Page 39 of Truce: Declan
Here I go again, feeling something that I shouldn’t for a guy I’mnotdating. And I throw all that insecurity and fear aside the moment I laid eyes on him. I sauntered up, pretended like none of it mattered, because when I’m around him, all I feel is complete and utter bliss.
With his hands on me, it’s like we have found our own ebb and flow. Nothing else matters, we’re just Charlotte and Noah.
And that’s when his teammate, Kyler, dragged him away.
I shouldn’t care. Noah is not my boyfriend.
We haven't gone out on a single date.
And we've only hooked up once. The first night that we met.
Which puts me in a precarious position because I fibbed to my father, and it's about to bite me in the ass. Oh, I could invite Noah to the event to accompany me, but there will be lots of cameras and press.
If I know my father as well as I do, he'll be livid when he sees who I bring as myboyfriend. A knot forms in the pit of my stomach just thinking about it, but who is he to try to auction a night off with his daughter?
I grumble inwardly just recanting the story in my head, fuming inside.
Amber climbs off Jasper and throws her arms around my shoulder, pulling me away from the boys. "You seem tense," Amber says.
"I royally screwed the pooch."
Amber's nose wrinkles at the analogy. "Gross, and what did you do?" she asks. "Did Noah catch you making hearts with your initials in the center on your notebook?" There's a teasing note in her voice, and I elbow her in the ribcage.
"Brat."
Amber shrugs. "Tell me something I don't know." She smiles and steps closer to the flames to keep warm. Rubbing her hands together, she glances over at me, waiting for me to elaborate on how I screwed up.
"Are you going to give it to me?" she asks.
"That's what she said," I joke, trying anything that I can to avoid the discussion, but the truth is that I need her opinion. I mean, I'm not normally nervous around Noah, or any man, for that matter. But asking him to pretend to be my boyfriend has my stomach in a flurry of butterflies.
"You're stalling." Amber stares pointedly at me and steps closer. The boys are engrossed in their hockey talk and don't pay us any attention.
"My dad is forcing me to do this charity auction next month, and he's volunteered me as a prize for the evening. One lucky winner gets to go out with me for an evening."
Amber's brow pinches. "I'm guessing by the wordsmy dad is forcingthat he didn't ask you."
"He never asks."
"You're an adult. You could tell him no." Amber glances me over. "Unless you want to go out on a blind date with a stranger."
"It's not a blind date. I mean, I'll be at the auction," I say.
"Still sounds creepy and gross for your dad to do that."
I exhale a heavy breath. "That's not the worst part." I bite down on my bottom lip and wince from the onset of pain. "I told him that I'm bringing my boyfriend."
Amber's eyes widen, and she coughs, trying to contain her amusement. "Sorry, what?" The bubbly laughter continues spilling out, and she's bent over with her hand out, telling me to hold on a second.
I shuffle my feet and wait for her to stand upright.
Amber's cheeks are rosy, and after she finally manages to catch her breath, she says, "You got yourself into this mess. Have fun getting out of it." She points at the back door of the house.
Inside, through the open window blinds, I can see Noah and Kyler having some type of discussion, probably about today's game.
"No sage advice?" I ask, hoping for a few pearls of wisdom. I may have more experience with dating, but Amber has been in a relationship longer than I ever have.
I do hookups, not boyfriends.
