Page 66 of A Little Jaded

“The problem is…” Reeves sighs. “I already agreed to help her, and?—”

“What?”

“It was before I started dating Dylan,” he rushes out. “But it isn’t like the”—Reeves glances at Raine and grimaces—“currentsituation. This one is pretty straightforward. A simple, one-time favor.”

I groan. “Not interested.”

“Come on, man. Please,” he begs. “Remember the puppy? The one from the photoshoot with Dylan a while back?”

I search my memory for a puppy when it hits me. A little while ago, Dylan and Reeves were partners for a photography project. He brought a puppy to the photoshoot. Not sure what it has to do with our current conversation, but I lift a shoulder. “Yeah? What about it?”

“Well, I borrowed it from a friend in exchange for being her plus-one to a wedding.”

“So?”

“So, I kind of forgot about it, and the wedding is next week.”

I shake my head. “Not my problem.”

“Come on, man. What about Dyl?” He grabs my jacket, tugging me closer as a pair of drunk girls stumble down the hall toward the bathroom. Once we’re alone again, he lets me go, adding, “I’m not going out with someone else even if it’s purely platonic.”

“Yeah, well neither am I,” I argue. “If Drake sees me with someone other than Raine?—”

“He won’t,” Reeves promises. “The wedding isn’t even anywhere close to Cedar Springs, I swear, and there aren’t any jealous exes and shit, either. It’ll be easy. She only needs a date to get her parents off her back.”

“Like I said, not my problem.”

“Come on. This is the last one. I swear.”

The last one. As in, the last favor I’ll owe him. And even though I want to tell him to go to Hell, I know it’ll only hurt Dylan in the long run.

“Come on, man,” Reeves repeats. “Please?”

My nostrils flare, but I concede anyway. “After this, I’m done. We clear?”

“Ollie!” Dylan calls. “You coming or what?”

“Coming, Pickles!” Turning back to me, Reeves slaps my shoulder. “We should find a circle.”

“I’ll catch up,” I tell him. As he disappears down the hall, I look at Raine, wishing I could read her mind. “You sure you’re still good with this?”

“Good with what?” she challenges. “You going on a date with a random girl? Yup. We’re here to play, remember? And worst-case scenario, we fake it, right?”

With a soft pat to my chest, she slips past me, grabs a shot of something from one of the freshmen, tosses it back, and lets the burn out with a slow breath through pursed lips. Part of me wants to ask if she needed the liquid courage to get through tonight’s game or if it’s because she might see Drake.Orif it’s because she doesn’t like the idea of me going out with someone else. Does it bother her? Should I even ask? Is it my place? I don’t fuckin’ know. Not when our entire relationship is based on a lie. Based on a ruse. One meant to get her ex off her back.

Feeling my stare, Raine gives me a fake smile and steals another shot from a freshman.

Unable to bite my tongue, I point out, “I thought you didn’t like shots.”

“I don’t.” She tosses it back, then gives me a sickly sweet smile. “Let’s get this over with.”

I grab her arm and push her back against the wall behind her, pressing my hands to either side of her head.

“Is there a problem?” she challenges.

I lean closer, consuming her space the same way she’s consumed my thoughts since the moment we met. “You mad at me, Stormie?”

She wets her lips, her brows bunching. “Stormie?”

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