Page 9 of Once Upon a Fake Date

And, god, he looked likethat.He could probably get any girl he wanted. That thought made me feel strangely possessive, and I didn’t know why.

He was my friend. He’d probably slept around a lot during the last few years. It wasn’t like I expected Parker to wait forme.

There was no way he knew of my childhood crush. That I’d wanted to marry him when I was younger.

I ran my hands over my pink poofy dress. My witch hat was sitting on the bench next to me. “So, lacrosse, huh?”

“Yeah. I started playing in High School. Got lucky enough to get a scholarship to play, so thankfully, I had a full ride to my school up in New England.” He shook his head.

“Had?” I asked, not sure if he wanted me to pry.

Parker ran his hands through his hair, not answering my question. “I was lucky enough that Castleton offered me the same scholarship. And I was a red shirt my first year, so I still had two years of eligibility left.”

Part of me wanted to ask why he transferred here, but I couldn’t find the words. Instead, I finally asked, “So you’ll be here for two more years?”

I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but Parker had always been a grade above me. I’d already been preparing myself to say goodbye at the end of the year. It would have been just my luck, the universe putting my childhood best friend back in my life only to take him away from me again a year later.

He nodded. “Architecture is a five-year degree, so it just worked out that way.”

Oh. I couldn’t help the happiness that flowed from me. “That’s great.”

A laugh sprung free from his lips. “Rosie Girl, attached to me already?”

I blushed. “I already said goodbye to you once. I’m hoping I don’t have to again.” Looking out the window, I hoped I hadn’t said too much. Hadn’t revealed how desperate I was to have his friendship back.

“You won’t,” he promised, nudging me under the table with his sneaker. “You can’t get rid of your best friend that easily, after all.”

“Ella might be offended you’re taking her position.”

“Nah.” Parker flashed me a smile. “She was just keeping it warm for me.”

There were butterflies in my stomach, and he had no idea. God, I needed to control myself. My childhood crush was coming back to life too easily.

Friends,I reminded myself. We were just friends.

“Come on,” Parker said, extending out a hand. We’d already paid for our meals, so we were free to go.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He smiled. “You’ll see.”

Our bedroom was stillempty when I entered it. It was late—past three in the morning. Parker and I had stayed out late, catching up. Where was Ella? I frowned, going into the bathroom and doing my skincare routine. There was no way I’d be falling asleep with all this glitter on me, after all.

Grinning at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t stop thinking about my night with Parker. How after tacos, we’d gone to the middle of campus, lying on the grass and staring up at the night sky. How he’d asked me to sing for him, and surprisingly, I’d agreed.

But what was more surprising was the way I’d kept going. How when I’d started singing a duet, he’d joined me.

In the quiet of the campus, our bodies pressed against the slightly damp grass, the moment felt almost sacred. His voice was deep, much deeper than I remembered it. But the last time I’d known him had been before puberty changed him into the man he was now.

God, he was talented. Did he even know it?

I hummed to myself as I washed my face.

The only thing that would have made last night better was if he had wrapped me in his arms and danced with me. I blushed at the thought.Friends,I scolded myself. I’d let myself have one last night of dreaming about him, and then I’d be good. Because Parker was my childhood friend, and there was no way I’d mess that up.

Still, when he’d hugged me tightly after walking me back to the sorority house, I’d buried my nose in his shirt, inhaling his scent. He smelled clean and crisp—all man. Like woodsy spice that I wanted to bottle up or burn as a candle.

God, friends didn’t sniff each other like that.

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