Page 9

eight

Skylar

Chase stands up, and slides his seat beside mine, then sits back down. His arm goes over my shoulder, and he pulls me into him. His lips meet the side of my head lightly, and he asks, “Has he seen us yet?” My body freezes, and my heart rate increases as I breathe in his fresh scent.

“He’s walking into the restaurant.” I lean against him, “Thank you for this, immensely. I owe you one.”

“Hey, I’m here to help. Especially to ward off creeps.”

We’re interrupted by the server, who comes to take our order. As she leaves, out of the corner of my eye, I see Jack being seated on the other side of the outdoor dining area.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Chase still has his arm around my shoulders, and he pulls me back into him.

“What do you want me to do? How do you want this to play out?” he asks quietly, as if asking for guidance on how far he can push the limits as we put on a show.

Anyone watching us would think that we’re just any other couple enjoying lunch together. Not as individuals plotting to mislead someone using false pretenses to get them to go away.

“I guess, since we’re already looking like it, we just need to pretend that we’re a couple for a few minutes. I’m sorry. I owe you big time, even more so than before. You name it, you can have it,” I ramble.

Our drinks are placed in front of us.

“Your food will be out shortly,” she says awkwardly as she notices Chase moved seats, then she’s gone.

“He’s looking,” Chase says.

At that moment, Chase leans in and fulfills my request from the previous night with no hesitation.

His thumb and his forefinger lift my chin and gently pull my face to meet his.

His lips brush mine, pulling a gasp from me at the contact as my eyes flutter closed.

The touch is soft, tentative, as if he’s unsure how to proceed.

I part my lips, inviting him in, and I take the lead with my hand wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer, as if I can’t get close enough.

“You realize that even pretending, we’re playing with fire, right?” he says, pulling away slightly, groaning, before his lips meet mine again with his tongue lashing out against mine.

My breaths are stolen from what should be an innocent kiss. We don’t have to put on a show for anyone, but we are. The kiss’s forbidden nature intensifies the moment.

I don’t know if Jack is even looking at this moment, and I don’t care.

If Chase only knew that I liked to play with fire, that I wasn’t afraid of getting burned. I’m not as delicate as my brother makes me out to be.

A throat clears from beside our table, breaking the moment between the two of us.

As we separate, I inhale sharply and glare up at our interrupter.

“Oh. Hi, Jack.” I say, acting surprised to see him.

“I wasn’t sure if that was you. I thought you were someone in distress.”

Distress? Is he serious? I was enjoying one of the best, most passionate kisses that I’ve had in my adult life. I was far from being in distress.

“No, not in distress at all,” I reply.

“If you were in distress, you’d let me know, right, babe?” Chase interjects.

My hand covers his arm, my fingers caressing his arm, hoping that I’m appearing loving and not creepy. I feel creepy. Chase bumps his shoulder with mine, smiles, and shakes his head in response.

“Nah, my girl is all good, friend. Thanks for checking in.” Chase says, in a tone that I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of.

“In distress? Is that guy for real?”Chase whispers.

Jack gives us a weird smile, nods his head, then retreats to his table.

“He seems like a douchebag. How do you know him again?” Chase asks, his arm resting on the back of my chair.

“He works on one of the higher floors of my building. I just met him recently, and each time, he’s given me the creep vibe. Thank you for coming to my rescue yet again. Seems to be a pattern occurring with us.”

“Anytime.”

“You know, you’re a pretty good kisser,” I tell him.

“Am I now?” he winks.

“I’m sure you know you are.”

He looks behind us, playing his movements off as a stretch, then he leans into me and kisses me just below my ear.

Out of instinct, I lean into his touch. I hear his breath in my ear.

It’s shaky before I feel his teeth scraping against my earlobe.

And my throat goes dry with this action. My hand grabs onto his and tightens.

“He’s watching us,” he says, as if providing me with an excuse for the contact.

I don’t need a reason. Time stands still, and I am perfectly content in his presence until our food arrives, effectively breaking the spell.

“What’s your take on how Ethan would react if he spotted us here today?” I ask.

“After kicking my ass? He would probably sit between us, making sure there’s as much space between the two of us as possible. Most likely moving me to another table entirely. Then would continue to berate the two of us and tell us how disappointed he was.”

“If that’s the case, what made you decide to meet me for lunch today, or even come to my rescue and play into faking being my boyfriend?”

“It’s about the fantasy, right? Forbidden desires. I mean, honestly, if Ethan was here, then this would have played out completely different.”

“I mean, that’s true. I wouldn’t have kissed my brother like that, or even let him be this close to me.”

He laughs as he brings a forkful of salad into his mouth. I watch him chew. The muscles in his neck move along with his strong jawline. It’s amazing how a single body part could be a turn-on for someone else. I’ve never seen a jawline like his before, and wow.

“What kind of food do you normally eat?” I ask.

“High-protein stuff. I usually rotate between a few fresh meals and snacks throughout the day. I wake up pretty early, even if I don’t have shit to do. Like this week, I’m waking up, eating, and then working out. I try my best not to stray from my diet.”

“I’m going to ask a really dumb question, and please do not make fun of me too much.”

He puts down his fork, makes a cross over his heart, and waits patiently for me to continue.

“What’s a bye week?”

He grins, “Not a stupid question. It’s a week when we don’t have any games. It’s like a week off from playing games. We still practice and go about our time as if we did have a game, we just don’t have a series happening.”

“Oh, I thought it was like standby, you know, like at the airport.”

“I mean, kind of. We’re standing by, while other teams play.” He shrugs, then quickly puts his arm back over my shoulder and pulls me into him. He kisses my temple before letting me go and grabbing his fork again.

“Hey Skylar, good to see you again. See you around the building.” Jack, unexpectantly close to the table, surprises us; I hadn’t realized he was still nearby, absorbed as I was in my thoughts and this bubble that Chase and I were in.

I swing my glance at him and place a fake smile on my face, “Yeah, have a good rest of your day. See you around.”

Seconds later, Chase whispers, “Awkward.”