Page 36 of Dangerous

“Just like his dads. We’re always happy to see her as well.”

She rolled her eyes at Jason but couldn’t stop the large smile from forming on her face.

“That’s not all he learned today, but we’ll save that for after supper.” I winked at Katy as I brushed past her on my way to the highchair where I placed Liam.

For the first time in what felt like forever, my family felt whole as we sat there eating supper and talking. I could only hope that this was only the beginning instead of the end. Either way, I knew I’d cherish the memory forever.

26

Katy/Katherine

“I’m so glad you came to the dance with me. I can’t tell you how many girls approached me, wanting me to be their date. You saved me. You’re my hero.” Ethan clutched his chest and pretended to swoon in his seat.

“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes at his joking manner even though I detected his sincerity. He spoke truth about the number of girls, because once again, I was a topic of discussion. This time no one cared whether or not I’d been pregnant. Instead, they were all upset that last year I’d snagged Mason and this year, I’d gotten my grubby little paws on Ethan, not giving them a chance. Although I did hear some of them wonder if he’d be completely like Mason, letting them fuck him since I was too prudish to do that. How I went from being the whore of Babylon that got pregnant and gave birth to a prudish virgin, I’m not sure, but logic didn’t seem to be a requirement when it came to the rumour mill.

“Seriously, I am glad you came. It was a lot of fun because you were there.” He pressed a kiss to the back of my hand.

He was right. The dance was fun which was surprising since last year I hadn’t been having fun and had been grateful when it was stopped early after the crazy slide show to bully Jake’s and Josh’s girlfriend. I’d gone into tonight without high hopes, only wanting to get it over with, but spending time with Ethan made it fun. Even when I felt Peter’s gaze on me as Ethan and I danced to a slow song, it still hadn’t dimmed my fun. And fun was something I hadn’t experienced much of lately.

It's why I decided to tell him that I’d be his fake girlfriend. When I thought about it. Almost every time I felt carefree, I’d been with him. I would have said that I felt the same when I was with the guys, but I didn’t. I was happy and loved being with them, but our interactions were tainted by all my unresolved feelings. I didn’t have those with Ethan. He was a friend, someone safe to hang around with. And that’s exactly what I needed. Fun without stress or pressure.

“Hey Ethan, remember that question you asked me?” His eyes scrunched up but then widened as he realized what I was referring to. “I finally have an answer for you.”

“And… don’t keep me in suspense, woman.”

I chuckled. “Calm your horses. I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”

He laughed. “Fuck. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of you throwing out farm or country terms at me in everyday conversation.” He held up both hands and bowed to me. “I await your word, mistress.”

“That’s master to you. I’m not your sidepiece.”

“That you’re not. You could never be a sidepiece. You shine too brightly. That’s why all the girls are jealous of you. They know that in any true, unbiased competition, you’d win hands down.”

Crap. He was going to make me cry. It didn’t help that my period was due on Monday, making me more emotional than usual. At least I wasn’t crying myself to sleep anymore. Aftertalking with Peter and then hearing the same things from Jason and Jarrod, I felt more at ease, not as torn between helping a friend and not doing something that would hurt them. Because as much as I tried to deny it or ignore it, I still loved them, still wanted to be with them.

Not wanting to keep dwelling on them, I spit out my answer. “I’ll do it.”

“You’ll do it?”

“Yes, I’ll be your fake girlfriend.”

“Thank you.” Ethan pulled me into a hug over the centre console in his nice, higher end SUV. “You don’t know how much this means to me. You’re saving me, helping me to keep my dreams alive. If I make it to the European leagues, it’ll all be because of you.”

I pushed away from his hold and swatted his shoulder. “If you make it overseas or even getting to play professionally here, it’ll be due to your skill and work ethic. Not because I agreed to fake date you.”

He grasped my chin, making sure that I looked him in the eye. “Don’t sell yourself short. What you’re doing is going to allow my work ethic to do its thing and help increase my skills. Without this, I’d be forced to go on dates, put up with girls hounding me, pulling me away from practices and rehab.”

“Maybe. Although you seem to text me a lot. Can’t imagine that any girl would keep you more involved,” I teased him. He did text a lot, but that was usually through his voice interface while he was driving to or from Winnipeg to help pass the time. That and later in the evening before bed. Then he’d text to ask questions about schoolwork or to talk about the day.

“Wow, I think my fake girlfriend gets snippy when she’s out too late and doesn’t get enough beauty sleep. Get out and go to bed. We can make it fake official at school on Monday if that works for you.”

“That’s fine. I’ll follow your lead.” And then I surprised myself. I leaned back over the console and kissed his cheek. “Good night. Drive safely.”

He nodded as he placed his hand over his cheek. But thankfully he didn’t say anything else because I didn’t know how I’d answer if he asked why I’d done it. I really didn’t know why. It had just been a reflex. Maybe it reminded me of all the times I’d sat in a car with Mason, and we’d talked. Or maybe I did it because I felt so comfortable with him, like I was with Mason and the guys. Either way, none of those reasons could stop the self-recrimination that was going on in my head. The kiss had been nothing, something between friends and yet I still felt like I’d cheated on the guys. I’d never felt that way with Mason which was why this was bothering me so much.

I rushed into the house, barely pausing long enough to watch him drive away before I raced into my bedroom and threw myself on my bed.

Sleep. That’s what I needed. Everything would be better, clearer in the morning.

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