The Best Kind of Forever (Riverside Reapers, #1)(17)

I cant my head, confused. “About?”

Bristol’s lips gather into a proud grin, and he whacks my helmet with his glove. “The girl you were spotted with last night.”

My jelly-like joints feel like they’ve just experienced a ten-story drop. Not even my skates can keep my knees from buckling. “Pictures are already out?”

“Not just out—trending. And not just pictures. I’ve seen some pretty intricate fan cams. My Instagram feed is full of your annoyingly attractive face.”

I skate over to the sidelines, picking up my water bottle and squirting water into my mouth, then dousing the rest of it over my face. Cold liquid ribbons down my neck and over the shelf of my collarbone. I need to cool down.

“I guess that’s good. The plan working, I mean.”

“It’s better than good, H. You looked genuinely happy talking to her.” Bristol takes his helmet off and shakes his sweat-drenched locks. “Are you going to tell her?”

My tongue plays along the bottom of my lip. “Tell her?”

“That you need to fake date her?” Bristol follows up, an imperceptible tic to his jaw.

I prop my chin on the end of my stick, letting it take a bit of my weight. “I mean, yeah, that’s the plan,” I disclose, but his uncertainty sets a flutter in my gut, like a loose cannon of confetti has gone off inside me.

“I wouldn’t do that,” a voice pipes up from behind me. It’s Kit.

“Why not?” I ask.

“It won’t be believable. People can sniff out a fake relationship from miles away, especially hockey fans. If they find out you’re putting on a show to get in their good graces, they’re going to have even more of a reason to hate you,” he explains matter-of-factly, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “If she knows, it might influence how authentic her actions are.”

My confidence gutters. “Shit.”

I didn’t think I was gonna have to lie to her about it. I don’t know if I can. Aeris is a good person. She doesn’t deserve to be lied to. She’s already suffered through so much, and the last thing I’d want to do is add to her suffering. But then again, if I don’t switch this narrative around soon, I can say goodbye to my life with the Reapers when I get traded.

Bristol is just as stunned as I am, because he’s giving Kit a what the hell? look.

Kit doesn’t seem fazed by either of our reactions. Then again, he’s not really the most empathetic person.

“I don’t know, Kit…” My heart presses painfully against my ribcage, threatening to burst out Alien style.

“You don’t have to, but if you really want to make this stunt believable, I’d keep my mouth shut.”

“I feel guilty for not being upfront with her.”

Disgust contorts Kit’s features. “Why? You just met her, right? You don’t owe her anything.”

“You don’t have feelings for her, do you?” Bristol probes, hoisting an eyebrow.

My stomach migrates to my throat. “I barely know her.”

It’s true: I don’t know Aeris that well. I guess I feel connected to her because we’re both familiar with death. But I can’t let that connection get in the way of everything I’ve worked so hard to attain—my career, my reputation. This is a means to an end. I’m not emotionally prepared to get hurt again, and I’d be damned if I let Aeris know she was the first girl in a while to have pierced the tiniest hole in my armor.

“Good. Feelings make stuff messy. Think of this like a business transaction. You dote on her in public, the fans go wild for this soft side of you, and you remake a name for yourself. They’ll forget all about how badly you’ve fucked up in the past. Now you have them rooting for you instead of praying for your downfall.”

My nerves scream at me to reconsider, probably wanting to grab me by the collar of my jersey and shake until some sense lodges itself into my brain. “What if things turn real?”

The crease in Bristol’s forehead deepens. “On your end or hers?”

“Both? I don’t know.”

“Then they become real,” Kit replies. “But if I know you, H—which I do—I know that’s the last thing you want right now.”

Kit’s words ring through me like alarm bells. I shouldn’t have even spoken that into existence. I won’t allow things to turn real. This is a fake relationship. Aeris will be my pretend girlfriend, and nothing more. I’ve dealt with plenty of girls during my time with the Reapers. I’ve trudged through heartbreak and revenge and the occasional attempted break-in. What’s a sweet little thing like Aeris going to do to me?





SOME SECRETS ARE BETTER LEFT HIDDEN





AERIS





I swing my legs against the side of my pink comforter, my hands clawing for anything that can act as a stress ball. Lila, my best friend, has somehow convinced me to go with her to a hockey game tonight. I know jackshit about hockey. Roden was more interested in the arts, and the only sport my father watched religiously was football.

Lila and I have been best friends ever since my freshman year of college. We met at a house party that I’d been dragged to by my roommate—who wasn’t the nicest person, and who also used my hand towels to dry her vibrators without telling me.