Page 13 of The Pump Fake

Ifucked up and I know it. All because I’m a coward. When she ran from me a few nights ago, I knew I hurt her. The solution was easy. Pick up the phone and tell her how I feel, but every time I go to pick up the phone, I can’t seem to do it.

A knock on my office door stops me from spiraling for a moment. “Come in,” I call out as I straighten the papers on my desk, pretending to do some work.

“Hey, Cliff.” The feminine voice stops me right in my tracks. It’s the same voice I’ve been wanting to hear for a few days now, but didn’t have the courage to seek out. Now that she’s right here in front of me, all I can think about is dropping to my knees and begging for her forgiveness.

“Jade.” Her name slips from my lips as if she was a prayer.

She walks toward me, and I come out from behind my desk to meet her halfway. I place my hands in my pockets to stop me from reaching out and grabbing her, even though every part of me is screaming that just one touch would be enough. But I know better. “What are you doing here?” I ask her.

“I was here to talk with Hunter. He wanted to go over the plan for us,” she says and I watch as her hands grip the strap of her purse.

“That makes sense. It’s probably a good idea—” I begin but she quickly interrupts me when she blurts out, “I miss you, Cliff.”

Her words hit me right in the chest. Shit, I know I’ve been spiraling over these last few days trying to figure out how to make it better, but I didn’t think about what I would say once she was in front of me.

Not being able to stop myself this time, I take my hands out of my pockets reaching for her arm, pulling her closer to me. “I missed you too, Jade. I’m so sorry for the other night. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you.”

“I know. And I’m sorry too,” she whispers.

My eyes go straight to her lips and all I can think is how it might feel to kiss her again. To feel her body pressed up against mine.

“Good, you’re both here,” Hunter’s voice rings through my office, causing both of us to jump and separate.

“Let’s talk about this relationship and the timeline for it,” he says, ignoring the tension between Jade and I as he makes his way toward the chairs that sit in front of my desk.

Both Jade and I get the hint. I move to sit behind my desk and she sits in the chair next to him. My jaw tightens as I watch her sit down, and all I want to do is remove Hunter from her side. This feeling of possessiveness is confusing me.

The chairs aren’t unreasonably close to each other, but for some reason all I can think about is punching him in the face.

I take a deep breath and try to release the anger that is wanting to take ahold of me. Jade must see me struggling because she asks me, “Cliff, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say as calmly as possible, but by the look on Jade’s face and the smirk that Hunter is giving me, I’m failing. Miserably.

Thankfully, Hunter begins with his plan instead of dwelling on this uncontrollable feeling I have going on. “Here is the timeline I’m thinking,” he says as he pulls out a piece of paper and laying it down in front of me.

Grabbing it, I read it. It only has us being together for like three months. We would break up halfway through her season. I look up at Jade and waving the paper in the air, ask, “Are you okay with this?”

“Yeah. I think it’s best if we don’t string it out if we don’t have to. Just until my reputation is a little better,” she says.

“Okay,” I reply, not expanding any more. “Let’s do this.”

“Great,” Hunter responds. “First up, the end of the week is Jade’s first game. You’ll need to be seen in the first row.”

“Got it,” I say.

“There are other events that we’ll need to see you at. A few more games, she can be your date to the company’s annual gala, and lastly, just out and about. We can do a double date in a few weeks. The goal is to make this relationship look as legit as possible,” he tells us.

“We know,” Jade says. It’s the first time she’s spoken since Hunter started other than answering my question at the beginning. Looking at her, I can’t help but wonder what she’s thinking. At the moment, she’s keeping everything locked down.

“Perfect,” Hunter says as he gathers the papers back. “I’ll leave you two to it then,” he says walking out of my office. Both of us stay silent until we hear the click of my office door.

I get up from my desk and move to sit in the chair that Hunter just vacated. “Jade—” I begin.

But once again, she stops me before I can start. “I’ve been thinking,” she begins but pauses for a moment. I place my hand on her leg, soaking up the heat from her body as if I’m starving and her body is the only thing that can keep me alive.

“I’ve been thinking,” she starts again. This time she doesn’t stop herself. “I know we said no touching. But why don’t we allow for touching while we’re in this relationship. When it ends, we stop.”

Not really having to think about what she’s offering for long, I jump on it. “Deal. Just tell me when you’re not okay with it,” I tell her.

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