Page 3 of The Sound Of Silence

I whip off my gloves and helmet, raising an eyebrow before attempting to avoid it one last time. “Do I get to stay home if I say I’mnotready?” I ask with a fake smile.

Pippa rolls her eyes as she folds her arms across her chest. She’s used to my shit, and she doesn’t care for it. “Nope,” she says popping thep. “You owe me.”

Dammit. Worth a shot.

Ignoring her for a second, I lose the grin as I move toward my gear in silence, dropping onto the bench seat with a thud. When I’ve made myself comfortable, I sigh in resignation. “Give me twenty minutes, but you better have snacks.”

“Oh trust me, I have snacks. And music. And road trip games.”

My eyes flash to hers as my scowl deepens. “You better be joking about the games.”

Pippa laughs as she backs away. “We’ll see,” she says, throwing her hands in the air as she spins, full of her usual sass.

My head falls back, and I huff out a wary laugh.

What the hell am I getting myself into?

Thirty minutes later, we’re on the road, and I already regret it.

Pippa and I have known each other since my first year playing for San Francisco's hockey team, but only became friends after I saved her from an awkward situation on a team night out. She told me she owed me one, or two, and I’ve kind of been taking advantage of that over the years. The number of media requirements she’s gotten me out of is higher than I care to admit. But…it’s safe to say, the tables turned back in her favor a long time ago, and now she’s cashing in.

“My dad’s very excited to meet you,” she says after we’ve been driving for an hour. “He’s going to die when you step up to do your speech.”

Yet another thing I reluctantly agreed to.

We’re on our way to Pippa’s hometown to celebrate her hockey-loving dad’s retirement as the school principal. Apparently it’s a big deal, and since Pippa hasn’t been home in years, she wanted company and a date. Actually, date’s the wrong word. I’m her fakefuckingboyfriend.

“Now that this is happening, are you finally going to tell me what’sreallygoing on?” I ask to stop myself from thinking about the speech.

“Yes, thank you for agreeing to this almost blindly by the way.”

I stare at the side of her face and roll my eyes. “You didn’t really give me a choice. I owed you,remember?”

“True, but I did sweeten the deal by setting up the clinic.” She flashes me her best smile before setting her eyes back on the road, taking a deep breath as her happiness slips away. This is part of the reason I agreed “blindly” as she called it. Because I knew there was more to it, and considering she’s one of only a few people that I actually care about, I couldn’t say no.

No matter how badly I wanted to.

But I didn’t make it easy on her. In fact, I think my exact words were, “What the actual fuck? Why would youpossiblyneed me to be your boyfriend?” Which leads us to now.

“I do appreciate the clinic. It gives me something to look forward to. But I need to know why we’re really here.” I ran my first clinic for disadvantaged children a few months ago, and loved being able to give back. It’s the only way you’ll get me to do anything outside of playing hockey. But I don’t love everything else that goes with this week. “I need something more, Pippa.”

Pippa sighs and her shoulders drop. “Fine.”

“Fine?” I throw back. “Sorry I’m forcing you to tell me why I’m playing the role of your fake boyfriend when I hate people, I hate road trips, and I don’t do relationships.”

“Okay. Jeez. It’s just not easy for me to talk about my past. You of all people should understand that.”

Fuck, I hate that she’s right. I don’t talk about my past. Ever. That shit’s behind me for a reason. “I still need to know.”

Pippa nods. “Well, as I mentioned, it’s been a while since I went home. I’ve been so busy. And Iwantto see my family. Well, most of them anyway. But—”

“Pippa. I don’t need your life story.”

“God, you’re annoying.”

“Right back at you. Now, go.”

“I’mtrying.Anyway, long story short, my older sister and I don’t get along, I think I told you that part, but what I didn’t tell you was that we don’t get along because she’s engaged to my ex, and she’s organizing Dad’s retirement celebration, so I wanted to rub my happiness in her face and one-up her by getting you to do a speech.”

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