Page 46 of Play Your Part

“Want to keep watching? I don’t have a media interview until ten, and it’ll be better if I look wrecked for that anyway.”

She rolled her eyes, but her smile remained. “You won’t even have to imply we’re banging then.”

I swallowed hard, fixing a neutral expression to hide what those words did to me.Christ. I needed to get a grip.

Kennedy wasn’t having the same dilemma as me. She easily drew the line between what was real and what was for show. She also continued to remind me she wasn’t interested in me, despite our clear chemistry. Maybe all I could hope for was a temporary friendship, moments like last night when we could have fun together as we finished out this charade. I was in no shape for a relationship anyway, and I had a sneaking suspicion Kennedy had trouble with casual.

Kennedy’s long eyelashes fluttered, pulling me out of my memories of last night. I forced my eyes shut.

“Oh shit,” she muttered as she stirred against my chest and pushed herself off me.

I pretended to wake up for the first time. “What’s wrong?”

“I… didn’t mean to fall asleep here.”

“It’s fine,” I said as I stretched. The arm Kennedy had lain on was asleep, but I refused to shift, liking the feel of her on me too damn much. She didn’t move quickly enough to disguise her watching of me. She sat frozen, mouth parted, eyes focused on a small, visible sliver of skin on my stomach that had been revealed by the movement. Dammit if it didn’t feel good knowing Kennedy liked what she saw of me, even if she wouldn’t admit it. She didn’t hide it last night, either, when she barged into my room and saw me without a shirt for the first time.

The reminder would never get old.

“It helps our story anyway, right?” I added. “People expect us to stay the night with each other.”

Kennedy cleared her throat, shifting her eyes to the wall. “Uh, yeah. I guess.”

“I’ve got to get to the arena. You can hide up here until Zach and I leave.”

She scoffed. “I don’t need to hide.”

I raised an eyebrow and challenged her. “You sure?”

Kennedy hopped out of bed. “Yes. I’ll go make coffee while you get ready.”

Warmth filled my chest. It took only one night with Kennedy to remind me of what I’d always wanted and never found. A simple relationship. Someone to share my life with. To wake up to in the morning, with a feeling of gratitude that they existed and chose me. Someone to do normal life stuff with, like eat breakfast and tell stories about our days.

“What? Do you not want me to touch your coffee machine or something?” she asked, watching me, her eyebrows pulled together in concern.

I shook my head.This is fake.I was starting to conflate my feelings of loneliness with desire for her. I barely knew her, and we werepretendingto date, for fuck’s sake. What was wrong with me? “No, it’s fine. I’ll… see you downstairs.”

Kennedy stared in concern for a beat before leaving the room. I watched as she went because I was only human after all. She left the door ajar, so I could hear Zach’s long strand ofoohsas she descended the stairs. That kid had zero chill. Curiosity launched me out of bed. I wanted to hear Zach and Kennedy’s conversation. I threw on a sweatshirt before following her.

Apparently, I also had zero chill.

“Look who’s making a walk of shame this morning,” Zach said.

“Shut up,” Kennedy answered. I perched on the top step like a goddamn creep. “He’s my boyfriend, you know.”

Boyfriend. The word gripped my heart like a vise. This ten-day road trip couldn’t come soon enough. I needed a break from Kennedy before I lost my mind.

Even if I could win her over, she deserved better than what I could offer. And it wasn’t like she would be the person I needed either. We couldn’t hide in true crime documentaries and barbs forever. A relationship meant sharing, and she didn’t want to share. Hell, I didn’t want to share either. We had a no-go topic list for a reason. Violating those terms last night led directly to this morning’s conundrum. Never again.

A clanging sound rang out from the kitchen. “Yeah, but you never stay here.”

“We just started dating.” Kennedy sighed loudly. “Ugh, this isn’t your business.”

“Ayou’re welcomewouldn’t hurt, you know? I’m the reason you came over last night.”

“If you don’t shut up, I’m going to be the reasonyouhave a black eye.”

I walked down the stairs, stomping my feet louder than usual to signal my presence. “So violent,” I said. “Should I expect this every morning?”

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