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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

KENDRA

“ Y ou know I’ll be seeing you in around two hours, right?” Jenna says as she picks up my call.

“I know, but I didn’t really want to tell you in the middle of a packed locker room,” I say, flicking on the coffee maker as I stifle a yawn and wait impatiently for my first—and much needed—caffeine hit of the day.

“Well, color me intrigued. Spill,” Jenna replies as I hear the sound of a door closing on her end.

“So, the gala this Saturday … I’m not going alone.”

“Please, on all that is holy, do not tell me that you’re going with Tyler. I don’t think my sanity can take it.”

I blow a laugh down the phone. “If you think I’m that stupid, then maybe you should reconsider your choice of center back.”

“Okay, good. You had me worr …” Jenna trails off, and a couple of beats pass before she speaks again. “Wait, if you aren’t going alone and it’s not with Tyler—oh crap, you’re going with Jack Morgan, aren’t you?!”

As the coffee maker finishes its prep, I pick up the jug and begin pouring myself a steaming cup. “Good guess. ”

“I wasn’t aware there was going to be a fireworks display this year, but maybe I just didn’t get the memo until now,” Jenna replies. “Like, for real? You’re going with him for real, as a date?”

This is the part where I could say yes and allow my closest friend in this city to believe our ruse. But our relationship has always been based on truth, both on and off the pitch.

Pulling myself up onto one of the stools around the island, I press my lips together and decide to go for it. “Tyler asked me to go with him, and I turned him down. He’s been a grade-A asshole lately?—”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Jenna interjects, which has me nodding in agreement.

“So, yeah, after I met Tyler for a coffee, I get back to the apartment, and I’m upset but more just pissed off, to be honest. Everything with him has an agenda, and all I wanted to do was return his stuff to him and move on. Jack caught me in the midst of my mini meltdown and made the suggestion that we go together. That way, I’m not alone, and Tyler has to start backing off.”

“And since then, you’ve fucked in every room in the apartment, just to test out your compatibility and for practice.”

How Jack’s kitchen isn’t wearing my coffee I’ll never know. I forcibly swallow my mouthful and burst into a coughing fit.

“Oh, come on now, Kend. You can’t bullshit a bullshitter. This arrangement is convenient for the both of you—and in more ways than one.”

“Actually, no. You’re wrong. We already went on a practice date, and we didn’t even kiss, so your theory is dead in the water.”

Silence falls between us, and I feel the mood shift from playful to something more serious. In a bid to keep my mind off the memory in the dressing room, the one where Jack explained exactly where my dress would be if we were for real, I push off the stool and head for the fridge .

“But you understand he likes you, right?” Jenna eventually speaks.

Rolling my eyes, I pull open the door to find something for breakfast. “I don’t know how many times I need to say it—Jack and I are just …” The rest of my sentence dies on my tongue when I find a jar of overnight oats, complete with my favorite blueberry compote.

Taking it out of the fridge, I see a note stuck on the outside.

Even if my girl forgot to make her overnight oats, she’d still get them.

Hope they’re not shit.

J

x

“Earth to Kendra?”

I blink a couple of times and come to. “Yeah, sorry. W-what was I saying?”

“You okay?” Jenna asks.

Lifting my cup, I take a seat back at the island and down another sip of coffee as I try to regain my composure.

No wonder Olivia was fucking gutted.

“Jack wants to help me out, and neither of us wants to go to the gala alone. So, it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.” I finally finish my sentence with a confident pep to my voice.

Jenna blows out a long breath. “So, if you guys are playing this off as real, when does it all end? Right after the gala?”

She makes a good point. I’ve been so caught up on Saturday and Tyler’s reaction when he sees us that I haven’t thought much beyond that night.

“We haven’t talked about that,” I reply.

An unconvinced murmur sounds down the phone. “I will say this, for what it’s worth: if this ‘arrangement’ between you both is ‘mutually beneficial,’ then maybe you could go after some of the fun you were hoping for with guys.”

“Meaning?” I ask, knowing full well what she’s insinuating.

“Hook up, fuck buddy–style. If he is down for a few benefits along the way, then replace that red wand of yours with Jack Morgan.”

The morning Jenna caught me having fun with Scarlett races back to me, as does the image of Jack hovering above me. My thighs squeeze together of their own volition, and I bite down on my lip.

“I don’t know if I could do that.”

When a key slides into Jack’s door, I immediately uncross my legs and reset myself.

“I have to go,” I whisper-hiss to Jenna.

Jenna chuckles down the phone. “Tell Mr. Morgan I said hi.”

Jack strolls into the apartment and throws down his training bag as he kicks off his sneakers by the door. I’m certain he hasn’t noticed me when he reaches into the pocket of his gray sweats and pulls out his phone. I look on from the kitchen island situated behind him and watch his shoulders drop an inch before he repockets his mobile, and I set mine down on the counter in front of me.

The sound has him whipping around to face me, and his eyes immediately land on the unopened jar of oats.

“You found them then?”

My thighs squeeze again as he walks toward me. His hair is still damp from practice, and his black Dri-FIT shirt clings to every line of his well-chiseled body.

Oats, Kendra. Talk about the oats.

“I totally forgot to make them last night. Thank you,” I tag on.

Reaching the coffee maker, Jack grabs himself a cup and begins pouring. He looks over his shoulder at my half-finished cup. “I don’t know how you can take that without at least a drop of milk. ”

“Need the caffeine kick badly. And if all I’m allowed is one cup a day, then I’m making the most of it,” I reply, another yawn overtaking my body.

Maybe it was because his left side was away from me when he walked into the kitchen, but the second he turns to face me fully, I see it. The bruise across his jawline.

Guilt tears through me.

“Jack, what’s that on your jaw?” I whisper.

Heading over to the fridge, he fetches out the milk and pours a small amount into his cup. “Oh yeah.” He chuckles. “So, Tyler knows.”

I climb off the stool and approach him as he stands with his back against the fridge. “This is all my fault.” I inspect the purple bruise more closely and notice a small cut too. “Is it painful?”

Jack shakes his head as he looks down at me.

“Did you hit him back?”

“No. Tempting as it was.”

I drag a hand down my face and pause over my eyes. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

“Like I said the first time, Hart”—Jack wraps his palm around mine and pulls my hand away—“who gives a fuck what he thinks? Has he messaged you this morning?”

I pause and think over my recent texts. Only one from my brother, talking about the national squad announcement dates. “No. He hasn’t actually.”

Jack smiles. “I told him to leave you the fuck alone.”

“I’m starting to feel like a broken record. All I seem to do is thank you.” I blow out a breath.

He takes a sip of coffee and sets his cup down beside him. There’s an entire apartment behind me, yet I still haven’t stepped away from him.

Finally, I turn to move away and head for the hallway. “I have something that might help with the bruising. ”

When I reach my bathroom and begin searching through the contents of my medical bag, I find what I’m looking for.

“What’s that?” Jack’s voice shocks me, and I turn around to find him standing in the doorway, hand braced on the frame above his head. His eyes briefly fall to my bare legs since I’m only wearing my sleep set and a loosely tied robe.

“Arnica cream.” I hold the tube up to him. “Mom always swore by this when we were kids. It helps the healing process and brings the bruising out faster.” Unscrewing the lid, I squeeze a small amount onto my forefinger and then cringe. “I guess you don’t need me to apply it for you like she did for me.” I laugh.

Jack’s arm drops to his side as he steps into the bathroom, and I back up a couple of paces.

“If you were my girlfriend, would you then?”

I look down at the cream and then back up at him. “Perhaps.” Butterflies swirl in my stomach at the thought.

Jack’s eyes fall to my mouth and then finger as he stands right in front of me. “No harm in getting in some more practice then, is there?”

I reach up and begin applying the cream to his bruise, being careful to avoid the small cut in the center. “I never realized how tall you actually are,” I muse.

In a split second, Jack sets my ass on the counter.

“Is that easier?” he asks, his eyes planted firmly on mine.

Every muscle in my body contracts when he steps forward a few more inches and stands between my legs.

“Much,” I whisper.

His hands are braced on either side of me, and I feel the way his breath fans my face. If I closed my eyes, every nerve in my body could sense how close he was. Somehow, I want him closer.

Would I sleep with Jack Morgan? Every time the thought has crossed my mind, I’ve pushed it away. Determined that it could only make my life even more complicated than it already is.

As I finish up with the cream, Jack closes his eyes and then reopens them. “Tyler’s a fucking idiot. ”

“I thought you’d already worked that one out,” I say, screwing the cap back on the cream and tossing it back into my bag.

Jack doesn’t move from his position, and when I find his eyes again, his gaze drops to my mouth once more.

“On Saturday, will you kiss me?” The question is out before I can stop it.

His dimple pops. “Would that be a problem? It would be kind of weird if I didn’t.”

“It’s not a problem.” I shake my head slowly. “I just want to make sure I’m prepared, is all.”

I can’t deny the shot of need as it races through me. I want him to suggest we practice right now.

“Kendra,” Jack starts, “do you w?—”

His phone buzzes several times in the pocket of his pants, and we break eye contact.

“It’s Darcy. Mum must’ve already told her about us since Jon witnessed my confrontation with Tyler and hauled us into his office for an explanation.” He smiles as he scrolls to read the rest of the message. “She wants to know who Kendra Hart is and when she gets to meet her.”