Page 56 of A Little Crush
“I’m like five years older than you,” I point out.
“One,” Griffin corrects. “But close.”
“Besides, age is just a number, baby,” Crowther returns with a smirk that somehow rides the line between making me want to laugh and run in the opposite direction at the same time. Seriously, though. Who is this guy?
“You forget Rory’s dating someone,” Jaxon growls.
Surprise paints Reeves’ and Griffin’s expressions as they turn back to me. “You’re dating someone?”
“See? I knew she was too good to be true,” Crowther chimes in.
My jaw drops as my attention shifts from one person to the next. But seriously. What is happening right now?
“Who are you dating, Squeaks?” Griffin asks me.
Okay, this is bad. Very bad. It’s not like I honestly thought there was zero a percent chance of everyone finding out about my little white lie. But after the wedding ended and everyone went on their merry way, I guess I assumed I’d gotten away with it scot free. Now here I am. Hello, rock. Hello, hard place.
Shifting Poppy to face me, I stutter, “Well, I mean, uh?—”
“She’s dating Dodger,” Jaxon answers for me. Clearly, he’s given up on his conversation with Everett and is fully invested in outing me to the rest of the world as he moves closer to where I’m still standing.
Griffin’s eyes pop. “You’re dating Dodge?”
Panic spreads through me like a virus, making me feel like my tongue’s grown ten times its normal size despite knowing it’s from my own stupid lie. The problem is that the more people who know, the more people who can ask questions, and it’s not like I can keep Dodger locked into a fake relationship forever. The longer it goes on, the higher the odds of my lie unraveling. But how the hell do I backpedal now?
Wiping my sweaty palm against my thigh, I stutter, “Well, no, I?—”
“Wait, you’renotdating Dodger?” Jaxon interrupts. His face is red, and his brows are pulled low as he folds his arms over his broad chest, scrutinizing me.
“Hold up.” Ice sprays against the half wall separating me from everyone as Everett stops short in front of me. “Since when are you dating Dodger? Does Raine know about this?”
Raine? Right. Dodger’s sister and Everett’s wife. Yup. It would definitely make sense for her to know about this.
“Maybe there’s hope for me after all,” Crowther quips.
Everyone’s attention turns to me as I stand on numb legs, playing out every potential scenario without finding a single one that won’t blow up in my face. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve never been one for the spotlight, but this? This is an entirely new level of torture, and I have no idea how to get it out of it. Besides, Dodger promised me a week of fake dating, not a lifetime. What if the paparazzi take a photo of Dodger and his flavor of the day? Then, the guys will all come out swinging, and he’ll be painted as a cheater, and I didn’t even think about Dodger keeping Raine in the dark on our fake relationship. There’s no way he’d do that, would he? What if he?—
“Rory?” Jaxon pushes.
Okay, this is bad. This is very, very, very bad.
Is he onto me? I think he’s onto me. Actually, I think they’re all onto me.
Abort! Abort!
“I, uh, Dodger and I broke up,” I lie. “It wasn’t super serious anyway, and he’s a rockstar, so…yeah. We’re just friends.”
Pinning me with a stare I can feel in my bones, Jaxon demands, “Since when?”
“So, what do you say?” Crowther asks, ignoring his coach’s interrogation. “Want to be my date?”
My attention ping-pongs from one person to the next. “I, uh…”
“What if I take you out for a drink tonight and then you can see how you feel?” Crowther offers.
But I don’t answer. I’m too busy trying not to crumble under Jaxon Thorne’s impenetrable gaze.
“She’s working,” he snaps.
