The Way to Game the Walk of Shame(20)

With an admiring grin, I gave Taylor a slow round of applause. “Nicely done.”

She let out an unsteady sigh and shrugged. “I can handle a couple of girls. So don’t worry. I have to get to class.”

“Taylor—” I let out a loud sigh and banged my forehead against my locker after she left. Well, she just took the fun out of messing with her. Where was the sarcastic spitfire who was here seconds ago? I definitely would have preferred her pissed and hissing at me over sad and defeated any day.

A hand slammed against the locker next to me, making me jump back. “Dude, what’d you do to your new girlfriend? Don’t tell me you kicked her to the curb already?”

I pulled on my ears to make them stop ringing. “No, we’d have to be something first in order for me to kick her to the curb.”

Aaron winced. “Ouch. So you’re just going to pretend nothing happened? Damn, that’s harsh, dude. Even for you. No wonder the Ice Queen looked like she was bawling when I passed her.”

“Her name’s—” I turned to stare at him. “Wait, was she really crying?”

He rubbed his chin. “I don’t know. I mean, her head was down, so maybe? I do feel bad for her, though. A bunch of people are hating on her a bit,” he said with a shrug.

“Really?” I hadn’t heard anything. But then I never paid attention to what other people said. I thought back to the past couple of days. Those jerks in the cafeteria and the snotty girls just now. Maybe that was the real reason Taylor wanted to pretend to be dating. And why she was nagging me so much about it. I didn’t actually understand what she meant when she said she wanted to save her “reputation,” but maybe I should have asked instead of just laughing at her.

“Yeah, but you know how girls can get sometimes. All emotional and bitchy. Especially with each other. It’s probably a good thing that you’re blowing her off then, right? Just in case she goes crazy on you.” His booming laughter echoed through the hall. “Dodged a bullet there. Believe me, having a real girlfriend is hard.”

I couldn’t laugh with Aaron. Hell, I could barely focus on him at all. All I saw was Taylor’s disappointed face in my mind. Wide, sad brown eyes that glittered like the sea at night and defeated shoulders that made her look small and helpless. “Did you hear anything else?”

Aaron shrugged and looked uncertain. “There was also some talk in the locker room earlier about who could get her into bed next, but you know how those douche bags can be. That’s why I don’t want to officially be on the team. Spending too much time with them will kill my love for football. And life.”

My hands curled into fists at my side at the thought of those punks laughing at Taylor. “We have to go.”

“Where are we going?”

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and started dragging him down the hall. “To the locker room to have a talk with some idiots and kick their asses. You’re going to tell me exactly who said what.”

*

“All right, you crazy girl, I’ll do it.” Even though I had made my decision once Aaron told me what was going on, I still couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of my mouth.

Taylor stared at me and then around the room as though she wasn’t sure this was real. That I was actually standing at her front door. Cookie crumbs were dusted all over her lips, while Oreo wagged his tail and scampered around our feet. “Uh, what?”

I pushed my way inside and pulled the stupid contract out of my back pocket. “I said I’ll be your boyfriend.”

Her brown eyes widened in shock. “Really? I mean, seriously? You’re saying yes?”

God, how many times was she going to make me say it? My hand scrawled a large, messy signature on the bottom line before I handed it over to her. “Yeah.” I couldn’t help but chuckle at the shocked look on her face and the way she clutched the sheets as though I’d take them back. It almost made my idiotic decision worth it. Almost. “I thought you’d be ecstatic that you’re finally getting your way.”

“I am, but…” Taylor stared down at the paper in her hands. “I didn’t really think you’d agree to this.”

To be honest, I hadn’t thought I would, either. Still, I had nothing better to do—or rather, no one better to date—at the moment, so I had nothing to lose. Besides, I felt sorry for Taylor. And a fierce need to protect her. Like I told the jerks in the locker room, she wasn’t someone any of them should mess with. Not if they didn’t want to face the consequences. It only took a couple of punches at an empty locker for them to realize I was serious. I rubbed my sore knuckles against my palm. “Who knows? Maybe it’ll be fun.”

“Fun?” She repeated the word slowly, like she’d never heard of it before.

“Yeah, fun.” I leaned back against the open doorframe, since she hadn’t exactly invited me in. “It’s what Webster’s Dictionary describes as a way to make life enjoyable? Like if I wanted to have fun, I’d go to the beach, while your idea of fun would be to spend all weekend in the library polishing your pens and laminating your homework.”

A glint appeared in her eyes, and she mimicked my stance, leaning against the wall facing the door. “But now that we’re dating, that means you’re going to have to come to the library with me.”