Spiral (Off the Ice, #2) (27)

There’s no doubt he’s a catch in this disappointing litter of male specimens, and I’m not clueless about the women and men admiring him right now.

“G-girlfriend?” Derek stutters, his lips still frozen midway to my hand.

My forehead creases so deeply, a headache blooms in my temples.

“I am not his girlfriend,” I say through clenched teeth. Derek continues to stare behind me, wide-eyed. I know he’s recognized Elias in the point five seconds that he’s taken to come stand by my side.

Annoyed, I snap my fingers to get Derek to refocus on me. “What were you saying?”

He swallows, still staring at Elias as he shakily kisses my hand. “You have beautiful hands.”

The compliment is on par for him, but I giggle, smiling shyly and fluttering my lashes like a showgirl. More to annoy the man who declared me as his girlfriend.

The air is awkward when I turn to the rookie hovering over me like a fly. “Sir, you must be mistaken.”

His jaw twitches. “It was never a mistake, Sage.”

What the hell? This pretentious rich hockey player thinks he can walk into my date and expect me to fall at his feet now that he’s decided I’m his girlfriend?

Ridiculous.

It takes a lot for me not to dignify that with an answer. When I turn, expecting to find a still-awestruck Derek, he stands and carelessly drops my hand on the table.

Great, I just lost my date to a hockey player.

“Eli Westbrook, right? I saw your interview—” He pauses, his gaze bouncing back and forth. “Wait. This is your Sage?”

I drop my head in my hands in defeat. “I’m not his anything,” I mutter.

Derek’s not listening to me as he looks at Elias apologetically. “I’m sorry, man, I had no idea.” He looks back at me. “You do know Hugger is a dating app, right?”

I shoot him a glare, but it’s like he’s finally seeing us. He’s not the only one, because I start to feel the touch of invasive gazes on the back of my neck, and the whisper of Elias’s last name circulating through the bar.

I expect Elias to walk out, since he’s famously not one for attention, but he stands beside me, unperturbed.

Derek watches us dubiously before his eyes spark with renewed interest. I reach for my water to help my pounding head.

“Unless this is like your kink. Weird, but I won’t tell anyone.” He does a zipper motion on his lips.

“Yeah, this is our thing,” Elias says, putting his arm on the back of my chair. “She makes me jealous, and I punish her for it at home.”

I choke on my water and have to hit my chest to find my breath again. Heat electrifies my spine, and I try not to dwell on his words, because I’m convinced he couldn’t have said them. Confused beyond belief and fed up with this back-and-forth, I stand, pushing back my chair to grab Elias’s arm. I pull him straight down the hall and outside through the back exit, where the breeze is blowing now that the sun has disappeared below the horizon.

He looks pleased that we’re out here alone. The shock factor of his statement was executed perfectly. “I don’t know why you thought coming in was a good idea but—”

“I want to do it.”

I blink. “Do what?”

He takes a step closer to me, lowering his voice. “I’ll be your fake boyfriend.”

In all the scenarios that could have resulted from tonight, this is one I did not anticipate. I really overshot with this one.

I cock my head to the left, then to the right, assessing him. “If I recall correctly, just a week ago you told me that could never happen. If you’re doing this because you pity me, you can count me out. This was supposed to be mutually beneficial.”

“It will be—it is. This morning, they gave me a brief for questions I have to answer for an upcoming conference, and they all have to do with hockey. Not a single personal question.”

Impatience taps my foot. “Okay?”

“Haven’t you read the articles?” he presses.

There’s no part of me that cares about what random people on the internet have to say about me. You don’t get through thirteen years of ballet without developing thick skin and a filter to block out useless opinions.

“No. I don’t read that stuff.”

His lips quirk, and he watches me with a sort of wonder. “Well, I was wrong. They believed the girlfriend thing and mostly respected my wishes to keep us private.”

Us.

“And now you want to date me?” I ask slowly.

He nods.

A renewed confidence fills me. “So what you’re saying is, I was right all along.”

“Yes, Sage, you were right.”

“Wait.” I pull out my phone. “Can you say that again? I’ll make it my voicemail. And alarm. And ringtone.”

He holds my hand to stop me. “Will you be my fake girlfriend?”

I tap my chin in contemplation. “I don’t know, Elias. There is a great candidate right inside the bar.” I can’t show him all my cards.

“Better than me?”

“Believe it or not, they do exist.”

His face is serious. “What do you want me to do?”

I’m surprised at his response. He’s just given me a world of opportunities, and I can’t contain my wicked smile. “Beg.”