Page 71 of Drop Shot
CHAPTER 22
ELIAS
“You’re in a shit mood,”Noah notes as we take a break from practicing together to drink some water and fuel up on a banana. “What the fuck happened?”
I chew and swallow, trying to appreciate the brief moment of reprieve from the sun as we sit beneath the umbrella. Across the way Noah’s coach and friend Fisher chats with Sabrina while Maddie bounces a tennis ball. She’s starting to show interest in playing. I wonder what Noah thinks of that. It’d be cute—his little girl following in his footsteps.
I don’t want to tell him, but since he knows that this relationship is fake while I’m developing very real feelings, I decide it might be best to just be honest.
“I woke up holding Whimsy.”
He arches a brow. “And that’s put you in a bad mood because?” He drawls out the word. “Shouldn’t you be jumping for joy?”
I screw the cap back on my water bottle. “My fingers were dangerously close to finding their way under her pants and my dick was digging into her ass.”
Noah busts out laughing. I should probably be offended but if roles were reversed, I’d be laughing at his expense. I guess it’s time the tables were turned. I certainly had fun tormenting Noah over his blatant crush on Sabrina. Even though it was clear something was going on between them, I made it a habit to flirt with her in front of him and even ask her out.
“Oh, this is amazing,” he chortles. “You’re so down bad.”
I am. There’s no sense denying it.
“It was so embarrassing,” I groan, lowering my head. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so clueless with a woman before. So out of sorts.”
Noah smacks his water bottle against mine in a cheers. “Join the club, dude. That was me with Sabrina. I didn’t know if I wanted to choke her or fuck her senseless.”
“You could always do both,” I joke.
He laughs. “Oh, I have.” His face settles into an amused grin. “Here comes your girl.”
My head nearly falls off with how fast I face the direction he’s looking. Whimsy steps onto the court, looking far too gorgeous in some sort of light blue fitted dress. It’s sleeveless, but hugs her body all the way down, ending a few inches above her ankles. Her iPad is tucked against her chest, fingers loosely gripping the pencil as she chats with Sabrina and Maddie.
I want to ask myself how I never noticed her, but the thing is Idid. I knew when I hired Whimsy as my assistant that she was a stunning woman. But I also knew that out of everyone I interviewed, she was the most qualified, and I really needed the help, so it wasn’t worth messing things up by thinking with my dick. But now she’snotmy assistant and she’s playing the part of my girlfriend instead.
Beside me, Noah laughs. I’m glad one of us finds this whole situation amusing.
He adjusts his baseball cap so that it shields more of his eyes from the sun. “I can’t wait to see how this whole thing plays out. This is better than any reality show.”
“Shut up,” I grumble. I take another sip of water and stand. We’ve taken a much longer break than we should’ve. “Let’s get back to it.”
“You really like me beating your ass, don’t you?”
I don’t need the reminder that Noah has dominated me today. If this were a real match, and not practice, I would’ve been decimated.
“Hey, Whimsy?” he calls out and her head perks up in his direction. “Why don’t you give Elias a good luck kiss? I’ve been outscoring him left and right. A kiss might help.”
Her comically wide eyes turn in my direction. She doesn’t know that Noah knows this is fake. But regardless, Sabrina certainly doesn’t know.
“Oh, um.” She tucks a piece of long blond hair behind her hair. “A good luck kiss? Yeah. Totally. Sure.” She hands her iPad off to Sabrina.
She heads in my direction, eyes downcast on the court.
I send Noah a look that says he’s going to be hearing about this later.
Whimsy stops in front of me. Her blue eyes are wide with nervousness.
“You don’t have to kiss me,” I tell her. “He’s just being an ass.”
She shakes her head and presses a shaky hand to my chest. “No, it’s okay. You’re my boyfriend, right?”
