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brIELLE

E xcitement coursed through my veins like it was exam week, fueled by a necessary caffeine buzz but with none of the stress. My voice was hoarse from yelling at the football game against Iowa that afternoon, and in a few minutes, Ares would pick me up for our fake date.

“Are you nervous?” Mal plopped onto my bed beside me.

I’d told her everything. Ares had never specified that we couldn’t tell anyone we were fake dating, and I bet his roommates also knew the truth. “Yeah, and it’s the weirdest thing. I shouldn’t be. We’ve been sleeping together most nights for the past couple of weeks.”

“Maybe it’s because you want this to be real?”

I rolled my eyes and tugged a long, wavy red strand of her hair.

“Please, you know I’m not interested in dating.

” Especially after witnessing the shit show of marriage my parents had.

Mom was self-centered, and Dad was a criminal.

Together, they fed off each other’s shortcomings in a completely dysfunctional circus of a relationship. No thanks.

Mal pursed her lips then burst out laughing. “Yeah, I’m having a hard time believing you aren’t more invested in Ares. Sort of hard not to be, actually.”

I whirled from the closet, shocked. “What’s going on? You never have eyes for anyone other than Brett.” She was crazy about her boyfriend and had been for the six months they’d been dating. “Well, Maverick Davis, but he’s your unicorn.”

She shrugged. “I am crazy about Brett, but I have eyes, and Ares is hot.”

“So is Brett.” Not my type, but he was Mal’s. “Are you guys having problems?”

“Not really.” She stretched onto her stomach, elbows on the mattress and chin resting on her hands. “I’m tired of all the idiot girls hitting on him.”

“But he’s not doing anything about that, right? Is he ignoring them like he always has?” I moved toward her, worried.

“It’s not that. I’m just, I don’t know, tired of it all, I guess. He wants to go pro, and it’ll only get worse.” Her gaze slid to the right.

“And this is a good time to break things off?” I was beginning to understand because if Mal were still head over heels, she would fight for what she wanted. Maybe he wasn’t it.

“It might be. We don’t have that much in common anymore, and I can feel him pulling away some too.”

“You know I’m here for you, right? Go out with us.” I grabbed her hand and lightly squeezed. “I highly doubt it’ll just be me and Ares. His roommates are around a lot, and since it’s after the game, Liam will be there.”

“Where are you going? You never said.”

“The campus bar.”

“Last Call? Hmm, maybe. I’m just not sure I’m up for it.”

She usually went out with Brett on the weekends. “Are you not seeing him tonight?”

Her teeth sunk into her lower lip briefly. “No. I told him I had a headache from the game and he should just go without me. He’ll probably be there, and I think Amanda might be with their group.”

That girl had been chasing after Brett the entire time he’d been with Mallory. She’d been an annoying gnat, and her flirtations had never bothered Mal. Before, she’d found it amusing. “Are you seeing if she’ll make a move tonight and what he’ll do? You know she’ll try.”

“Honestly, I don’t care. If he does something, it saves me from the talk.”

“Ugh, the talk is the worst.” Not that I’d broken up with anyone recently or been on an actual date. Huh, maybe that was why I was so nervous. It felt like a real date—though it wasn’t. I had to keep reminding myself of that.

“I don’t think I want to go out tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”

I studied my roommate’s downcast eyes and clued into the hurt vibrating around her. Something had happened, but I knew Mal was stubborn and wouldn’t talk about what was bothering her until she was ready. She clearly wasn’t right then.

“Hey”—Mal pushed herself up and swung her legs over the side of the bed before going to the closet and yanking out a dress—“you should wear this one.”

“I don’t know.” The form-fitting black dress had a deep V-neck and fell to midthigh. It was sexy and sophisticated all at once. “It feels a little dressy for Last Call.”

“Please, you went there not long ago in Prada to meet the bitch squad. This is child’s play compared to what you wore that night.”

I took the dress from her and held it against my body in front of the mirror. My hair was down, and with minimal makeup, it could work. “Are you sure? I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard. I could just wear shorts.”

When she laughed, I gave in with an eye roll. “Fine. I’ll wear it. But we’re not done talking about this thing with Brett. Tomorrow, we’re hanging out and discussing what’s going on in your head.”

“Sure. But you and I both know you’re not coming home tonight.”

I pursed my lips, wanting to deny it. But why? I had no intention of sleeping in our dorm. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll be back tomorrow. I have homework to do anyway. We can grab coffee and take it to the library.”

“Okay.” Mal smiled, and the tension around her mouth fell away. “Don’t forget about me. Though, I’m sure it’s hard to think about anything else when you’re with him.”

A loud knock sounded, and I rushed into the bathroom with the dress, hissing, “Stall.”

The door closed quietly behind me, and I dressed hurriedly.

My hair was staying down, so I ran a brush through it, reapplied lipstick, and quickly checked everything else.

Mascara was still good. All I had to do was grab shoes on my way out.

I could hear Ares’s deep voice, and a thrill shot through me.

I flattened a hand on my stomach, needing to get a grip.

Fake. Remember that.

I grasped the doorknob and released a slow breath. I had no idea why I was irrationally nervous. I’d climbed the man like a tree and let him do all kinds of things to me. A rush of heat settled in my cheeks at the thought.

With a turn and push, I opened the door and exited the bathroom. That slow, sexy grin curved Ares’s too-kissable lips, and a thousand flutters erupted in my stomach. “Hey, Ares. Great game.”

“Thanks.”

“I just need to get my shoes.” I busied myself, slipping on heels, and grabbed my purse. “Bye, Mal.” I was a whirlwind, but it was the only way to minimize the turmoil inside me that I couldn’t entirely control .

Ares crowded me, his hand on the small of my back. He leaned in close, lips brushing my ear. “You look incredibly sexy.”

“Thanks.” I blushed again. “You look pretty amazing yourself.”

And he did. Because it was game day, the team dressed in business-casual attire. I liked the tradition, as it showed unity. It didn’t hurt that it presented a professional atmosphere to NFL scouts, should they happen to see the guys after the game.

We were in dangerous territory. If we didn’t rein in the insane attraction, we would end up right back at his place rather than being seen in public like he wanted.

It was a good thing we’d set up some ground rules.

The problem was, I was still a little foggy on why it was such a big deal for his coach to think he was dating someone.

At the time, I hadn’t pushed for why, but as we put the plan into action, it bugged me that I didn’t know.

He took my hand in his, and we exited the dorm, stepping onto the sidewalk.

“Do you mind walking?” he asked.

“No, it’s fine.” We were only a few blocks from the bar, and the heels I’d chosen were my most comfortable pair. “If you don’t mind, I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Okay, why does your coach want you to have a girlfriend? Does that make you seem less like a party risk?” It had to be about the sex tape. I couldn’t imagine any other reason.

“It started with the video that was leaked, yeah. The university wasn’t happy about it, and it could change the way some scouts look at me. They don’t want an out-of-control rookie causing problems for their PR and legal teams. At least, that’s what Coach said.”

“So, stop making videos.” It seemed simple enough. I felt his tension before I glanced up to meet his narrowed eyes. Oops. Hit a nerve .

“I didn’t make the goddammed tape. The girl did. Without my permission.”

My mouth formed an O. I had nothing. No wonder he was so touchy about it. Because it hadn’t been about his performance—that, he’d knocked out of the park. And I swear he was better in person than in the video.

Things realigned in my mind, the self-centered assumption I’d first had that reminded me too much of my dad crashed and burned. Honestly, the more I’d gotten to know Ares, I couldn’t see him in that mold. He was kind, thoughtful, and family oriented and had only treated me well.

“The main reason is just to get Coach on my side again. The combine is in a few months, and as it is, I’m not super high on his list right now. I need to be when he talks to NFL scouts and coaches.”

“Okay, I get it. So, how will this dating thing impact me differently than what we’re doing now?”

“Just a few things, like going out after games and maybe being seen around campus together. We’ll have to look at our schedules and figure that part out. And of course, that wedding of yours.” He winked.

I frowned. “Yeah, there’s that.” Hell, really, pure torture.

I didn’t think I could go through with attending it, Mom’s theatrics if I didn’t aside.

As of right then, I was pretty sure I would send Samantha an I’m-sorry-I-can’t-make-it message.

I highly doubted she would care. But it would be nice to be recognized as his girlfriend if we ran into any of them while we were faking things.