The Stand-In Boyfriend (Grove Valley High #1)(36)
My eyes find his and I know if I lean in even an inch, he’ll kiss me—it’s written all over his face. He knows this will get back to Abigail and cement our status as a couple. I’m tempted—so, so tempted—but then I see the ball out of the corner of my eye. Before Chase has a chance to blink I’ve spun away from him, accepted a pass from Jackson, skipped past another one of their teammates, and kicked the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.
I turn at the cheers, accepting congratulatory high fives from my team, and I find Chase still in the exact same spot, shaking his head while his teammates bitch at him for not stopping me. I wave at him, grinning wide as he starts laughing. My smile doesn’t budge.
By the time we finish, we’re all totally beat and have played way longer than our practice would usually go for, but it’s the good sort of ache I feel in my body. It tells me I’ve been working my ass off and gave the game my all. Plus, we won, and that always helps.
The crowd gathered has grown even more. The rest of the players who disappeared with Coach Simpson have returned and when the whistle finally sounds for the game to be over, I can’t hide my relief. I don’t know if we could have kept the lead with the level of intensity Hallie and Chase were starting to show. Tia runs over and high-fives me, and I can’t help my triumphant smile as Chase heads past me to the water station. We trudge off the field together, the boys splitting off to their locker rooms and us heading to ours. Sophie runs and catches up with me, falling into step at my side.
“That looked fun,” she tells me.
I grin. It was. It really, really was.
“And I don’t think you have to worry that no one will believe you and Chase are dating.”
I screw my face up in confusion.
She smirks back at me. “I mean, we all just saw your foreplay.”
She bursts out laughing at the look on my face and dodges out of the way before I can stick my leg out and trip her.
“YOU LOOK LIKE UTTER CRAP today.”
I look up and find Abigail leaning against the locker beside me.
“Hi, Abigail,” I say with a sigh. It’s not as though I haven’t been expecting this. Abigail is hardly known for her restraint, and she sees Chase as hers. I knew I was going to have to face her sooner or later now that we’ve gone public; I was just kinda hoping I wouldn’t be on my own when it happened.
“Seriously,” she continues, not acknowledging my greeting, “I’d be ashamed to leave my house looking like you do.”
I close my locker and turn to face her. I look the same as I do any other day. Yes, my hair could probably do with a wash, but my face is clear, my clothes are clean, and I look like every other student who walks these halls.
“Look, Abigail, I’m sorry you’re still into Chase and he’s dating me.” It feels weird to outright lie about our relationship to the person who is clearly so affected by it. “But you don’t need to talk to me like that.”
“You’re lucky I’m talking to you at all. You’re a nobody.”
“Why do you hate me so much?” I genuinely don’t get it. Until recently, our paths have never crossed, but I’ve always known she dislikes me, ever since we were freshmen.
“He’ll get bored,” she states with absolute certainty, completely ignoring my question. “There’s no way he’d pick a loser who’s spent years pining after her loser friend—much to my amusement, by the way—over me.”
This makes me stop in my tracks. Abigail knows I have feelings for Jessie? I suspected it before, but now she’s actually confirmed it. If she knows, everyone knows. We’re not the type of people to hit her radar unless something is totally obvious.
She sees the panic on my face and grins in delight. “Why don’t you do us both a favor and stop hitting way out of your league? Leave my boyfriend alone.”
“Pretty sure that’s an early sign of madness, calling someone your boyfriend who clearly isn’t.” I can’t help feeling relieved at the sound of Brendon’s voice. Aaron is beside him, glaring daggers at Abigail.
She startles at their presence but manages to maintain her composure. “What do you guys want?”
Brendon shrugs as Aaron steps closer, partially blocking Abigail’s view of me. I almost smile when I realize he’s trying to defend me from her—almost. I feel way too uncomfortable to actually be smiling right now.
“Just making sure you’re playing nice, Abbie,” Aaron tells her.
She glares at him and flicks her hair over her shoulder, glancing away like she’s completely bored. “Just making sure Livy knows what the deal is. I wouldn’t want her to be too upset when he comes crawling back.” Her eyes find mine. “He always comes crawling back.”
Aaron gives a big, exaggerated yawn. “She’s meeting his grandma.”
Abigail pales—actually, visibly pales. Chase just said it in passing yesterday, asked if I wanted to stop by his gran’s retirement home with him. It’s nearly two hours away, but he said he tries to go once a month and wouldn’t mind the company. The way he said it with a smile on his face made me think they’re close, way closer than he is to his parents, and the look on Abigail’s face right now confirms it.
“Say, did you ever meet Grandma Mitchell?” Brendon asks.