Page 77 of Make the Play

“I don’t even know if they did, Jake.”

He lets out a breath through his nose, sharp but not loud. “You came here instead of going home, Zo. That tells me everything I need to know.”

“I just—I didn’t want to be alone.”

His mouth opens like he’s going to say something else, but instead shakes his head and sets my tea down in front of me.

“It was probably nothing,” I mumble.

Jake crouches a little so he’s closer to eye level, arms resting loosely on his knees. “You don’t get toprobablyyour safety, Zoe. You were scared—that’s enough.”

I glance away as my eyes start to burn.

Charlie leans in and rubs my back in slow circles, her voice soft. “You should tell him. He’ll want to know.”

I blow out a breath. “I don’t want to make it a thing.”

“It’s already a thing,” Jake says, gentler this time. “You’re his girlfriend, Zoe. You think he wouldn’t want to know someone’s creeping on you?”

“I don’t want to freak him out,” I reason. “It’s probably just some random fan being weird. He already has enough to deal with.”

“And what if it’s not just some random fan?”

I don’t answer.

Jake stands after a moment and nods his chin toward the stairs. “Guest room’s made up. Sheets are clean. You’re staying here tonight, don’t argue.”

“I wasn’t going to,” I mutter.

He walks over to the front door, checking the lock again even though I know he already did it when I got here. The thought crosses my mind that he’s doing it for my benefit, that he wants me to see that I’m safe.

“You need to tell him,” he says quietly as he turns toward the stairs.

I wrap my hands around the mug and nod. “I’ll tell him tomorrow, okay?”

He glances over his shoulder at me, face softening as his eyes flit to Charlie and back. “You got it, Zo.”

He disappears up the stairs, leaving Charlie and me alone in the quiet. I exhale and finally take a sip of the tea. It’s sweet and a little too strong, exactly how Jake makes it.

“God,” I mutter, sinking further into the cushions. “Is he always this much of a protective green flag, or did I just get the deluxe guest edition?”

Charlie snorts, curling her legs beneath her and resting a hand on her bump. “That’s just Jake. One part dad mode, one part human security blanket. Especially for people he cares about.”

I shake my head, the corners of my mouth twitching despite everything. “You’d thinkIwas carrying his lineage the way he’s acting.”

Charlie looks at me, warm and a little too knowing. “You do realize you’re dating someone who’d be exactly the same way if he knew.”

“Fake,” I tack on, correcting her. “Fake dating.”

My throat tightens anyway, though, because I know it’s true. Chase would respond the exact same way Jake has. But what he and Charlie have is a real, pure love. And what Chase and I have isn’t. It’s an act.

“Fake dating or not,” she adds softly as if she’s reading my mind, “Chase caring about you is very, very real.”

Chapter seventeen

You trying to get tased?

Chase

---