Page 5 of The Pump Fake

I don’t respond, turning my attention back to Jade. Whatever this woman is offering, I don’t want. I only want one person, and I can’t have her. After a beat, she lets out a huff and walks off.

Jade looks at me curiously but doesn’t comment. Instead, she changes the subject. “What exactly are you asking me to do with this dating scheme?”

Okay, we’re jumping right in. I guess it’s time to pull off the band aid. “After talking with the owner of the Stars, I was spit balling ideas with Hunter and he suggested it. So, if you’re going to kill anyone, it should be him, but I can’t say I disagree.”

Jade crosses her arms over her chest, pushing up her breasts. That action along with the tight sweater and my eyes drop to them. I wonder what they might feel like in my hands. Probably like the most perfect set of grapefruits.

“What would that look like, Cliff?” Jade asks me, interrupting my thoughts of her perfect breasts.

Glancing up at her, I swallow when I see her. Every time I get a good look at her, I’m surprised by how gorgeous she is. I’m so fucked. This whole idea is shit, but I’ve got to do what’s best for her. “Well, I would find someone who would be okay with the situation. They would need to go to a few games, some dinners with a bit of PDA, and then a few events. After a couple of months, we can plan a breakup.”

Jade nods her head along as she listens to me, then she purses her lips. “What if I don’t want just some random person to do this with? This requires a lot of trust.”

I totally get her fears. Trying to calm her, I reply, “Don’t worry, I’ll vet whoever it ends up being and we’ll even have them sign an NDA.”

Her brow furrows when she looks up at me, and I’m not sure what to expect next. “Okay. But I still don’t think I could do it with just anyone.”

“What are you thinking?” I ask her, completely confused as to where she is going with this. Thoughts that she could already be seeing someone I didn’t know run through my mind. It takes everything in me not to demand answers from her, but I know I don’t have the right to.

Jade places her hand on top of mine. My eyes connect with hers and she whispers, “If I’m going to pretend to date anyone, I want it to be with someone I can trust. I want it to be you.”

4

Jade

The nerves set flight in my stomach after asking Cliff to be the guy to fake date me. I’m not sure why I asked him. Well, that’s not true. I know why I asked him. Because I wouldn’t be able to go through with this unless it was someone I trusted. He’s been my rock since the moment he came into my life. But the feelings that I’ve kept locked behind closed doors since I first met Cliff spilled out in the form of asking him to be my “boyfriend” before I could stop them.

When my hand touched his, I felt a shock all the way up my arm, but I disregarded it, just like every other time. The only thing I couldn’t ignore is how right this all feels.

Staring at him, I wait on stilted breath for him to answer. I can see the wheels turning in his head. I’ll give him props, though.He doesn’t look away from me. But I can see his hazel eyes swimming with so many different emotions, and I can’t seem to place what they are. My insecurities hit me like a Mack truck as the silence stretches, and I pray he says something, anything, soon.

We continue to stare at each other for what feels like forever. I watch as a piece of his dirty blonde hair falls into his eyes, and it takes everything in me to not move it out of the way.

“Jade—” he starts, but the server interrupts before he can get it totally out.

“Here is your food.” We both pull our hands back into our respective spaces while the woman places his plate down in front of him, trying to gain his attention. Her smile falls when he doesn’t even glance at her. I can’t help it—I allow happiness to wash over me, knowing that he isn’t giving her any attention.

She places my plate down without another word, then leaves us at our table in silence. The intensity of his gaze, along with his silence, is too much. Not being able to take it any longer, I look away first—I know I’m being a coward. Taking a bite out of my tacos, I try to think about how I can convince him to do this for me. Because let’s be honest, this goes way above being best friends.

I peek from the side of my eye to see Cliff who’s now looking intensely at his own tacos, but hasn’t touched them. He’s probably trying to figure out how to let me down without hurting my feelings, or maybe he’s thinking of someone else to pawn me off on.

“Are you sure you want to pretend to date me?” His tone is cautious, pulling me from my own thoughts.

“Cliff, I don’t think I could do this with anyone else,” I tell him.

“Okay, let’s do this. But we need rules,” he says as he takes a bite out of his taco.

Placing my own taco down, I nod while wiping the sides of my mouth. “I agree. We need to make sure we have boundaries. Like we only show PDA in front of cameras. Only kissing, holding hands and hugging in public. Do you agree?”

Cliff grunts but doesn’t look up at me, he keeps his eyes on his plate. I take that moment to take a few more bites of my food.

“Fine. We need to do a few dinners before we announce that we’re dating. I’ll have Hunter tip the photographers off. And Jade?”

Him saying my name has me looking up and when I see him giving me his signature sexy smile, my panties dampen. What the hell is that about? Shaking my thoughts of his sexy smirk, I answer, “Yes?”

“To make this work, you have to act like we’re dating and not just friends. We need people to believe this, even our families. You’ll have to talk about me to people.”

“Oh, that’s easy. I already talk about you to some people,” I say, waving off his concern.

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