Page 55 of Once Upon a Fake Date

But I had to stop imagining it.

“Right,” Audrey said, giving me a tight smile.

It was a reminder that to her, none of this was real. I needed to remember that.

She took a deep breath. All I could think about was how, before we were interrupted, her lips were almost on mine. How she’d initiated it. Audrey hadwantedto kiss me.

That was a good sign. Right? It had to be. If she wanted to kiss me, then maybe she wanted more.

God, I was a fucking idiot. Because I was dreaming about my best friend, my fake relationship, turning into something real.

Even though I knew it would never happen.

I kept dreaming anyway.

CHAPTER 17

Audrey

MARCH

The days had flown by, and it felt like spring had finally arrived on campus. The cold winter air that had been lingering for weeks was finally gone, and I could finally almost not wear a coat outside.Almost.

Though that hadn’t stopped me from pulling out my skirt collection. The tights would keep me warm in the mornings until the chill in the air dissipated.

Spring break had come and gone, and the last week had been surprisingly good. Duke hadn’t bothered me, though I still noticed him staring daggers at me during rehearsals, I was always with Parker before and afterward, so he hadn’t been able to corner me again.

And if Parker was a little extra on the PDA whenever my ex was around, I wasn’t complaining. Turns out I really liked kissing my best friend. It didn’t mean anything, of course. Parker always reminded me that we were just acting.

Damn, he was good at it.

The man in question nudged me at my side. “Whatcha thinking about?” He was wearing his favorite red hoodie, one I’d seen him wear countless times this year, and a pair of athletic shorts like he’d just come from the gym.

“Nothing.” I blushed. There was no way I was admitting to Parker that I liked it when he kissed me.Nope.

“Come on.” He gave me a brilliant, blinding smile, flashing his perfect teeth. Like he was the perfect male specimen, his body perfectly sculpted and honed forperfection.Sure, I hadn’t seen him without his shirt on, but I could guess. I’d seen the way he was on the lacrosse field. “I wanna know what you were thinking about, Audrey. Tell your boyfriend.” He slung his arm around me, tugging me tight to his chest.

“Parker,” I groaned, hiding my face behind my hands. “You. I was thinking aboutyou. There. Are you happy?”

His chest puffed up. “Am I happy that my girlfriend was thinking about me? Of course I am, sunshine.”

“Fakegirlfriend,” I muttered, low enough that no one could hear me. Not that anyone was around us, anyway. It was a quiet afternoon on campus. Most people were still inside for class.

He pressed his lips to my forehead. An action that was feeling more affectionate the more he did it. And I didn’t want him to stop because secretly… I loved it.

“Parker?”

“Hmm?” He looked over at me, eyebrow raised in question.

“So…” I bit my lip. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about spring formal.” I started, knowing full well the event was coming up later this month. It was one event I helped plan in my position with the sorority.

He raised an eyebrow. “What about it?”

“Well, since everyone thinks we’re dating, you should come with me.” I turned my body fully to look at him. “You know. As my date.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

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