Page 37 of False Start
Apparently, that now included me.
“You’re thinking really hard over there.” Christian moved up the bench toward me and held out a bottle of water. I took a drink and tried to focus on the game, but the weight of his attention dragged me back.
“Can’t help but notice this is the second game Gia has missed. That combined with the black cloud you’ve been sporting tells me something’s up.”
“Shouldn’t you be watching the game?” I asked, tipping my chin toward the field as Dakota made their second down.
“It’s done. We’ll do better next time, but it would help if we knew what was going on with our tight end.”
I winced at the confirmation my miserable attitude was affecting the team.
“Come on, man. Talk to me.”
“She called it off.”
Christian blew out a hard breath and sat back. “Ah, man. That sucks. I’m sorry. What happened? You guys seemed really happy together.”
“We weren’t.”
“Happy?”
“Together.”
“What do you mean?”
Christian had turned his body completely toward me, any attempt at looking like he was monitoring the game gone in light of my reveal. An icy breeze blew through the stadium, and I shivered at the warning of impending snow.
“It was fake. The relationship. A lie that got out of hand, and we just kind of rolled with it until it didn’t work anymore.”
“Bullshit.”
Out on the field, the Dragons got their first down. The clock ticked relentlessly toward the end of the game, and I wondered how quickly I could get out of here. My shoulder twinged in agreement, reminding me I needed to buy a new heat pack on my way home.
“There was nothing fake about the way you two were together.”
Christian was like a dog with a bone when I just wanted to bury the thing. Georgia had left. Same as Harmony. What did he not get about that?
“She was using my name as leverage to get the role onShifting Sands. Mission accomplished. There’s nothing else to say about it.”
Christian cursed.
“I’m sorry, bro. You’re too good. I really thought she liked you, and I know you liked her.”
I shifted on the bench, worried that it hadn’t come out right. It wasn’t fair to put it all on Georgia.
“It wasn’t like that. We both agreed to it. I think we both just got caught up in the lie for a while. I’m sorry we weren’t honest with you guys, I’ve been feeling shitty about that, too.”
We watched the clock tick away as Dakota set up for their fourth play.
“Did you tell her you wanted it to be real?”
Why wouldn’t he let it drop?
“I told her the opposite. I didn’t want a relationship. After Harmony, I just couldn’t risk losing someone else. That breakup hurt almost more than the injury.”
“And how’d that work out for you?”
It hadn’t. I’d fallen for Georgia just as surely as if we had been real. The ache in my chest told me I’d fucked up, but I didn’t know how to fix it. The past two weeks had been an unbearable mix of loneliness and depression. I’d avoided leaving the house as much as possible because I knew Marina would be lying in wait to make me talk. Instead, she’d sent Christian.
