Page 51 of Sweetheart

"Hey, Kent," a voice said behind me.

My "just friends"backed away, but they didn't go far. Alexandria and Grayson weren't the only people watching either. I could see severalstudents and a few teachers had paused to watch the interaction between Sam and me.

This was it.

Phase one of the plan.

When I turned, I was ready, in the zone, the fake romance zone that is.

But then I got a look at Sam.He was smiling extra wide, and his eyes were round too, like a cartoon.My own expression nearly faltered, but I shook it off and stayed in character, as I rushed to close the gap between us. Keepingmy smile, I lowered my voice so only he could hear.

"What's wrong with your face?" I whispered.

"What do you mean?" Sam said, still smiling way too big.

"You look crazy.Stopthat."

"Do I?"

"Your teeth are blinding everyone in a mile radius," I gritted out. "For goodness sake, Bishop, tone it down a notch."

"But I'mreallyhappy to see you," he said.

With a sigh, I shook my head. "Too much, far too many teeth."

Sam's face went back to normal in the next breath. "This better?"

"Yes, much," I said.

"Hey, it was your idea to bust out the heart eyes," he said.

I lifted a brow. "I believe I said to look happy."

"Reallyhappy."

"Okay, but the goal is to convince people we're in love," I said, "not scare small children."

Sam laughed, but movement behind him caught my attention.Brisa was walking arm-and-arm with Cooper down the hall. They werecoming this way. My eyes widened, and I looked back at Sam with urgency.

"Pick me up and spin me around," I said.

"Huh?" Sam said.

I put my hands on his shoulders and tried not to shiver as his hands went around my waist in response.

Confession: The attempt failed.

"Brisa and Cooper at 12 o'clock," I whispered as pleasurable shivers raced up and down my spine. "Pick me up and spin me. Like we're reuniting after a longtime apart."

"You think that's realistic?"

"I think it's romantic."

Sam looked unconvinced.

"Come on, Bishop," I said quickly. "Spin me. They'realmost here.You're supposed to be my boyfriend.Right?"

He met my eyes and gave me a soft, genuine smile so unlike the one he'd been wearing before. "Anything for my girlfriend," he said.

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