Page 15 of Foul & Fake
Are all soccer players this tall? I thought that was a basketball thing. “Hi. I heard you thought I was fake,” I laugh. “Do I look real?”
Vito shrugs, eyeing me. “I don’t know, robots are getting pretty lifelike these days.”
“You got me. I’m a robot.”
“No, that’syouwho fucks robots, not me,” Elias jibes, and Vito raises his eyebrows.
“At least the robots put out. You’re not fuckin’ anyone, Reyes.” He looks at me, grinning. “Don’t give in. Make him beg for it.”
Oh my god, I’d rather die than be here right now.
Eli shoves him playfully, his drink nearly spilling when his best friend retaliates. “Don’t listen to him. He’s never had a girlfriend in his life.”
“Neither have you, but at least I don’t lead them on into thinking it’s going somewhere.”
Eli’s cocky smile fades and so does mine. Here I was starting to think this could be fun if I let it, or even real if I tried hard enough, and Eli’s probably just trying to get laid.
I really need to remember this is fake.
Chapter 6
Fuck The Rules
ELIAS
Pulling Riley into my lap feels more comfortable than it should. I keep losing myself in this role and forgetting it’s fake, and that’s only going to hurt us both in the end. We can’t keep getting lost in the moment.
Still, it’s hard when her soft little body melts into mine for comfort as she’s surrounded by people she doesn’t know.
“So how did you guys meet?” Luca asks, and I sit back with a smirk to see how she’ll answer it. He’s the nicest guy on our team, so if anyone is going to be a good wingman it’s him.
Her eyes widen for a moment, but she recovers quickly. “He stalked me.”
Alcohol nearly comes out of my nose when I choke, but the group around us doesn’t even notice. They’re too busy laughing at me.
“Fucking knew it,” Masters says, and I’m surprised his mean ass is standing with us and not doing some stalking of his own. The dude is obsessed with his step-sister. Where is she anyway? “With his camera, huh?”
Riley nods. “Does he do that often? I feel like he does that often.”
“No. I don’t.”
Not before her anyway, but I did find myself seeking her out yesterday when I was taking photos.
“Probably. Dudes with cameras in the wild are creepy,” Reynolds jokes, making me want to chop our midfielder in the throat.
She looks up at me with a soft smile. “He’s not creepy. He’s cute.”
They collectively “awww” in a way that makes me want to flip them all off, but I turn my gaze to her instead.
“You think I’m cute, cupcake?”
My hands relax against her thighs as my eyes drop to her perfectly shaped lips, and as she leans in a little, I swear she wants me to kiss her.
But she told me no. It was her only ground rule, and I have to respect that. For now.
“Yes, Elias. You’re very cute, and your friends are just mad that they see more action from their hands than women.”
“Oooo,” Luca says with a laugh. “That’s why I stick to dudes.”
