Page 40 of Lessons in Faking
Or why he’d gotten punched in the face.
*
HBU won 1–0. As per McCarthy’s prediction, Henry didn’t let a single shot get through their defense. Most of the time, he was acting like a goalkeeper himself, minus the hands. A few roars of victory rattled through the stands, though mostly, the sound of defeated sighs, curses, and boos surrounded us.
My attention was entirely on McCarthy. Despite the low temperature and freezing rain, the entire team’s shirtscame off the second the whistle announced their victory. McCarthy jogged from his position in front of Brown’s goal all the way to our own, glee filling every single one of his bouncy steps.
I only realized I was staring at him when his head turned in my direction, and our eyes met instantly. He didn’t even have to search the stands. He’d spotted me as soon as the teams had gotten onto the field. Then again, I’d made it easy for him by lifting my middle finger high in the air as he scanned the stands. He’d blown me a kiss in return.
A winning smile graced his lips now. Widening when he realized I’d been watching him, putting his dimple on full display, even from a distance.
I rolled my eyes. Tried to force my mouth to act accordingly. Failed at that. Miserably. My smile stayed put as I continued clapping, gaze following him to the other side of the field.
“How are we getting home?” Wren asked. My lips finally straightened.
Neither of us felt up for a two-hour drive at nine in the morning, so we’d carpooled with Laila (who I finally figured out was Michael’s cousin, not sister) and her friends. Knowing there wouldn’t be space for both of us to get back, because she’d told us said cousin would ride home with them. She’d told us again, and again, and again. All we’d said was,Future-us will figure it out.And I despised past-us for it.
I sighed. “Howarewe getting home?”
Wren shrugged.
Great.
*
“You could’ve clapped harder.”
“You could’ve played better.”
“I didn’t hear you cheeronce, Pressley.”
“You never will.”
I ended up in McCarthy’s car, if you couldn’t tell. The run-down black Jeep wasn’t what I’d expected him to be driving, though I liked its charm. Compared to my G-Wagon, it had character.
It took almost thirty minutes to convince Wren to take the only seat left in Laila’s car. Once I’d succeeded, I turned in McCarthy’s direction, ready to humiliate myself. Of course, he’d watched the entire thing unfold in amusement.
He’d leaned against his car, unbothered by the pouring rain, and his brows raised expectantly. I knew he wouldn’t let me off the hook without the words coming out of my mouth. He wanted to hear them. From me.
So I asked him to give me a ride. And he opened the door for me without another word.
“Admit it, that was one hell of a goal.” One hand held onto the steering wheel, the other fell around the stick.
Ithadbeen one hell of a goal. I could admit that... just not to him.
“It definitely... went in,” I agreed, nodding thoughtfully.
He was biting his bottom lip to try to keep his smile from showing. Unsuccessfully.
If only to distract from every inappropriate thought in my head, I rummaged through the bag I brought. I inspected my keychain as if I hadn’t been carrying it with me since I was nine years old. I felt the soft material of the scarf I’d decided to take off when McCarthy started blasting the heating. And I dug deeper, simply to keep myself busy.
Busy, busy, busy.Don’t look at him, I warned myself. It’ll only remind you of... The Incident.
But there it was. What I’d been trying to forget ever happened.Very successfully, might I add. The thought of his lips on mine, the scent of his cologne lingering in the air, the feel of his thumb drawing distracted circles on my cheek as his hand gripped my waist. All things I barely even thought about anymore. Couldn’t you tell?
I wasn’t oblivious to the burning of my cheeks, and I could imagine the color of them just as well.Distraction.I grabbed the next thing I caught between my fingers, whipping out Wren’s Polaroid camera before knowing what it was.
“Smile!” My voice was eerily high as I held the camera up, pointing the lens at me and the man to my left. I didn’t wait for him to comment.
