The Stand-In Boyfriend (Grove Valley High #1)(12)

“Okay, so…bye,” I mumble before turning in the direction of the school building.

“Wait.” He reaches out his hand and grips my arm, halting me in place.

I turn back to him in surprise.

“I had this idea.”

I raise an eyebrow at him expectantly as a grin spreads across his face. “Yeah?” I ask after a couple of seconds of him not saying anything.

“You have to promise to hear me out.”

“Huh?”

“Say you won’t just dismiss the idea and will actually think about it.”

“Um…” This is getting weird. “Okay?”

He grins wider. “We should totally pretend to date.”

I let out a snort of surprise and expect him to break out into laughter any second, but he doesn’t. He just stares back at me, cocking his head to the side with that same smirk on his face. I blink. “Sorry, what?”

“You heard me.”

“You think we should pretend to date?”

“Yup.”

“What? I mean, what are you…are you being—I mean…” I pause, trying to stop my thoughts from tripping over themselves. “I don’t get it.”

“Think about it: you’re cut up about Stephenson, right?” I feel myself blush but don’t bother denying it. There’s really no point now. “Can’t understand it myself, but to each their own.”

“Hey, you don’t know—”

He waves a hand, dismissing me. “Anyway, the dude has a hard-on for me, so it would definitely get his attention if he thought we were dating.”

My jaw falls open. He’s not wrong, but I still can’t believe he’s openly saying he knows Jessie has some weird man crush on him.

“And I’m being serious when I say I’m done with Abigail. I have been for ages, and I won’t change my mind. If she thinks I’m with you, she’ll back off and I can concentrate on soccer.”

“You’re not serious?”

“Hell yes I am. The playoffs are coming up and I don’t need any of her drama distracting me. All we have to do is pretend to date for a couple of months. We’ll make sure Stephenson actually notices you for once, and it’ll get Abigail off my back until she moves on with someone else. It’s a win-win.”

I just stand there gaping at him.

“What do you think?”

It takes me a couple of attempts before I’m able to speak. I’ve never heard anything more ludicrous in my life. “You’re crazy.”

“It’s a great idea.”

I shake my head. “You’re insane.”

“It’s the perfect solution, Chapman.”

“No one is ever going to believe you and I are dating.”

“Why not?” he asks, sounding affronted.

I roll my eyes and shake my head again. Is he being serious? Chase Mitchell dating Livy Chapman? Not in a million years.

“Come on, Chase.”

“Give me one good reason,” he demands.

I sigh, my eyes glancing past him. Sure enough, even me just talking to Chase in the parking lot is garnering attention from those on their way into school. He attracts attention at all times. He’s Mr. Popular, and I’m…me. “We don’t even know each other.”

“Well, we got along fine when we played soccer together in elementary school.”

I let out a snort of laughter. “We were ten years old. We haven’t talked since!”

He shakes his head dismissively. “We have too.”

“Chase, seriously, this is a ridiculous idea. Nobody is going to believe you’re dating me.”

“Why not?” he demands again.

I shake my head. He can’t seriously believe people would actually buy that Chase Mitchell, future soccer superstar and all-around big man on campus would be in a relationship with me. I mean, I’ve never even dated anyone before—like, ever. Sophie tried setting me up a couple of years ago and it was a disaster. I could barely bring myself to be alone with the guy, let alone let him touch me. As far as I’m concerned, if I can’t have Jessie, I’m not interested in anyone else. “Because I’m not your type,” I tell him. “You could get with any girl at this school. No one’s going to believe that, out of everyone, you chose me.”

“Don’t put yourself down,” he tells me sharply, and for a second I’m frozen by the intense look in his eyes. He’s being deadly serious.

“All I’m saying is if you want to date someone else in order to get Abigail to leave you alone, you won’t have any problems. I’m pretty sure you can get someone to date you for real.” It’s probably the biggest understatement I’ve ever uttered. Chase will have girls lining up to date him.

“I don’t want to date someone for real,” he tells me.

“What?”

He rolls his eyes like I’m not getting it—and I’m not. “Look, I don’t want to start dating someone new and put tons of effort in. I just want someone who can pretend to be with me and keep Abigail at bay while I focus on soccer. If I stay single, she’ll keep trying, but an actual girlfriend would be too complicated. You and I can just hang out until she gets the message.”