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fourteen

Harlow

“Hey,” I hear Rory say as she opens the door to our hotel room after I jump out of the shower.

“Hey, Rory,” I hear from a familiar voice.

Knox .

What’s he doing here at eight in the morning?

“You can come on in,” she says as I hear footsteps from two people in the small entryway outside the bathroom. “Lo should be done with her shower in a minute. I was just heading out to help Lane with Sage, but you’re welcome to wait here for her.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.” The next sound I hear is the click of the hotel room door as Rory heads out into the main hallway, padding off toward Lane’s room.

I hurriedly put on my clothes—dark gray leggings and a navy blue Stars crop top—and brush out my wet hair. I curse internally that I haven’t gotten a chance to put on my makeup yet so you can see every one of my freckles, but this will have to do for now.

I exit the bathroom and find Knox sitting on my bed, leaning back against the wall as he waits. He looks so damn handsome when he’s at ease, unworried. I hope that I can help him feel that way more often.

“Hey,” I say as I step toward the bed, and his eyes shoot open. “I wasn’t expecting you this morning.”

“I know,” Knox replies, rubbing his hand over his neck. “But we’ve spent a lot of time together this week, and you’re not bad to be around. I thought you might want to have some breakfast before I head in for practice shortly.” He gestures to the bag beside him, showing me breakfast has already arrived. I didn’t notice it before.

“That’s very kind, Knox,” I say as I move to sit beside him on the bed. “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem, Harlow.” He gives me a slight smile. “Cole told me you like French toast, so that’s what I grabbed for you.”

“And just like that, you’ve found the way to my heart,” I joke, causing Knox to fully smile.

“Now I know that whenever I piss you off, I can just grab you some French toast to make everything better.”

“I hate to say that would work,” I reply, placing the French toast in front of me and handing the spinach omelet off to Knox, “but it probably would. I’m such a sucker for French toast. But don’t go pissing me off often.”

“I’ll do my best to avoid that,” Knox says, laughing. “I enjoy seeing you happy, and I don’t want to know what you look like when you’re angry.”

“Good choice,” I say as I stuff a piece of French toast into my mouth.

“By the way,” he adds, “I’m glad I get to see the freckles again.”

I can’t help but smile as my cheeks flush.

Over the next half hour, we eat breakfast, talk, and laugh before he heads off for practice. This week has really shown me a new side of him, and it’s a side I really like. Knox is so much more than a closed-off pitcher. He’s actually very kind and attentive.

This fake relationship thing is going to be a breeze.

The Stars win the game against the Comets and avoid the sweep. They have tomorrow off before their next game on Tuesday, so they get a day of rest. We all jump on the plane once today’s early afternoon game is finished so we can return to NYC as soon as possible. We’ve been on the road almost an entire week, so we’re all just ready to be home.

I doze off during the plane ride, exhausted from such a busy week, and I don’t wake up until we hit the ground back in New York.

I rub my eyes as I see Knox smirking next to me. I turn to him. “What are you smirking at, Spencer?”

“Nothing at all. I’m just glad you’re awake—I couldn’t take much more of your snoring.”

“I do not snore!” I shout.

“How would you know that, Freckles?” He cocks his eyebrow at me.

“Because, Slick,” I say as I poke him in the chest, “Cole is my brother. You think he wouldn’t have held that over my head while we were growing up?”

Knox laughs. “Yeah, that does sound like something he’d do. You’re right, you don’t snore.”

“So why were you smirking when I woke up then?”

“Did you ever consider the possibility that maybe you look adorable when you sleep, Harlow?”

“Is that so, Knox? Be careful there, or I might just think you’re trying to flirt with me.”

“Oh, I’d never do that,” he responds, the tone in his voice telling me that that isn’t exactly truthful. “What are you up to tonight, Pierce?”

“Probably getting some takeout, eating a tub of frozen yogurt, and binging something on TV.”

“Interesting. I’ve got the same plans, minus the froyo.” Knox looks me in the eyes. “Care to join me then?”

“Ooh, I’ve warmed you up enough to be invited over now? I must be doing something right.”

Instead of shaking his head like he might have done when this first started, he just smiles. He looks so lovely when he smiles. I think he is actually warming up to me, and I really like that.

“Maybe I thought you could use a little company for your lonely night. Consider that?”

“Nope. I think you like me, Knox Spencer. You want to spend time with me just for fun.”

The flight attendants tell us it’s time to disembark, so we both stand up and step into the aisle. Knox grabs my bag from the overhead compartment and hands it to me before grabbing his own. He sets his suitcase on the ground before extending the handle and leaning his lips down to my ear. “You know what? I think you’re right. I do want to spend time with you—just for fun.”

I can’t help but smile. This whole arrangement started less than two weeks ago. In that time, we’ve gone from never speaking to each other to actually beginning to enjoy each other’s presence.

Neither of us expected what we’re going through to happen, but it seems to be working so far. The traffic to my blog has skyrocketed. The media is ablaze with talk of how Fort Knox is finally opening up. And the more he opens up, the more I like the person he is underneath the mysterious persona. He’s easy to talk to and actually a lot of fun to be around.

For the first time, I can admit that I’m glad we’re doing this.