Chapter Seven

Honey

Why the hell did I agree to do this?

I've asked myself this question countless times as I sit on this wooden picnic bench, staring at the scene before me. The weather is great for October. Sunny with a slight breeze in the air makes it comfortable, and the birds chirping make the whole thing downright pleasant.

But then I hear it.

Crunch.

Like a bulldozer through my thoughts, the crunching has irked me since I sat down. Running my fork through my salad, I spear a tomato, hoping it will calm my anger. Unfortunately, it reminds me that this is the only tasty thing in my salad and that once I've finished the three tomatoes, all I've got left is lettuce. No croutons, no dressing, just slightly soggy wet leaves.

Crunch.

My eye twitches, and I drag my gaze to look at the object of annoyance. Zach sits opposite me, his feet touching mine every now and again under the table while he slowly crunches on the largest bacon double cheeseburger I've ever seen. It should be a sin for the canteen to sell them when girls like me are only allowed the salad, but I guess they've got to make money too.

Zach's oblivious to my growling stomach as he sits there taunting me with his burger. His jaw flexes as he takes another bite, and there's a growing pile of ketchup dripping from the corner of his mouth, which I have no desire to tell him about because, frankly, he's ticked me off.

Crunch.

I stare at my phone, trying my best to ignore him while savoring the taste of my final cherry tomato.

Crunch. Crunch. CRUNCH.

"Do you have to chew so loudly?" My eyes are screwed shut and my teeth clenched together when I realize what I blurted before any of the manners my mother taught me forced me to hold it back. I shouldn't show weakness, let alone annoyance, but something about Zach's chewing got me better than I'd like to admit.

Keeping my eyes closed, I wait to hear Zach's laugh that will highlight how pathetic I sound, but I get nothing. When I open them, he's staring straight at me with the faintest of smirks across his face, cooling the anger boiling in my veins.

Raising a brow, he presses his fingers into the burger's bun, watching as it draws my attention to the sweet, succulent meat slathered with American cheese. It's a processed nightmare, but I'm finding it hard to care when I think about how good it would taste.

Zach lets out a breathy laugh, pinging my attention back to him as he pokes his little pink tongue out to lick away the dollop of ketchup at the side. Grazing the soft skin there, his tongue snakes across his lips before retreating to his mouth, and the tiniest of shivers runs through my spine.

I've been able to avoid thinking about Zach's mouth while in his presence for the weekend because I haven't actually been in his presence. Now that I am, I get a strange feeling when I look at him, which isn't entirely the burger's fault.

I've kissed those lips. The second pair of lips I've kissed beside Jamie's, yet we aren't into each other in the slightest. I'd always wondered what made girls kiss guys they weren't interested in, and finally, I realized why on Friday night. Kissing Zach let go of a ton of adrenaline and made me feel stronger and more in control than I ever did with Jamie.

Zach's kiss was different. He was challenging me but let me take the lead. For once, I didn't have to be submissive or happy that I was even getting attention. Finally, I was the center of it for a reason beyond being the richest or bitchiest girl in school.

"Sorry, Love Bug." Zach laughs, and when our eyes connect, I get this horrible feeling he could hear my every thought. "I'll try to keep my chewing to a minimum."

The corner of his lip faintly tips upward, emphasizing just how much his mouth borders on the right side of perfect. Shaped like a bow, his lips aren't too big but just pouty enough they feel like velvet to the touch. My lips tingle at the memory, and as much as I hate to admit it, I really want to kiss him again and feel that same control I've been craving.

"Good," I say, flipping my hair over my shoulder.

"I may not have the manners of a rich boy, but that's not my appeal." The amusement in his voice makes it clear he's joking, but that sarcastic barb is just another reminder of how I come across to people. Bitchy and entitled. It doesn't matter what I say or do, I will always sound like the snobby rich girl Jamie and my mom have pushed me to be.

Shaking my head, I drop my fork and force out a placid smile. "No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overreact. It's just there's a lot of stuff running through my mind and… and… and I just can't believe that I agreed to do this." The words come stumbling out because I have no idea how to talk to Zach. I hardly know him, yet we've already kissed.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks.

I bite my bottom lip because telling him I can't stop thinking about our kiss would be the wrong move. It's not his fault Jamie forgot what the word foreplay meant once I agreed to sleep with him, and now I have some weird craving to just kiss.

I feel his eyes on me but don't look up from my salad. Instead, I pull my hair into a tight bun to distract him from my heated cheeks. "Nothing much," I mumble.

"Are you nervous about fake dating me?" I nod because that excuse sounds better than the truth. "Come on. It won't be so bad. I'm a pretty good guy once you get to know me." When I finally look up at him, he smiles awkwardly, and it's kind of cute.

"Please. I already know that. You're friends with Mike, and he only hangs out with people who have immaculate reputations." Zach sits a little straighter, almost as if he's proud of the endorsement.

"So, what's the problem?" I shrug, not wanting to give him the real answer. I'll never admit to anyone how pathetic this whole ordeal makes me feel. Not only did I find out Jamie dated me because he had to, but Brett and Kyle were only interested in me because of a bet. Not to mention the fact Zach is only talking to me because he wants cash. "Trust me, Love Bug, dating me is the best form of revenge against a guy like Jamie."

I hum out a response, hoping it sounds positive enough.

"Revenge comes with a price, you know."

"A price I already paid, remember?" I snort out. "Ten thousand dollars, to be precise." Shaking my head, I drop my chin to my palm and trace the outline of the letters J and L carved into the table. I still can't believe I was so desperate to take part in this I hawked one of my monogrammed handbags to get the money without my parents finding out. At least it was a gift from Jamie's parents, so it wasn't like I was getting rid of a bag I'd use again, but the desperation to get Jamie back is pathetic.

"Trust me, it'll be worth it." He drops the burger—the one I still can't stop looking at—and rests his elbows on the table. "You'll get twenty-five thousand to make up for the inconvenience." Zach wipes his hands on the napkin, pulling out his school-supplied laptop. "Now that we're on the topic of fake dating, we should probably talk about the parameters."

Pushing my salad aside, I waffle my fingers together to hide my nervousness and nod. Fake dating Zach. Kissing Zach. Being close to Zach. All things we need to discuss and that I was more than willing to throw myself into on Friday, but now that we're here, out in the open, I feel much more exposed.

"Sounds great, but first, I need to know the full ins and outs of the bet."

His brows furrow, and he looks more serious than I've ever seen him. I guess this is Zach getting into deal mode. "Makes sense. The bet's you." Short, sharp, and to the point. I couldn't fault the guy with his brooding intensity.

"That much I know."

"Whoever you're dating at the end of football season is the winner of said bet."

"Is that it?"

Zach shrugs. "More or less. Jamie seemed to have a high opinion of himself. Believed that you wouldn't date another football player, which is why he left it so wide open."

"He's not wrong," I mutter. "But it probably extends further than the football team."

"Yeah, he mentioned that you had pretty controlling parents and thought they wouldn't approve of anyone else for their daughter."

Zach waves off that comment like that reality didn't just shatter my world. Does everyone know how my parents treat me, and why does no one care? Zach seems to act as though it's normal for rich people to treat their daughters like objects, but the comment hurts.

"Under that logic, wouldn't that mean we don't have to fake date until the last week of the season and collect the prize money?"

"Sure." He pops a fry in his mouth, and mine salivates thinking about the greasy goodness that must be bursting against his taste buds right now. Friday night's kiss had a mixture of mint and Gatorade to it; if we kissed now, would it be meat and grease?

I shake my head, trying to rid myself of those thoughts because I bet my mom would somehow smell the burger on my breath. That woman is like a bloodhound, and my mistakes are just her scent.

"But then you'll have Kyle, Brett, and Connor harassing you for the better part of a semester." My smile fades, thinking about how persistent they were at the bonfire. "When they saw us kissing, they were pissed because they knew they couldn't bother you until we were done. Bro code and all that. You could just think of me as your beard."

Narrowing my eyes, I study his overeager face. Why is he pushing this? It doesn't sound like we need to date for an extended amount of time, but he wants to.

"I don't need you, though. I can just say no."

He raises an eyebrow, his lips falling flat. "Do you really think that's going to stop those idiots? The bet isn't about money to them. It's about the power of dating the richest, hottest girl in school and proving Jamie wrong. They'll just keep asking until they get what they want." He pops another fry in his mouth, and my stomach growls. "Like right now. Did you know that we are being watched by about three different groups of people?"

"We are?" My head turns, but Zach's hand on my chin forces my focus to him.

His emerald eyes glisten as they bore into mine. "Don't look." I jump when he places his palm over my hand. "Yeah, we're going to have to work on that," he says through a smile. His thumb drags over the top of my hand, and it's strangely calming. Eyes still on me, he says, "Directly behind you and to your left, we have a couple of jocks from the football and baseball teams watching us. Gossip has already spread. Talk of our kiss has spread through the locker room, so I'm sure they're curious to see if the poor kid can keep the queen's attention. Although, Jamie did say that I was a rebound and you'd lose interest, so maybe they're just waiting me out so they can swoop in." My stomach drops, and I so badly want to see for myself who is looking, but I hold back.

When he leans in a little closer, I do too. "On your right, we've got a group of cheerleaders, McKenna included, pointing at us. No doubt, this little exchange will get back to Jamie later. McKenna's face is all red and flustered." He places the gentlest of kisses on my cheek before falling back into his seat with an arrogant smirk. "Bet she's ticked that I went for you. When I joined as a sophomore, she dropped a few nudes in my locker and asked me to take her out."

"She did what?!" My head nearly explodes at the admission.

Zach chuckles, taking another bite of his burger, leaving me on tenterhooks while I wait for him to swallow. "Yeah, wasn't just her," he answers. "A lot of girls in our class did it. Chrissy, Courtney, and Mallory are just a few that I can remember. Not surprised. Rich girls see a poor boy from the wrong side of town and immediately want to use him to piss off their controlling daddies. What better way to do it than to date me?"

"Did you ever take any of them up on the offer?" There's a bitter taste in my mouth when I ask the question, and it's because I know how it feels to be stereotyped and used as an object by others. It's how I got the reputation of a rich, entitled brat who deserves all the shit she gets without having to open my mouth.

Zach scrunches his face, and even though it's distorted, the sharp lines of his jaw still cut through. "Of course not. I don't have time to deal with overly privileged rich girls. I have actual problems to deal with." Grinning, there's a twinkle in his eye when he says, "Unless it's for fifty-thousand dollars, of course."

"I hope you know I don't look at you like that."

"I know. You don't look at me at all." He laughs.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jutting his chin, he puts his burger down. "Did you know that you were the first person I saw when I walked through the school gates?" I keep my lips closed because I have no idea what he's talking about. "I remember that day so clearly. You had this wide brilliantly white smile and a perfect little bun on your head, similar to the one you're sporting today. Combine that with the floatiness of your skirt, and I thought you looked like a ballerina. You were this seamlessly put-together girl who was so perfect, you were almost untouchable." Zach chuckles to himself, shucking his own chin. "I'd psyched myself up to say hi, but then you walked straight past me, shunting my shoulder along the way. You didn't apologize or flinch. It was like I was invisible to you."

"I did?" My mouth parts because not only do I not remember this, but it sounds like I acted the way everyone expects.

"Yeah, I vaguely remember you jumping into Jamie's arms at some point." He pauses. "Even then, it was obvious how much you liked him. He was the only guy you'd look at for longer than five seconds."

I bite back my embarrassment because it's true. I only ever thought of Jamie because I thought there was no other possibility. We were endgame, until we weren't, and now I feel foolish that I ever thought that was the case.

Zach's thumb grazes my palm, but it offers no amount of comfort to how I feel about myself. Maybe all those comments on that video were right. Maybe my mother was right. Maybe I am terrible, because I was too focused on thinking that Jamie would save me from my nightmares. Maybe that's how I became the person I never wanted to be.

"I'm sorry. I'm not normally that rude," I mumble, focusing on how the bottom of his calloused hand feels scratching against my alabaster skin.

A grin forms on his face. "I know. You'd never be caught dead being rude to someone whose opinion matters, would you, Pumpkin?" I purse my lips because there's nothing to say. He's right, and we both know it. The only reason I'm even talking to him now is because I need something from him; otherwise, he'd be another football player I'd choose to ignore. "Anyway, let's not get hung up on the past; we're here now," he says, giving me an out, but the sickly feeling in my stomach doesn't go. "We need to talk about our fake dating."

"What did you do with them?"

He tilts his head, studying me. "With what?"

"The nudes that girls put in your locker." I slowly unscrew the cap of my drink, taking a little sip of my water as his eyebrows furrow. "Did you keep them?"

"No. What kind of pervert do you think I am?" he asks, shocked. "If you must know, I destroyed them and then spent an evening looking up how to bleach my eyes so I could forget I ever saw them." His eyes widen, and he stares at the table for a second. "Some of the positions Summer sent me should have been illegal."

Water burns my nose as I try to stop myself from spitting it out. Zach balls up a napkin and throws it at me as I hold back my laughter. Once I've calmed enough, I say, "That's such a lie. What guy wouldn't keep rich girl nudes? If not for pleasure, then you have them for blackmail."

"If you think I'm the type of guy to blackmail a girl for money, then we should stop this right now because I'm not an asshole."

"But you'll convince a girl to pay ten grand to enter a bet and then date her."

He raises his hands in defense. "Hey, I told you about it because I wanted you to choose to be involved. I wasn't about to force you into anything."

"What would you have done if I said no?"

Shaking his head, he slathers a cold fry in ketchup, takes a bite, then shrugs. "Nothing, I guess. I'd just be happy knowing that you were at least warned about the bet so you wouldn't fall for their stupid games. I know what it's like to be ridiculed by these rich idiots, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"So you want to ridicule them first. How do you think they'll react when they find out this was all fake?"

"They aren't going to find out. Besides, by the time this whole thing ends, football season will be over, and I won't need them anymore. I've already signed my full-ride scholarship, and the team will win another state championship because of me. The fact that they can't acknowledge that shows just how much winning has gone to their heads." He looks me up and down. "I'm looking forward to watching them lose the hottest girl in school to me."

Nodding, I stop and take in his last sentence. "Wait? Did you just call me hot?" I laugh again.

Zach shrugs, his eyes scanning the part of my body he can see. "You know you're the hottest girl in school, Honey. You don't need the scholarship kid to tell you that." He takes a drink of his soda, unbothered by the small smile that draws across my face. "I still don't get why Jamie dumped you in the first place. You're perfect rich man material." He covers a grin by taking another sip.

"Rich man material?"

Swallowing, he drops the soda and focuses all his attention on me. "Yeah, you've got the right last name, legs longer than the Eiffel tower, and a face that rivals a post-op Kardashian." Zach's gaze drops to my lips, and I instinctively want to bite my bottom one to ease the tension, but I stop myself. Instead, I shuffle and cross my legs under the table.

"Clearly not as good material as McKenna," I bite out, chopping up more of my dry salad and then shoving it in my mouth out of spite.

"Not true. McKenna is an easy option. The kind of girl that you cheat with because the only thing she's got going for her is between her legs." His words hit me like a bullet to the gut, and images of McKenna and Jamie come crashing back. I hate that it bothers me so much, but it seems like I can't do anything right. "Let's prove Jamie wrong. Date me until the end of January, and let's show him what a hot little piece you are when your shackles are removed."

I roll my eyes, clapping my hands because the movement stops me from grabbing one of his damn fries or his half-eaten burger. "You don't need to convince me. I've already agreed to date you, so let's get this discussion over with before I gag on your cheeseburger."

His lips lift, and he grabs the burger. "Oh, is this what you've been watching for the last twenty minutes?" Zach glides the burger right under my nose, forcing the delicious scent to waft in the air. I want to kill him. "There I was thinking you couldn't stop looking at my lips after kissing me on Friday."

My pulse spikes at that comment. How the hell did he know I'd been thinking about that? "You wish." I push the burger away and sigh at my pathetic retort. Something about his throaty laugh calms me, and even though I know plenty of people are watching us, the only eyes I feel are his.

"Was the dry salad your mom's idea?" He studies the wilting leaves with a frown. "I mean, it's just lettuce and a few old tomatoes. I'm all for eating healthy but eating blandly sucks."

"Yeah, well, some of us don't have football practice to burn off a burger and fries."

Zach stands, walks around the bench, and plops his large, muscular body next to mine. I give him a little space when he shimmies down for comfort, making room for his wide shoulders. "Go on, take a bite," he teases, holding the burger close to my lips. The thick, juicy meat stares up at me, taunting me. "I won't tell anyone," he whispers, letting the burger waft below my nose.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer still, until it's an inch from my lips, and I'm more than certain he'd feed it to me if I let him.

"I'd feel terrible if I didn't let my new girlfriend have a little bite of my meat." He jokes. My cheeks flush, but the urge to eat the burger trumps that emotion, so I do it. I let Zach feed me his burger, sinking my teeth into the succulent beef.

An explosion of fat, ketchup, and cheese bursts through my mouth, and I close my eyes, swallowing the textures and enjoying every moment of it. God, it tastes so much better than those tofu burgers my mom buys.

When I swallow down the first few morsels, I open my eyes to Zach staring at me with his mouth slacked open. "That was possibly one of the most erotic things I've ever seen." His words are flat, and he drops the burger back onto his plate before scanning the yard and blowing out a sobered breath.

Slowing my chews, I swallow, realizing that moan I thought was in my head was actually audible. "Just keeping up the fa?ade," I answer as I continue chewing. "Is McKenna still watching?" Zach stays facing me but checks out of the corner of his eye and nods. "Good. Let her tell Jamie that you fed me a burger during lunch. He tried to convince me to eat his meat several times, but I never gave in. I'm sure this will piss him off."

Zach smiles at my innuendo and reaches forward, swiping the little bit of ketchup off my face. Then he brings his thumb to his mouth and licks off the sauce. That move was hotter than I expected.

"You can't fall in love with me," I blurt without thinking. The thought of us flirting, of me feeling something more than I should, sends a chill down my spine because I can't have another footballer take advantage of me. Not after the whole Jamie fiasco. I close my eyes and breathe so the next words out of my mouth sound more composed while Zach watches with a furrowed brow. "We need to figure out the parameters of our fake relationship. Set up some rules, if you will. I think the first one should be that we can't fall in love with each other."

There. I got it out, and it sounded a lot more composed.

Zach cricks his neck, shuffling a little bit away from me. "We're back to that? Okay…" He drags his laptop over to us, opens a document, and starts typing. "No falling in love. That should be easy since you're still in love with Jamie, and I've got my own life besides football."

I focus on the taps of the keyboard instead of correcting him, because I don't see the point. In love with Jamie? Had someone asked me that a month ago, I would have said yes, but now that I've had time to think about it, I realize I was fooling myself the whole time. I wasn't in love; more like I was infatuated with Jamie because he happened to be nearby. The only real thing I feel for Jamie now is sadness and a deep, urgent need for revenge.

"You'll have to come to my home games, obviously, but that shouldn't be an issue since you were always there before." How did he know that? "We'll also probably have to pretend we know each other in the classes we share. So maybe we should think about sitting together in history, English, and math. Might even need to hold hands in the hallway."

"You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?"

He looks at me from the corner of his eye. "Yeah. I'm the type of guy who goes all in once he's committed to something. Once you agreed, you had no chance. We have to be on the same page because if anyone finds out what I've done, there will be hell to pay."

"I doubt they'd care."

"Oh, they'd care. It would hurt their pride more than anything. I'd probably end up tied to a goal post, naked, tarred, and feathered before the championship game so the entire student body would see me. Really I'm doing this to save myself."

"Fair enough." I shuffle closer, reading the words as he types. "I guess we'll have to kiss every now and again too." That suggestion makes his fingers stop, and he smiles.

"Oh yeah?"

"Well, isn't that what couples in love do?"

"Sure." His fingers type faster than his old laptop allows, but he's used to it. He types his sentence and patiently waits for it to appear on the screen. "Is there anything you want me to do as your new fake boyfriend? I'll admit, I'm pretty crappy at responses because I'm busy with school, football, and some commitments at home, but I promise I'll make an effort with you."

His crooked smile comes out, and a part of me wants to ask him if he'll take me to the debutante ball so I don't have to go alone, but that's after football season, and I doubt Zach will want to drag this out for longer than necessary.

"Nope, nothing that I can think of." Strangely, my voice is lighter than usual and I feel calmer than I have in a long time. Zach's thigh grazes mine, and I giggle at the touch.

"You've got a cute laugh," he says while he types. I look around and breathe in. He was right. We're being watched by a lot of people, and apparently, that little giggle drew even more attention. Usually, I hate being the center of attention, but there's something about sitting here with Zach that gives me a little more confidence.

I decide to give everyone a show by snuggling into his side while he reads out the stipulations. He's not fazed by my sudden touch; instead, he wraps his arm around my shoulder, squishing me closer to his side.

"Are you happy with this?" He turns to face me, and we're now only a few inches apart, with his lemongrass scent wafting in the air.

I nod, and he grins. "Great. How about we give these guys something more to talk about?" he asks with a wicked glint in his eyes. Nervousness creeps into my stomach as he inches toward me, but I hold my ground. As he scoots closer, I inhale sharply because I'm not ready to kiss him again. I'm not ready for the conflicting emotions, but knowing people are watching us makes me more inclined to push through and do it anyway.

"Do you dare, Honey?" Zach teases, our breaths mingling. His fingers tickle the top of my hand, teasing me into a decision.

What a question to ask. Do I want to kiss Zach again and feel his lips against mine?

He leans in, his lips achingly close. Mint fans my face, tingling my lips. Anticipation builds in my bones.

Do I want this?

Closer still.

Yeah, I think I do.

I flutter my lashes closed, so ready to feel his lips again.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Jumping back, I look around, flustered while I try to figure out that noise.

Zach snatches his phone from the table. "Sorry about that," he mumbles, typing away. Too bad I already saw the name "Tiffany" scrawled across his screen.

I tense my jaw, holding back the question on the tip of my tongue.

Does Zach have a girlfriend back home?

"Hey. What's up?" he whispers into the phone, and turns to the side to block me out. "Yeah, okay. I've got practice tonight, but let me speak to my coach and see if I can be there instead."

Zach goes quiet, and I hear the faint lilt of a girl on the other end of the line.

Who the hell is Tiffany? Why the hell is he moving everything to be with her?

"Sure. Yup. You too." He hangs up the phone quickly and shoves it into his pocket before turning back to me. "Sorry about that." He slaps his laptop down and shoves his phone in his pocket. "I'm glad we agreed on everything, but I've got a few things I need to sort out before I get to class." He stands, takes his things with him, and drops a kiss on my forehead. "I'll see you later in history, Pudding."

Just like that, he acts like that phone call is nothing and I shouldn't be worried. And I guess I shouldn't. He's not my actual boyfriend. We're pretending at school. I don't need to know everything about him.

"Sure thing," I drawl out. It's on the tip of my tongue to ask him who Tiffany is, but before I can get the words out, he's already striding off.

Sitting there, I know I'm still being watched, so I act like nothing happened and finish my salad before heading to class, even though Zach's half-eaten burger is next to me.