Page 24 of Off Pitch

“What kind of shower?” Rory asks, raising her brow.

“Thatkind of shower,“ I reply, laughing lightly.

“I’m telling you,” Rory says, stabbing a finger into my chest, “a man like that knows what he’s doing in bed. You need to find out.”

“I’m not going to do that. I don’t need that in my life. I can take care of myself.”

“You know you’d have more fun if Knox was taking care of you,” Lucia says as she winks.

I can’t decide if I love or hate my friends. Maybe it’s both.

Would I have more fun with Knox? Oh, I know I would. If the man is as good in bed as he is at kissing, I know it would be an incredible night. But I’m not about to blur any lines in this fake relationship. Kissing is putting on a show for anyone who sees us. Sleeping together would serve no purpose because nobody would know. That would be just for us, which doesn’t fit into this arrangement.

Thankfully, it’s time to board the plane before Lucia and Rory can continue this conversation. When everyone is boarded, I find Knox sitting alone, so I slide in right beside him.

He takes an earbud out, surprised since Knox usually sits alone when we travel. “Uh, hey. Why are you sitting with me?”

“Well, we need to make this believable, don’t we?”

“Don’t you usually sit with Lucia and Rory?”

I smirk. “You’ve been paying attention to where I sit, huh?”

Worry crosses his face, realizing what he’s revealed. But he plays it off. “I pay attention to where everyone sits, Harlow. But I can also see Lucia and Rory looking over at us while they think I can’t see. Even if I didn’t know, it wouldn’t be hard to put together that you usually sit with them.”

Damn. That shouldn’t really matter, but I think I like the idea of him finding me to look. A confidence boost is always a good thing.

“Right, that makes sense.” I peer over at his phone, trying to see what’s playing. “Whatcha listening to, Spencer?”

He hands me an earbud. “It’s a random playlist. Mostly rock and alternative.”

“So, you’re telling me you’re not a secret Swiftie?”

“Fuck no,” he replies emphatically, causing me to crack up. “I’m going to assume you are.”

“For sure. Have been since her debut.”

He hands me his phone. “Put her on.”

I stare at him questioningly. “You want to listen to Taylor Swift?”

He shrugs. “I’m supposed to be getting to know you better, right? I should probably know what music you like.”

Stunned, I take the phone from him. “Okay then. I’ll play my favorite album.”

We relax into the seats as the plane takes off. Knox is at ease with his hands behind his head and eyes closed. And I can’t help but smile. Though the gesture to listen to my favorite artist is small, it’s still very sweet.

I’m already starting to learn more about Knox than I thought I would.

Once we land in Atlanta, Rory and I make our way to the hotel room we’re sharing for our stay. She keeps eyeing me, and I know she wants to garner more information about anything that happened on the plane. Nothing happened, but I’m sure she and Lucia will both start pestering me once she gets here.

I unpack my suitcase and fill up my side of the dresser while Rory takes care of her side. When that’s finished, I flop onto my bed and pull out my phone. I haven’t checkedStarred and Fastsince yesterday afternoon—before the entire world knew me as Knox Spencer’s girlfriend.

I pull up the page and find the creator dashboard, clicking that to see my stats, such as views, email subscribers, and so on. And I’m dumbfounded.

“Holy fuck!” I shriek, startling Rory. “Holy fucking fuck, Rory!”

“What is going on?! What’s happening? Why are we fucking fucks?”

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