The Way to Game the Walk of Shame(25)

He peered out the window. “A lot. But the important number is that only one other person has ever worn this. And that’s you.”

My heart fluttered a bit at this revelation. I was surprised that he would go to such lengths just to prove to people that we were dating.

Evan brought me back to the present when he tightened the scarf around my neck for me. “Ready?”

I snapped out of my stupor, and his door was half open. Already people were circling his car, trying to peer inside. I knew the windows were tinted, but I didn’t know if they could see me. Not that it mattered, since that was the point of this whole scheme.

It was now or never. I fingered the long chain, tracing the tiny links with my fingertips. It was cool and oddly comforting around my neck. “Let’s do this.”





8

{Taylor}


To say that we caused a bit of a commotion was putting it lightly. People actually stopped in their tracks as we walked down the hall together, hand in sweaty hand.

I am embarrassed to admit that the sweaty hand was mine. I’d been in front of crowds before, but it was usually at award ceremonies, where people barely paid attention to me. They were just glad to get out of class for an hour.

Everyone was definitely on full alert now. Although part of the staring might be because they’d never seen Evan early for school before.

It’s like the dream where you arrive at school naked, except I wasn’t. I even looked down to make sure my jeans were zipped. Yep, up and secure. I ducked my head down and self-consciously reached up to sweep my bangs out of my eyes, only to realize that my hand was still gripping Evan’s. Cheeks blazing, I dropped our hands like a hot potato.

Evan, however, didn’t even bat an eye at my awkwardness. In fact, he milked it for all that it was worth. He let go of my damp palm to brush my bangs out of my eyes for me. He even tucked a stray strand behind my ears before leaning in to kiss my cheek. You would have thought that pretending to be someone’s boyfriend was just a daily routine for him.

There was a loud gasp behind us.

His lips curved into a smile against my face before he grabbed my hand again. His eyes twinkled down at me with amusement. I would have laughed with him if I weren’t so nervous.

And just like that, I suddenly wasn’t anymore. Especially when his hand—which was formerly on my waist—drifted lower. Way lower.

I shot him a glare. “What are you doing?” I hissed.

“Just making sure we know where the boundaries are.” His hand zipped back up to my shoulders and hugged me to his side as he smothered his laughter. “Note taken.”

The crowd moved forward with us until we were in front of the lockers. Evan let go of me and knelt down to open his. I took the opportunity to wipe my hands on the side of my jeans. Everything I needed was already in my bag, so I just tried to look casual as I waited. Like there weren’t a bunch of students staring at us from every angle as if we were carnies at a circus. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Come see the nerd and the sex god!

The only person who was more natural than Evan was Carly. Her acting skills came into great use. “Hey, Reformed Rake,” she called out with a wink in my direction before giving him a high five.

Without missing a beat, he gave her a one-armed hug in greeting, like they were old friends. I noticed that she leaned into his muscled shoulder a few seconds longer than needed, though.

“Reformed Rake?” A confused expression crossed his face. “What does that mean?”

My face flushed, and I waved both hands at him. “Don’t worry about it. She’s crazy.”

Just then Mr. Peters walked passed us with a stack of folders in his arms. “Hello, Taylor. Carly.” He barely gave us a glance before he stopped short. He backed up a step and squinted at Evan like he didn’t understand what was going on. I don’t think anyone did. “Mr. McKinley. You’re … here. Before the bell.”

“I know, right? You’re not the only one who’s surprised.” Evan laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “But I couldn’t say no to Taylor. I mean, when she has her mind set on something, there’s nothing this girl can’t do.”

“Hmm.” Mr. Peters looked back and forth between the two of us a few times before shaking his head and walking away. “Well, it’s good to see you. All of you.”

I gave Evan a grateful smile. He didn’t know about my problems with Mr. Peters or how much anxiety I’d been going through prepping for the fair, yet somehow he made everything better. I guess he really wasn’t so bad after all.

He gave me a tiny wink like he knew what I was thinking. “I should head to homeroom. You’ll probably want to hang out with Carly a bit, right, babe?”

“Uh, right … honey,” I choked out the endearment as an afterthought, since it felt like he was waiting for something. “Meet you later for lunch?”

“Sure.”

I expected him to hug me or even kiss my cheek again before he left, but instead he patted my head like I was a pet who deserved a treat for being good. My embarrassment went supernova, and I glowered up at him. Looking very pleased with himself, Evan chuckled and tweaked the tip of my nose before leaving.

Carly waited until he was down the hall before clucking her tongue at me. “So he drove you to school? You didn’t tell me about this part of the plan last night.”