Page 53 of Stick With Me
It’s not until we’re inside, standing in the kitchen at the counter with glasses of water in hand, that I try to break the awkward silence between us. “Thanks again for the ride.”
“Don’t mention it.” He slides the glass back and forth across the counter between his hands. “So… It was a bad date?” he finally asks.
My gaze drifts down as I shake my head. “It was terrible.” Not only was it awful, but I also didn’t accomplish the reason I went on the date in the first place. “I didn’t even get a picture with him.”
When I look back up, Ryan’s eyes are already on me, his head tilted slightly to one side. “Why would you want a picture with him? I thought you weren’t even into him.”
“It was Natalie and Ada’s idea—to shove a new relationship in Jace’s face, like he did to me. Even if the relationship is just for show.” I feel my cheeks flush, but I admit, “I know it’s immature and maybe a little ridiculous, but… the thought of pissing him off gave me a perverse sense of joy.”
Long moments pass as Ryan stares at me, his expression unreadable. His lips press into a thin line before a huff of air escapes, and his deep laugh spurs my own.
“I didn’t think you had a malicious bone in your body, Sunshine,” he says between bouts of laughter, leaning over the counter as he tries to regain his composure.
I hide my face in my hands, but I shrug.
“So, you want to make him jealous by pretending you’ve moved on?” he asks, no longer trying to hide how much he’s enjoying this.
I admit it’s not my proudest moment, but if I’m going to come clean to anyone, it’s Ryan. He’s stuck with me through all my past questionable decisions, so I doubt this one will be any different. “Not jealous. Unsettled, angry, infuriated; that’s what I’m aiming for.”
“So, this isn’t about you wanting to get back with him?”
“No, of course not,” I say, and it’s the truth.
“And you’re done with the online dating experiment?”
“Definitely.”
He clears his throat. “Well then, who better to get under Knolls’ skin than me? I mean, he already thinks we’re dating. I’ll be your fake boyfriend.” The playfulness fades from his expression, and he looks at me like I’ll be doing him a favor if I agree.
I hold his gaze, searching for doubt, but I can’t find any. “I can’t ask you to do that. You’ve already dealt with enough of my drama.”
“I’m offering, Hannah.”
It would be the perfect solution, wouldn’t it? Faking it with Ryan would be easy. We’re already best friends. How hard could adding some romance to the mix be?Fake romance, I correct myself.Famous last words.
“Okay, but only if you’re sure?—”
“I’m sure,” he says, cutting me off.
“In that case… I have one more favor to ask?—”
“Anything.”
I laugh. “Don’t you want to hear what you’re agreeing to?”
He gives me a wide smile. “Sure, let's hear it.”
I fill him in on the fundraiser this weekend and how I’ve signed up for a plus-one but don’t have one.
“So, you’re asking me on a date?” he asks, and somehow his smile grows wider.
“A fake one,” I clarify, my blush spreading down my neck to my chest. I must be as red as the glass of wine I had earlier.
His lips dip for a second, but he quickly recovers. “I’d be honored to be your date, fake or otherwise, if you’ll be mine for the Hockey Fights Cancer event.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Sure, that seems fair.”
“Knolls will be there,” he adds. “That gives us only a couple of weeks to practice.”
