Page 88 of The Fake Date Agreement

Theo balls up a towel and lobs it at my head, then winces, straightens his arm, and rolls his shoulder. “Fuck, those drills were killer the other day.”

Someone throws a foam roller at him, and he grunts when it smacks him on the back of the head.

He twists around, scowling as he rubs his head. “Fuck you, Matthews!”

Lucky walks over to me. “How’s Caleb handling the enforced rest?”

“Only had three texts from him asking me to sneak him into the building the other day. Apparently, Coach deactivated his security pass. Nothing from him today, though, but he’s with Tobie.”

“On a date? Before the championships?”

I grin at him. “I know, right? I was expecting him to squeeze himself into my gym bag to get into the arena.”

Jase clears his throat. “I heard someone say your girl is friends with Max.”

A tense, awkward silence fills the locker room.

I get up, ready to hit the showers. “Uh, yeah.”

“So you’ve seen her?” Paxton asks.

“Briefly,” I say.

I’d been on my way to class when she’d warned me not to hurt Tobie. I told her I had no intention of hurting her. After a suspicious stare, she’d walked away.

I’m glad Tobie has a friend like Max to watch her back, but it couldn’t have been easy for Max to approach me at all.

Another silence stretches out.

“And has she said anything about?—”

“Probably best for everyone if we let that conversation die.” Coach steps into the locker room, scowling as his office door slams shut behind him.

That’s a warning if there ever was one.

His timing is suspect. Clearly, he was listening from his office next door.

“Sure thing, Coach.” I grab my towel and head for the showers.

No one says anything for a while, and after a few beats of silence, Coach Conner asks if anyone saw the football game, and the subject moves on.

I have seen Coach so pissed he was practically shaking, and it had everything to do with Maxine Ryan.

Chapter 22

Tobie

In class,I’m Tobie Myers. Quiet. Studious. One hundred percent focused on getting my work done.

I’m that outside of class as well. But ever since I agreed to this fake-date thing with Reid, Caleb, and Javier, people notice me.

I thought class would function as a sanctuary for me in the midst of all this un-Tobie-like behavior. From the stares I get during class, my two worlds are colliding.

Maybe I didn’t notice the attention before, or the rumor mill hadn’t yet kicked in about me dating three hockey players, but now I do.

Usually, I’m the first to arrive at class so it’s only when I’m leaving that I spot eyes fixated on me and people whispering as I pass them.

As I leave the classroom and walk down the hallway, Sasha Hall steps in front of me.

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