Page 67 of Off Pitch

“No,” Rory says from her place on the sofa in the living room. “But I’ve been here for half an hour already.” Lucia takes my dress bag from me and hangs it on a hook by the door.

I sit beside Rory on the couch, and Lucia takes the plush chair beside us. “You ready to play the doting girlfriend tonight, Lo?” Lucia asks.

“Yeah,” I reply. “I can manage that. I feel like we’ve gotten pretty good at this fake relationship thing.” Rory tries and fails to stifle a laugh. “What’s that for, Ror?”

“Lo, how fake is it actually?”

“Very fake,” I say, my voice wavering.

“Very convincing,” Lucia says with a smile. I throw my hands over my face and sink into the back of the couch as I groan.

“Ooh, she realizes that, Luc,” Rory adds. “But it might be kind of hard to ignore that scene before the game a few weeks ago.”

“That day has me so fucking confused,” I admit, sitting myself up again. “I can’t tell if he’s messing with my head or if any of it is genuine.”

“What do you mean?” Lucia asks, eyeing me curiously.

I sigh. “Well, you both obviously saw us before that game. We’ve been doing a hell of a lot of flirting, both around people and when we’re alone.” I try to steady myself with a deep breath. “But then at the bar…”

“Did he end up following you when he said he was going to get more water?” Rory asks.

“Oh, he definitely did. And if you guys heard our conversation before that, you know how charged it was.”

Lucia smirks. “You mean when you guys were not-so-subtly talking about his ‘performance’?”

“Yeah… that.” I start fidgeting with my hands, trying to calm myself. “I went to the restroom to try to collect myself, and when I came out, Knox was waiting for me. He asked me what I really thought of his ‘performance,’ and the innuendo was even more clear than before. He backed me against the wall, and when he told me that there shouldn’t be anything left for me to learn, I said that I’m sure there were… things he could teach me.”

“Holy shit, Lo!” Rory screams excitedly, repeatedly hitting my arm. “What happened then?”

“Then we almost kissed, and I could feel his dick against my leg… and then he said we should get back to you guys. Nothing actually happened.”

“That’s still a pretty big deal, Lo,” Lucia says.

“Is it, though? I’m not sure he actually wants me. He was probably just caught up. Then he backed off so I don’t get the wrong idea.”

“Oh, you’re so in denial, honey.” Lucia gives me a soft smile. “He’s not getting hard from being caught up.”

“And like we both told you before,” Rory chimes in, “Fake dating never works in the books. Feelings develop, and they always give in and sleep together.”

Trying to get the heat off me, I say, “You know another popular trope, Ror? Single dad and the nanny.” I wiggle my brows at her.

“Lane?!” she shouts. “No, that’s definitely not happening!”

“Ooh, that’s an extreme reaction, Ror,” Lucia adds with a smile.

“I prefer men closer to my age.”

“Lane is literally only thirty,” I say.

“That’s five years older than me. Besides that, though, Lane’s not my type.”

“Since when do you have a type, Rory?” Lucia asks with curiosity in her eyes.

“Oh, uh…” she stammers. “I guess it’s not really a type…” she trails off. And it clicks for me.

“Oh my God!” I say excitedly. “You’re already interested in someone, aren’t you?”

“What?! No, definitely not. Nope, not interested in anyone.”

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