Page 24 of Hidden Plays

“Sure.” He followed me to the mats and fished his phone from the pocket of his athletic shorts. “What do you want me to text you?”

I huffed a snort. “How aboutI miss you and can’t wait to see you again?” I wasn’t sure how long we could keep this charade up, but if my friends thought I’d moved on from Myles, I’d take it.

“Okay.” A sly smile played over his mouth. “Not,I miss your ass and can’t wait to feel your mouth on my cock?” He snickered.

“Jesus, dude. Not after the first date.” With a chuckle, I sat on the mat. We’d come to an understanding, but how long would it last?

After a good practice and classes,I strolled into the house, my backpack hanging on my shoulder. Casey would be home, and maybe Eli. I should prepare for a barrage of questions.

I shut the door behind me, bracing myself.

“Hey, how’s the IT band? You looked good at practice today.” Casey stood in the kitchen, spooning protein powder into a glass.

“Yeah, it’s feeling pretty good.” I dropped my backpack next to the kitchen island and sat on a stool at the counter. I could use some protein myself. “Hey, can you make me one?”

“Sure.” He grabbed another glass from an upper cupboardand spooned the powder into it. “Have you heard anything more from Harry?”

“Who?” Oh shit, Holden. I needed to keep this story going in my head. “Um, yeah. I think he realized I wasn’t looking for a hookup, and his texts are a little nicer now.” I slipped my phone from my shorts and opened my messages. He’d texted more since this morning, but I hadn’t seen them. Shit, I should look before I showed Casey.

Harry

I miss you and can’t wait to see you again.

Harry

When is our next date? Let’s go somewhere special.

Harry

When are you free?

Damn, I should have replied to his text to avoid this situation looking like the farce it was. Knitting my brows, I said, “Uh, I need to get back to him.”

With a glance at my phone, Casey stirred our drinks and slid them to my side of the island. “What’s he saying?” He rounded the island and peeked over my shoulder. “Oh, looks like he’s into you. Like, really into you.”

“Yeah?” I tapped a message on my phone. How would I normally respond?

JJ

I can’t wait to see you either. I’m free on Thursday. Want to meet at Postino’s?

I loved that wine bar. It was casual, quiet and just my vibe. “There.” I set my phone on the counter. Holden wouldn’t take me seriously, would he?

Tapping on my phone, Casey said, “He wanted to take yousomeplace special, and then you picked Postino’s. You should have let him choose the location.” He sipped his drink.

“What?” Lifting my brows, I seized my protein drink. Did Casey think he had to coach me on dating now?

“He had a special place he wanted to go. It’s like you’re not listening to him.” He pursed his lips. “Did you do that with Myles, too? Maybe that’s why it didn’t work with him.”

I faced him, my gut knotting. “That’s not why it didn’t work with Myles. Myles had had a crush on Cooper since high school. I couldn’t compete with that. They had a history together.”

My phone chimed with a new text message, and I opened it.

Harry

Great, I’ll see you there. How about six?

I tapped on the phone. I’d have to tell Holden this wasn’t an actual date. But fuck, I’d have to leave the house on Thursday night so they’d think I was there and…Damn it, I should take photos of myself there, so they’d think it was real. This was a real pain in the ass.