Page 18 of Strong Side
Her mouth is open in surprise. “I don’t know. I mean, we never really talk about your dating life, and I don’t want to cramp your style or anything. I saw you and Arbor when I came in tonight. If you’re interested in her or something, I don’t want to ruin that for you. She’s really pretty and so sweet.”
I bark out a laugh and jump off the bed now. “Arbor? Arbor, as in the girl Charlie and I grew up with and who I think of as a sister? Yeah, love the girl, but not a single thought about her goes in that direction.”
Noelle’s face turns pink again, and she gives me a crooked smile. “Oh, okay, well you never know. You’ve known me for years. Like a sister?—”
“I definitely do not think of you as a sister. You and I are … different. And as far as other girls … don’t even think about it. For as long as you need me to be your boyfriend, I’m yours.” I sit back down on the bed and take her hands in mine. “But I feel like I need to do this all official-like, you know?”
A smile breaks across her face. “Official?”
“Yeah, I mean, we have to have our story straight, right?”
Am I gonna milk this for all I can? You bet your ass I am.
I drop down on my knees, open my arms, and make a big show of my proposal. “Noelle James, will you be my fake girlfriend?”
“Casey King, I would be honored to be your fake girlfriend.”
She giggles, then shoves me over with her foot. On my way down, I grab her by the hip and pull her on top of me, rolling her over beneath me. My hands run up her sides, and I start tickling her without mercy.
Her laugh—it’s the sweetest music I’ve ever heard.
When she showed up tonight, it was with a frown and that invisible wall she always keeps up. But now, in my arms, wriggling and squealing with laughter, she’s completely alive. Trying to escape yet loving every second of it. I admire the beauty beneath me, at the way I’m the one who put that smile on her face.
“Okay, so that went better than I’d expected it to,” she says as she catches her breath, her hair spilled across the carpet and her hand on her chest. “I thought you might be irritated that I threw that out like that.”
I roll my head to look at her. “Irritated? Yeah, no. Am I pissed that that fucker is following you around? Yep. Am I gonna do something about it? Also yep.” I huff a laugh.
“Casey, no. Leave it alone. You aren’t risking your position on the team for this.” She shakes her head.
“Nah, I won’t. I promise. But for the foreseeable future, I’ll be walking you to and from classes as much as I can. And if I can’t, I’ll make sure someone else can.”
“You don’t have to go above and beyond.”
I lift up on my elbow and peer down at her. “Hell yeah, I will. If you’re my girl, then you’re getting the full Casey King treatment.”
I mean, this is gonna be fun. I’m gonna ride it for as long as it takes to make her see that this can be real.
CHAPTER
EIGHT
NOELLE
True to his word,Casey has walked me to and from class as much as he can. And I’ve only seen Trey from a distance. I can’t say he’s following me or if he just happens to be in the same place at the same time. Still suspect. If Casey can’t be with me, one of the guys from the team or his sister and her friends—or I guess my friends too—meet me. I hate interrupting their schedules, but Casey won’t accept anything else right now with Trey still lingering around.
He runs my class pickup schedule the way Charlie keeps the weekly cooking calendar. Apparently, the Kings like to make lists.
As far as the amount of time we’re spending together … yeah, it’s more than usual. And that’s saying something because we’ve always been around each other. But now it’s different. I notice things—how his eyes crinkle when he smiles, how he always remembers the smallest details, like the way I take my tea or the fact that I hate Tuesdays. I used to think of him as just my best friend. Safe, familiar. But lately … he feels like more. And I think—no, Iknow—I like it. The problem is, I know it’s fake. He’sputting on a show in case Trey or one of his baseball buddies sees us around—which they have, and I’m sure they’re reporting back. It seems to be working because Trey has left me alone.
Tomorrow is Casey’s first football game, so we’re staying in tonight. It’s an early game, so he needs to chill as much as possible and definitely get a good night’s sleep.
Charlie and I made dinner together for the guys. We made salad and pasta, and there wasn’t a noodle left. I thought Archie and Liam could eat a lot, but they have nothing on Silas. That boy can pack it in.
Casey and Bo are on kitchen cleanup duty, so I’m waiting for him in his room. I brought my stuff for a facial tonight because I haven’t had a chance to get one recently and it’s definitely time.
Casey’s bathroom isn’t connected to his room, and he shares it with Bo and Silas, but surprisingly, it’s pretty clean. Casey’s probably the messiest out of the three, but he seems to keep it to his room. His closet specifically. I think his entire wardrobe is on the floor in there.
While I can’t do my entire routine, I can accomplish what I need to do. And this isn’t the first time Casey has seen me in a mask. I grab the little bag I brought over and set it on the bed. I’m pulling out my face wash and mask cream when he walks into the room.
