Page 155 of The Fake Date Agreement

“I’ll drop Coach a text, let him know we’ll be late. If we miss it, we can make up for it. He’ll understand.” I look at Tobie. “You don’t have to…”

But she’s already walking over to the bed and picking up books and notebooks that she carries to the desk and sets them down. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Javier shrugs out of his coat and hangs it behind the door. “If we need Red Bull later, I can run out and grab some.”

Reid looks guiltily at Tobie. “We’re supposed to be helping you out, not working on my bitch of a paper.”

She smiles. “You’re more important than a revenge mission, Reid. How about we make a plan of attack before the food comes and get started after you’ve eaten?”

He circles her wrist, gently tugs her into his lap, pressing a soft kiss to her lips that I instantly want to repeat.

“You are some woman, Tobie Myers,” he says.

“Not really, but I’m glad you think so. Now quit distracting me, and let’s get to work.”

He salutes her with a grin. “Yes, ma’am.”

“What’s the title of the paper?” Javier asks.

Reid tells us.

Javier sighs. “I’ll be back with the Red Bull. This sounds like an all-nighter.”

Damn right.

Chapter 36

Tobie

My ass is freezingas I sit with my eyes glued to the players on the ice.

They throw their heads back when they laugh and dive into each action, seemingly without a care in the world. When they go down, they spring back up again like the toughest elastic I’ve ever seen.

Their entire existence is physical, raw, and alive.

They makemefeel alive. Like I’ve been sleep-walking through life all this time.

I crave them when I don’t see them. I miss them before I’ve said goodbye, and I shouldn’t be doing any of that when none of this is real.

They’re not mine, but I don’t want to let them go.

This practice, one of their last before spring break, has been intense. More so than the others I’ve been to. Sweat slides down their faces at the end of a drill. They gulp from bottles of water, their chests rising and falling as they recover.

They’ve been so focused on the three coaches leading this practice to spot me when I slipped into the arena and took my seat nearer the back than the front. I remember what Halliesaid to me before, and I have no intention of provoking another confrontation.

Reid spots me.

A radiant grin transforms his face. “The most beautiful girl in the world has come to watch me.”

Good Lord, that man is beautiful.

And he doesn’t even try to keep his voice down.

Javier and Caleb had their heads bent together but turn to face me, forgetting all about their conversation as Javier smiles and Caleb nods.

And it hurts.

Because every time I see them, I’m counting down to the last time.

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