Page 15 of The Fake Date Agreement

“But what?” Javier asks.

“Help her get one over on the fuckwit,” Reid says. “She seems like a nice girl, and he completely fucking humiliated her. You know that shit will be all over campus tomorrow, and the game was onESPN+.”

Oh God. It wasrecorded?

I clear my throat as my face burns with humiliation. “Um, I can hear you.”

“Sorry.” Reid lowers his voice and drags the others farther away. “So the turd has to suffer. And she has ketchup down the front of her dress, so I’m guessing he’s responsible for that as well.”

I look down. Shit. I forgot about the ketchup.

As they continue their hushed conversation, all I can think about is tonight’s shame.

Thankfully, it’s Friday, so I don’t have to go to class tomorrow, but Iwillhave to face Marc, and I have no clue what I’m going to say.

The guys are still arguing, and I figure they were nice to listen, but I just want to go home and pretend tonight didn’t happen.

Head down, I quietly walk away.

Revenge and payback only work on someone who cares. If Marc cared about me, he wouldn’t have done what he did.

Chapter 5

Reid

“She’s gone,”Javier says.

I quit arguing with Caleb to take in the space where Tobie, the girl with the worst luck in the world, stood moments before. Her sweet and slightly floral scent clings to me. “I’m going after her.”

“Let the girl go home!” Caleb calls after me as I stalk toward the exit.

“Yes,” I call back as I grab my coat and gym bag from a bench. “Let the girl with the potential concussion find her way back home on her own. Great idea, Cap.”

“I’m coming with you.” Javier grabs his bag and follows.

The door slams shut behind us, and Javier is quiet as we head for the exit.

The big green door at the end of the hallway is slightly open.

“She was quiet,” I say. “I thought she would say something before she left.”

Javier scrubs a hand over his face. “It was my fault. Caleb was right. I don’t know what I was thinking, listing out her night of hell like that when she was already about to cry.”

“Doubt that.I’mthe one with the big trap who told her about the game being onESPN.”

“You apologized,” he says.

“And she promptly snuck out the second I was busy arguing with Caleb.”

I don’t even know why I felt the need to say it. I was pissed for her, and I needed Caleb to understand why she needed our help.

Instead, I’d wound up chasing her away.

He nudges my shoulder. “Your heart is too big.”

It’s quiet outside the Fairfax Arena. The arena is set apart from most of the academic buildings and dorms, surrounded on three sides by a parking lot that is jam-packed on game day. I’m well aware of how lucky we are to have our own arena on campus since not all schools do. It was one of the biggest draws to Lamont U.

During the day, contractors are in and out, busy making it pretty for the championship at the end of this semester, a game we’ve all spent years working toward. With regionals behind us and us winning in emphatic fashion, we entered the playoffs as a dominant force with unshakeable confidence. This is finally our year.

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