Page 102 of Trust Me Always

Suddenly, there’s a hard chest at my back and I tense.

Alister is my height, so when I look over my shoulder, I don’t have to tilt my head up to meet his eyes like I do with Brady.

“What are you doing?” I rasp.

His hands finds my hips, and I drop my gaze to my sock-covered feet. “Cameron,” he whispers, his forehead falling to the back of my head. “Am I too late?”

For what?I want to ask. Isn’t it obvious he’s too late? He thinks I’m dating Brady. Should that not answer his question?

He doesn’t know we’re fake. That all the times Brady and I have kissed, Brady felt nothing.

I mean,wefelt nothing.

Fuck, I can’t think with him so close.

I spin, pressing my arms to his chest.

The door swings open and my head snaps left, eyes locking on a pair of brown ones.

Brady freezes there, anoomphsounding behind him, followed by laughter.

“Brady, what the heck,” Ari chuckles. “Move.”

He doesn’t move. His eyes move from mine to my hands. I look down too, realizing they are still plastered to Alister’s chest.

He’s still holding on to my waist.

I tear away and fly backward so fast I nearly slip, catching myself on the counter behind me.

Ari snakes around Brady then, smiling until she looks this way. Her face falls.

“Oops,” she mutters, but then her keen eyes take in the scene, narrowing as she looks between us all.

I don’t know what the fuck she sees because I can’t even figure out what I see.

“Hi,” I say lamely. “We were working on our class project.”

Brady nods, his expression smoothing out to one of impassiveness, and I decide I hate that look on him. He looks away, not acknowledging Alister at all, and walks into the space. He sets a few bags down on the counter and turns back for the door.

“I was just carrying these up,” he says, his hand on the doorknob. He takes a step, and panic flares in my gut, my stomach sucking in, but then he stops.

I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding when he looks over.

His grin is instant. “Call me when you’re ready for our date.”

My brows snap together, and he yanks his head forward, breaking eye contact as he walks out, closing the door softly behind him.

Date?

We don’t have any plans tonight…

It hits me then: He only stopped to say something to keep up the façade, because it would be weird if a boyfriend saw another man—an ex at that—in his girl’s dorm room and just left without a word.

He had to say something, or the ruse would be over.

He didn’t care that Alister was in here alone with me or that he saw me with my hands on the man’s chest.

I mean, why would he?

---