Page 14 of The Fake Date Agreement

“The ex,” Reid says.

I shrug and get to my feet, picking up my sandals from the bench. “Break up with him, I guess. But tomorrow. I can’t see him tonight. I should probably?—”

“And?” Reid prompts.

“And what?”

“Payback.” Reid’s eyes glisten with intensity.

“What?” I instinctively back up. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You need payback.”

“What I need is to go home, put these clothes in the hamper or burn them, and go to bed.” I turn around, but Reid steers me back.

“Nuh-uh. What happened tonight demands retribution.”

I blink up at him. “What?”

“The guy needs punishment.”

I appreciate him taking my side like this, but…

“It wasn’t all that bad. I mean?—”

“He cheated and humiliated you. You fell on piss.”

“But it doesn’t smell.” Reid blinks at me, and I literally hate myself for what just came out of my mouth. I sigh. “Look. Nothing I try would work. He was clearly screwing her behind my back all along. He probably wanted me to find out. So now I know he no longer needs to go behind my back and that’s that. He doesn’t care.”

“So we make him care,” Reid declares.

I blink. “About me?”

“About you.”

“And how do we do that?”

“By making him rue the day he let you go. We’ll have him begging on his knees to take you back.”

I peer over my shoulder in case another girl snuck up behind me while I wasn’t paying attention.

“But we have practice,” Caleb says, frowning. “The big game is weeks away. We don’t have time for distractions.”

“Dude, the game is important, but it’s not the only thing that matters.”

“I missed a shot I should have made in my sleep. Ineedpractice.”

“And she just had her heart broken.” A stubborn edge creeps into Reid’s relaxed tone.

“Uh, I should go,” I say when they glare at each other.

“Don’t go anywhere,” Reid says with a smile. “This is how we figure things out.” He turns back to Caleb. “Can you get off the ice for five minutes so we can talk about this?”

“Five minutes.” Caleb skates to the side of the rink, glancing at me before he switches his skates for his sneakers.

Reid, Javier, and Caleb form a huddle.

“We have to do something,” Reid says in a loud whisper.

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