Page 23 of Play Your Part

Gemma stared firmly at Matt’s profile. He kept his eyes on Kennedy and me, but there was no way he didn’t feel the weight of her attention.

“It’s fine,” I jumped in, wanting to save my friend from the wrath of his fiancée. “He’s not wrong.”

Matt pointed at me, triumphantly exclaiming, “Thank you. I thought I was the only one feeling this. But it’s freaking weird, right? You two were onSportsCenter.You’re still trending on Twitter.”

“That’s because Ward won’t stop talking about it.”

Kennedy’s eyes snapped to me. “He won’t? What has he said?”

I found it interesting Kennedy didn’t already know. She agreed to this charade to get his attention, probably to get back with him, and yet, she wasn’t monitoring everything he said about it.

“It’s a lot of the same. It’s better you don’t look.”

She nodded, though I didn’t doubt she would read all his comments later tonight.

“Anyone want to watch a movie?” Gemma asked, breaking the awkward moment. She rose from her seat, taking her plate into the kitchen. “Don’t worry, we can keep eating pizza.”

I took the seat on the couch furthest from the kitchen, giving myself a beat before I needed to turn my attention to Kennedy again. My physical reaction to Kennedy Cole should have helped me pull off this fake relationship, but instead, my thoughts were running wild. I had to get them under control. Thinking back to my first interactions with her, I hadn’t had this problem. The difference? We argued and weren’t pretending we were into each other.

I needed to get back to getting under her skin to keep her from getting under mine.

“Any preferences?” Gemma asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

She settled on the opposite end of the couch, leaving Kennedy with the choice to either sit next to me or take what should be Matt’s spot beside Gemma. With Matt’s skepticism about us, it wasn’t much of a choice. Kennedy sat next to me but left the kind of room kids leave between them and their first crush.

“Something with action?”

Gemma wiggled her eyebrows. “What kind of action, Volk?”

Kennedy sighed. “Just don’t make it a western.”

“What do you have against westerns?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Not my thing.”

“What is your thing?”

She paused a moment, likely determining whether to answer truthfully or not. “I like true crime. I’ll watch a documentary, a fictional retelling of the crime, interviews, any of it.”

Gemma blew out a breath. “We’re not watching one of your freaky documentaries, Kens. I’m sorry.”

Matt plopped down on the couch, shifting Kennedy in my direction. “Why not, babe? You know I’ll tell you when to open your eyes.”

“I’ve got a compromise,” Gemma said as she continued to flip through options. She landed on a movie about a woman on a crusade to avenge her friend, targeting skeezy guys.

As the movie went on, with Gemma’s words in my mind, I stepped up my game with Kennedy. First, I scooted closer until our legs touched from thigh to ankle. She sucked in a small breath at the contact and moved in her seat to free up some space for herself.

But I didn’t let her off the hook, only pushed into her space every time she moved away. Eventually, I slid one arm along the back of the sofa, close enough to play with her hair, my fingers brushing the skin on the back of her neck, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

Knowing this small bit of contact could unsettle her made me feel back in control.

Halfway through the movie, we stopped for a bathroom and snack break. Matt and Gemma headed upstairs, leaving me alone with Kennedy. She followed me to the kitchen, where I started to make one of those cookie sandwiches I saw her enjoy earlier.

“What are you doing?” Kennedy asked as she sidled up beside me at the kitchen counter. Her heavier-than-normal breathing pulled me from my task. When I turned to her, I noticed her cheeks were flushed.

“Getting something to ea—”

“No, I mean back there. With the…” She made a grabbing motion with both hands, implying I honked her breasts or ass, which I didn’t appreciate.

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