. I hate that word."

"Let's go to the parking lot to talk." She loops her hand around my arm, and we make our way to the quiet tarmac.

Once we get to my car, she sighs. "Look, I didn't want to say anything, but I think you should be careful. Catching feelings for Zach this close to graduation might not be in your best interest. From what I hear, his sights aren't set on settling down anytime soon."

"What does that mean? Has Mike said something else to you?" She chews her bottom lip again, and her gaze drops to her shoes, avoiding my glare. "If Mike has told you something, you need to tell me."

All sorts of ideas run through my head, but none make sense. None except Zach tricking me into believing he's on my side until he decides to embarrass me worse than Jamie did.

"Mike hasn't told me anything big. Just that a lot is going on in Zach's life, and he's a little misunderstood by the rest of the team because of it. Before you and Zach became a ‘thing,' I did hang out with him every now and again, you know."

"I already know he's got a lot of commitments , and there's no promises or anything after prom. That's where we end. Prom."

Her shoulders sag. "Well, that's good. As long as you're aware, that's all."

I offer her a short, tight smile. "I am." I rest my back on my car, waiting for Zach, and try hard not to think about his commitments .