Page 11 of The Puck Decoy

Her floral scent surrounds us, as I clear my throat and respond, “I have a lead on that too.” The name and email address given to me is tucked away in my pocket for when I can give it my full attention later, and Hallie just smiles.

“Good,” she nods, stepping away from me, but then looping her arm through mine. “You can tell me all about it later, after we plan our shotgun wedding.” She begins leading us away from the building that her class was in, but not in the direction of her house.

“Where are we going?” I ask, completely confused by her total agreement in this, but not missing that eye roll of hers.

“To your house,” she states matter of factly, like I’m nothing but a dumb jock.

“And why are we going to my house?” I ask, and she shakes her head with a laugh.

“I see Peter Pan still hasn’t grown into his adult brain,” she muses with a smile, waving hello to a friend across the quad before lowering her voice. “Because people need to see us together, Joshua. You want to marry me, then you walk with me, those are the rules.”

It’s at this very moment that I know my father will always regret putting her name on the list, because he only thought of her as who she is to him, a powerful man's daughter, an asset, a business deal. Yet he didn’t factor in who she is to me, a friend, a confidant, a person I can trust. All of which will lead to his demise, which only makes me smile as I focus back on my future wife.

“Rules, huh? Do we need to get that pesky little list out again?” I ask, letting her lead me home, and she digs her nails into my arm until I yelp.

“Don’t make fun of your future wife, Joshua, or you will be on your knees again, only this time you’ll be begging for forgiveness,” she tells me with a smug smile.

“I told you, Tink, you want me on my knees again, all you have to do is ask,” I tell her with a wink, and her answering blush makes me laugh out loud.

There has always been this tension between us, this friendly banter that I always like to test the boundaries of, and she has never been one to shy away from it. In fact she pushes every single button I have and somehow still finds more. So maybe being married won’t be so bad afterall, especially to someone who used to be your best friend.

The walk back to Josh’s house is nice. We talk back and forth about nothing really, both of us avoiding the predicament we have forced ourselves into, and it almost feels like old times. Like the old Hallie and Josh who would spend hours together, with and without Maddie, and never got bored or tired of one another. I can still feel the anger and stress radiating off of him, but I can also feel his playfulness that always used to appear between us. He teases me, makes fun of me, but then asks about my classes, and what I’ve been reading lately, and I can almost forget that he’s about to become my fake husband.

That is until we reach the path that leads up to his house, and he pauses, pulling his arm from mine and looking at me solemnly. “You should know that Daemon knows about us,” hestarts, and when I look at him in confusion he adds, “About our arrangement I mean, that this thing between us is fake.”

I blow out a slow breath, wondering why out of all the people he would have told him, but all I can say is, “Okay.” The word fake makes tears burn at the back of my eyes, but like I’ve practiced a million times I force them away.

“Levi probably also suspects something is up considering he was privy to information when I dealt with Thorne, but I haven’t told him anything, and I know he probably won’t care enough to ask. Landon is my friend and teammate, but I am keeping him in the dark along with everyone else,” he tells me, and I nod along knowing he’s right, but hating the reminder anyway. “So the only people that know the truth are me, you, Maddie, and Daemon, and possibly Levi” he tells me firmly.

“And Nova,” I add mindlessly, and he pauses whatever else he was going to say and looks at me with a frown. A frown that makes me roll my eyes, because it seems even the fact that his own sister is now dating him has not made him like the captain of his hockey team even a fraction more. “Look, I know you hate him, and I also know that deep down you know hating him for something both your parents did is ridiculous, but Nova and Maddie are together now, and you have to accept that.”

He scoffs at my reply. “In what way am I not accepting it? I’m only marrying you so she can be with him,” he snaps, and his words are like a slap in the face.

I try not to let it knock my ego too much given his stress about everything, but still I can’t help but snark, “And what a prize that is for me.”

His face softens in regret as he rushes to say, “Hals, I’m sorry, you know I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just the guy’s a douche. I don’t know what she sees in him.” I don’t bother listing the many assets that not just Maddie, but half the female population here at FU see in Nova Darkmore, and instead just laugh.

“And I’m sure there are some people who are going to wonder what I see in my lovely future husband,” I muse in response, and he smiles, shaking his head.

“Look, all I’m saying is this has to look like it’s real,” he pleads, reaching out and pulling my hand into his, and I try my best to hide the effect he has on me as I smile and nod.

“So let’s go and put on a show.” I hold out my hand to indicate for him to lead the way, and he only pauses for a couple of seconds before he nods, and turns and leads us up the path towards his house.

When we enter I brace myself for the smell of sweaty jocks, but am pleasantly surprised to find it smells fresh and almost like oranges. This isn’t my first time here, but with the exception of a couple of parties, Josh made it perfectly clear to Mads and I when we started at FU that this was his space, which we both respected. Unlike on the nights of parties, the house now is clean and organized. Sure there are some shoes tossed by the door, a couple of discarded hockey bags, but everything else is mostly tidy.

We find his three housemates all home and occupied, until we walk in that is. Two of them are sitting on the sofa playing video games, and the third is in the kitchen alone, headphones on, and humming quietly to himself as he cooks, but it’s clear they all note his arrival.

“Peters, finally man, come and help me kick Cooper’s ass, he’s…” The guy I know to be one of Josh’s friends, Levi Jones, trails off when he realizes that Josh hasn’t come home alone.

Levi moved to Fairfield when Josh was a freshman in high school and with their shared love of hockey they struck up an easy friendship. Most people mistake them for being best friends, and they are really close, but I know Josh well enough to know that he still keeps him at arm's length for most things. Being close to Josh myself means I knew him pretty well beforewe went to FU together and right now I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

“Hallie, hey, didn’t expect to see you here,” Levi adds, looking between us in confusion, which only intensifies when his gaze drops down and he notices our interlocked hands.

Levi doesn’t get a chance to add anything else because his words have now brought the attention of his buddy beside him. “Oh my god, Josh brought home a girl, Christmas miracles must be coming early this year,” Landon Cooper booms, pausing the game and tossing his controller on the table in front of him as he makes no secret of checking me out.

“Alright you pair of neanderthals, no need to be dramatic,” Josh starts, his words casual, but I don’t miss the not so casual step he takes towards them, while tucking me half behind him. “You’ll be seeing a lot more of her, so get used to it,” he tells them, and despite now being half-hidden, I still see both their eyes widen.

“Damn, Peters, I know you had a no touching rule for her, but I didn’t think it was because you were banging her yourself, you dog,” Landon drawls, diving off the sofa and holding his hand up for a high five.

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