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CHAPTER 3

SCARLETT

“ A re you sure these jeans don’t make my ass look huge?” Autumn asks.

“Shut up. You’re bootylicious, and Rogan’s sure to take a bite out of it later. Wear heels with them,” I say.

She groans. “I want to wear my Chucks. Rogan said this event is casual. He’s wearing jeans too.”

“One of the positives about pretending to be Cooper’s girlfriend is that he’s 6’6”.”

Standing at 5’11” in my bare feet, it’s not easy to find a man who’s tall enough for me to wear some of my heels. Tonight that’s not the case.

“You two will look so striking next to each other. Have you thought about how you’re going to pull this charade off?”

Have I thought about it? It’s been on my mind more than I’d like.

“Yep, but I decided there’s no real way to prepare myself for this. I just need to act as normal as possible.”

“I think you’ll be fine. You’re great in social situations. If it were me, I’d probably pee my pants from nerves.”

I laugh. “Peeing my pants is the least of my worries.”

“Are you concerned about anything?” she asks.

“Only that I’m about to be under the watchful eyes of everyone there. I guess I didn’t really consider the level of exposure before agreeing, and how intimidating that would be. But there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

“Maybe you’ll gain some new podcast listeners.”

“It’s possible. Whatever happens, good or bad, I agreed to help him, and I’m not going to back out now.”

She sits on the edge of my bed. “Why did you agree?”

I finish slipping on a bracelet. “When we were out after the game, Cooper looked so relieved when I stepped in to fend off that woman. When he came over here and asked me to help, I knew it must be important to him. He’s a sweet guy, and I figured helping him could be a way for me to gain some good karma.”

“Yeah, karma that comes in the form of a real boyfriend,” Autumn says.

I laugh. “There’s plenty of time for that. Don’t forget, I’m still on my dating break.”

“This could be a best-of-both-worlds situation for you. You’ll get all the perks of dating a pro football player without having to worry about feelings or emotions.”

“And best of all, you’ll be there with me,” I add with a smile.

She gives me a quick hug. “Absolutely. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“Are you doubting my acting skills?”

She laughs. “Nope. I’m doubting Cooper’s.”

“Yeah, I’m also wondering how he’s going to do. But it’s not like he’s never had a girlfriend. He should be able to make it look somewhat convincing.” I fasten the gold necklace with the diamond pendant around my neck and then put on the matching earrings my parents gave me for my twenty-first birthday.

“And if he doesn’t, you can,” she adds.

“Exactly.” I add a quick spritz of my favorite perfume before I grab a pair of black ankle boots from my closet and slip them on. I add a black blazer over my white blouse, then check my reflection in the mirror.

“You’re gorgeous, as usual,” Autumn says.

I turn to her and smile. “We’ve been best friends since freshman year of high school, which means you’re grossly biased.”

“Biased maybe, but I’m not blind. You’re beautiful inside and out, even on your worst day.”

My head tilts as I study her. “You know love is the strangest and most powerful phenomenon. It even turned my notoriously grumpy best friend into a sweet compliment doler-outer.” Autumn tosses a throw pillow at me and I snatch it midair, laughing.

“I wasn’t grumpy. I?—”

“Bullshit.” I cut her off. “You were as prickly as a thorn bush. I have to say, being in love looks wonderful on you.”

She tries to keep her expression stern, but the corners of her mouth twitch before a toothy smile breaks out. “It feels amazing, but I don’t want to lose my edge.” Her smile morphs into a look of concern. “Is being in love with Rogan making me too soft?”

I shake my head. “Not at all.”

Seeing the transformative effect true love has had on my friend makes me wonder what it could do for me. I’ve been in a few relationships where I thought I was in love. In hindsight, I know I just romanticized what I was feeling.

“I guess we should get going,” I say, grabbing my purse and cell phone.

Autumn stands. “I’ll get my shoes on and meet you at the door.”

“Okay.” I step back over, standing in front of the full-length mirror for a final glance at myself. Working from home doesn’t necessitate putting a lot of effort into my appearance, so I like having a reason to wear makeup and do my hair. Normally, I wouldn’t have reservations about how I look, but I know being with Cooper will mean having attention on me too. But what does it matter? I don’t know any of them.

My stomach’s slightly unsettled as Autumn and I walk across the parking lot of the venue where the event is being held. I don’t usually get nervous in social settings, but I’m about to be in a room full of famous people. If that’s not enough, I’m about to pretend one of them is my boyfriend. And worst of all, I’ll be doing this in front of reporters and hungry social media influencers who are seeking juicy content to post.

With Cooper being a rookie, I’m hoping he isn’t popular enough to draw their attention. However, I’m pretty sure that’s wishful thinking on my part. With the success he’s had in the first two games and how physically attractive he is, he’s the perfect clickbait.

“I hope I’m not underdressed,” Autumn says, shoving her keys inside her purse. “When we were pulling in, I saw someone wearing a dress. I knew I shouldn’t have listened to Rogan.”

“At least we’re together,” I say. “If it makes you feel better, Cooper told me it was a casual event.”

“I guess we’re about to find out if the guys are right,” she says, tugging open the door.

We’ve barely stepped inside when Cooper and Rogan start walking our way.

Autumn leaves my side, meeting her boyfriend halfway and sharing a kiss.

My “boyfriend” stops in front of me, looking me over from head to toe and back up again. When his gaze connects with mine, he smiles. “You look good.”

“Thank you. So do you.” And it’s not an empty compliment. His dark-blue button-down shirt looks great with his eyes, and the rolled-up sleeves look sexy. I’ve always been a sucker for muscular forearms. Hell, who am I kidding? I have an appreciation for every part of the male body.

His arm wraps around my waist, tugging me into a brief embrace. “How was your day?”

“It was good. The podcast was filmed yesterday, so it was uneventful. I ran errands and cleaned the house.”

“We should head inside,” Rogan calls out as they stroll toward us.

Cooper holds out his hand. “Shall we?”

I slide my palm into his and we follow our friends across the tile floor. There are signs with arrows directing us toward the reception room, and when we step inside, my stomach somersaults. I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t for hundreds of people to be in attendance. Cooper gives my hand a gentle squeeze, as if to reassure me.

“Here goes nothin’,” I say.

I hear his low chuckle. “I guess this makes us official. It feels like every pair of eyes is locked on us.”

I force my red-painted lips to smile. “It sure seems that way.”

“Ignore all of this outside noise and focus on me,” he says, winking.

“Where do you want to sit?” Rogan asks.

“Look.” Autumn points toward the back right corner where Thor is waving us over.

The four of us make our way across the room, winding around tables with people calling out greetings to Rogan and Cooper. Thankfully, the two of them don’t stop to talk with anyone and we’re able to slip into our seats without delay.

“Hey, ladies. How’s it going?” Griffin asks.

I smile. “Hi.”

“This is a nice surprise. I didn’t expect to see you, Scarlett,” Thor says, leaning closer.

“Back off. That’s my girl you’re talking to,” Cooper quickly jumps in, shutting down any flirting before it can begin.

Thor cocks his head. “What?”

“Scarlett’s my girlfriend,” Cooper informs him.

“Why didn’t you mention that when we went out after the game?”

“We weren’t ready to tell anyone yet,” I say. “So I acted like I was just doing him a favor.”

“Why didn’t I know this?” Griffin asks.

“I knew,” Rogan’s quick to add.

A line appears between Griffin’s brows. “What the fuck, dude? I thought we were bros.”

Cooper shrugs. “We are.”

Rogan grins. “You’re just not the bros that we are.” Griffin holds up his middle finger.

“How you got such a gorgeous girlfriend is beyond me,” Thor says, shaking his head.

“Actually, it was pretty easy for him. I have a thing for blonds with tight—I mean, who are tight ends.” I lean over, resting my cheek on Cooper’s shoulder.

He presses a kiss to the top of my head. “And I have a thing for tall, beautiful brunettes.”

“Looks like it’s just you and me in the sea of single women,” Griffin says, fist bumping Thor. “And variety is the spice of life.”

Thor nods. “Yep. There’s plenty of time to settle down after we’re done with football, and until then, life’s a pussy buffet.”

“Eww,” Autumn says at the same time I laugh.

Griffin’s lips slowly part in a smile. “I like the visual that conjures.”

“Me too,” Thor agrees.

Autumn grimaces. “I don’t.”

“I do. As long as the buffet is made up of ten of your vaginas,” Rogan says, wiggling his eyebrows at Autumn.

“Do you believe these two?” Thor poses the question to Griffin. “Rogan becomes the starter and gets a girlfriend. Cooper starts playing in his rookie year and gets a girlfriend.” He shakes his head.

“What’s the problem with either of those things?” Autumn asks.

“They’re finally in the prime position to get laid anytime they want, and they tie themselves to one woman,” Griffin explains. He raises his hand. “No disrespect meant to either of you ladies, though.”

Autumn looks at me, rolling her eyes.

Rogan slings his arm around his girl, drawing her closer. “I think I should point out the irony of what you said since I get laid anytime I want.”

Griffin raps his knuckles on the table. “Let me reiterate what I already said: Variety is the spice of life.”

“Maybe you just haven’t found the right person,” I suggest to Griffin.

“I haven’t. But I can’t say I’ve been looking for anything deeper than a casual relationship.”

I lift my shoulders in a brief shrug. “There’s nothing wrong with that. But when you meet your person, you won’t want variety, at least not in terms of sleeping with multiple people. Sex doesn’t get boring because you’re in a relationship. That happens because you’re not with the right person or you’re not working at spicing things up.”

“Relationships take effort,” Autumn interjects.

Griffin smirks. “Which is why I avoid them.”

“Me too. We work hard on and off the field to play our best. We don’t need anything else demanding our attention or effort,” Thor explains.

“You don’t need to defend your anti-relationship stance. I get it. In fact, you know I felt the same way until I met Autumn,” Rogan says.

“Awwwwww,” Griffin sings in an annoying tone.

Thor stands. “And on that note, I think I need a drink.”

“I’ll go with you.” Griffin jumps to his feet.

“Are you gonna sing anymore?” Thor asks.

Griffin shakes his head. “Not unless you want me to.”

“Dude, I don’t think anyone wants that,” Thor tells him as they’re walking away.

“We might as well go now,” Rogan tells Autumn, and they both rise. He points to Cooper and me. “What do you two want?”

“I’ll take an espresso martini, please,” I say.

“And I’ll have a whiskey,” Cooper adds.

Once they’ve left, I struggle to find something to say, and I have no idea why.

“This is a little weird, huh?” he asks.

“It wasn’t at all until now,” I confess.

“Right? Why does it suddenly feel different? We’re the same people we were when everyone was sitting with us.”

I smile at him. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed.”