Grayson and I arrived at the front of the university, though it wouldn’t have mattered because we had practically skipped the whole second day.
“I guess…” He looked at me with hesitation, “We can gather them together at Hawthorne’s Cafe.” He asks as I nod.
“Don’t forget. Do not tell the boys why until you see me and my friends. Right, when Liam finds out that Margo will be there, he will bolt.” I felt stressed as he shook his head.
“I think it would be your girl that would bolt, sweetheart.” Grayson walks closer, leaning onto me as I scowl.
I smile sarcastically, “Oh right! Because he’s the asshole and heartbreaker in this situation?”
His eyes narrowed as I smiled, “Don’t start.”
Grayson’s brows furrow with agitation, his annoyance with me was out of the roof, “You know as my girlfriend you should—”
Without letting him finish, I shut the door quickly in front of his face, flipping up my middle finger as he smirks, winking at me before turning his head to drive away.
Yeah, we would be such a great power couple. I walk into the hallways, as everyone is dismissed. I watch as Verina, Margo, and Juliette spot me.
“There she is.” Margo made a point as I walked toward them with a guilty smile.
“Where the hell have you been?” Verina exclaimed, “You missed the lab today and we still have the bake sale tomorrow.”
Margo looked upset, “We thought you missed your birthday!”
I smile, hugging my best friends, my ride or die. I know it seems cliche, but I honestly wouldn’t know where I would be if I didn’t have them.
“I know I’m sorry, but we had an emergency, which I need to bring you all over to now!” I grip all of their arms, pulling them over to the exit.
“We?” Juliette questions.
I let out a nervous laugh, “Oh yes, that’s a funny story.” She gave me a concerned look, “How funny?!”
“Margo, unlock your car and drive over to Hawthorne’s Cafe.”
Margo takes her keys, pressing the unlock button, as I run everyone over to the car.
“What is up with you?” Verina questions.
“I will not be explaining anything until we get there.” I make a point as they all glance at each other.
Margo raced through traffic as I caught a glimpse of the destined cafe.
We all unloaded and walked in. The cafe was small, as if it came out of a storybook. The cozy couch looked like it had our names on it.
The cafe was not well known and honestly, it was a perfect hang-out spot.
I took a look around, noticing not a single customer was in sight.
Unbelievable, he was unpunctual as well.
The girls looked at me like I had lost my mind, “Anna.” Margo began as she folded her arms together in front of her, Juliette sat down on the cozy couch as Verina paraded around snooping.
“Is there a reason why you are acting so bizarre?” Margo looked behind me, her eyes were a scorching mess.
A fire burned, as the doorbell of the front door rang.
I turn around, sighing in relief at Grayson and his friends looking about as lost as little ducks.
“Grayson.” Liam gave an irritated look as I widened my eyes at Liam and Margo’s death stares.
“Sit.” Grayson had only said one word and his group listened, and there we stood, in front of everyone.
They looked at us with curiosity and with furious faces.
“What was so fucking important?” Liam nudged as Margo crossed her arms.
“They were getting to that part before you opened your fucking mouth.”
I looked at Grayson one last time, he had no expression on his face, he was a cold block of ice.
I coughed, “We’re dating.” Both of our groups looked like they swallowed poison and just discovered it.
Margo’s jaw dropped to the floor, as Liam’s face lost life.
Verina dropped a plant that she was examining, Juliette had been bothered enough to close her book, fully may I add.
Neil pulled his cigarette away from his lips to form a concerned expression.
And lastly, Chris let himself fall on the couch with ease. “Excuse me?” Margo laughed at the idea.
I opened my lips to say something before I was easily interrupted by Verina who walked over to us yelling, “I knew this day would happen!”
Juliette rolls her eyes, “I had more faith in you!” She yells at me, whilst passing a one hundred bill over to Verina.
My eyes widen at the trade, my face fuming, “You two made a bet on me?!” I bug out with complete and utter annoyance.
They quieted as my eyes narrowed at the bill.
“It was only a silly bet!” Juliette tucks her face back in her book as I let my face grimace.
“Give me that.” I walk over to her as she scowled at me, slowly handing me the hundred-dollar bill, “I cannot believe the both of you.”
Margo walks up next to me, with her finger pointed, “This is so upsetting!”
Verina’s eyes bulged so much they looked like billiard balls, “You owe a thousand!”
My mouth dropped open, looking at Margo with a condescending face. Her lips thinned, “Well… I’ll just…” She walks away from me slowly,
scared that if she moves the wrong way, I might skin her.
“Listen up!” Grayson sternly commanded, causing me to jolt and everyone to quiet.
“We are fake dating.” He addresses smoothly. “I was just about to get to that.” I said irritated. “You were taking too long.”
“Why?” Chris’s eyes shot over to ours.
My smile reached both of my ears, “Oh yes. This is a wonderful story!
Tell them, Grayson, tell them why .” I smirk, folding my arms.
Liam interrupts, “Was this because of August?” My head turns over to Liam, “Let me guess, she wants you to prove to her you can be in a serious relationship, so you fake it to get her back?”
Margo laughs, standing up, “No, this is about Adrianna’s campaign. It has to be, or to piss off your dad?”
Juliette hands the money back over to Verina, “It doesn’t count if you two aren’t actually together.”
“A, you have got to be joking, you can’t possibly be up for this with a Prince!” Margo shoots out as Neil places the cigar back in his mouth.
“Well, it doesn’t really look like they are asking for our approval.”
I looked up at Grayson who nodded, “It will only be temporary.” I assure them as Liam nods in agreement.
Margo flashes a wicked smile, “Of course, you would agree if it was only temporary .”
I nervously started to fidget as Grayson’s hand crawled behind my lower back, causing me to calm myself.
“We have to make this believable, and of course, you guys are going to help us.”
“And what if we don’t?” Neil smirks.
Grayson’s eyes darkened in a way that held a promise that no one would enjoy, “You want to run sprints, Vanderbilt?” he seethes.
Neil’s posture changes quickly, “No, cap.”
I roll my eyes at Grayson, “Stop ordering them around like servants, they are your friends!”
He laughs, “I was only joking!”
“Right.” I held my arms, holding question to his statement.
Grayson, being insufferable, ignores my expression, his eyes direct over to our group of friends.
“We have to make this relationship really believable. I want August to be really shaken up, I want her to be jealous.” He starts.
Grayson takes a look at me for a moment before continuing his plan. Well, our plan.
“Cassian wants Brooks and Maya to get pissed as well, she’s also running for president, which I kindly backed away from the position.”
I slap Grayson’s arm, “No, you did not!”
He gives me a dirty look whilst rubbing his arm with a low curse. I think I smiled a little at his pained expression.
Margo shuffled, “What exactly do you need us for?”
Liam interrupts, “They need to make this believable so, obviously they are asking their trustworthy friends to help, sweetheart.”
“By how, exactly?” She quickly asks Liam with attitude.
Juliette stands up, “We know them the best, we teach them the other’s dislikes and likes.”
Margo smiles, “Oh! I’ll start.” Margo grabs my arm.
She pulls me in, “She dislikes you.” She didn’t fail to send a horrid look over to Grayson, whose eyebrows furrow at the disrespect.
Liam pulls his best friend in next to him, completely dividing us, “You’re no picnic either, sweethearts.” Liam spits out as Grayson gives him a playful irritated look.
“Get your fucking hands off of me.” Grayson shook Liam off as he walks near me, pulling me in, causing my goosebumps to appear.
Grayson’s blue eyes capture mine, softening, then hardening, his hand brushes my face, and my face turns red.
“We can be convincing.” His lips curve into a deadly smirk. I felt my throat dry up, “Yes, of course.”
Grayson winks, letting me go, turning over to Liam and Margo.
“Now, I can’t believe I have to say this, but you all have to get along.
Even if we can’t stand each other, you most certainly can try.”
Liam and Margo looked at us like we were delusional, “That is rich coming from the both of you! Do you realize that you two have been put against each other since I don’t know…” Margo flipped.
“You were born!” They both exclaimed.
I roll my eyes, “Gee thanks for the massive support, you lunatics.” Verina laughs, “This is obviously a satire.” She turns to us, “Right?”
“No.” Chris stands, “This is sadly not a satire because Grayson would never touch Adrianna like that just because .”
He looks at both of us, examining our every action like we were lab rats, “Not even within a ten-foot radius.” He finishes his sentence.
I look at Grayson with an offended expression, “What, do you think I have lice or something?!”
Grayson shrugs, “Maybe mono.”
Neil laughs, “Look, does this mean we have to hang out as a group?” “Yes.” Grayson and I say at the same time.
“Because there is no fucking way in hell, I will be able to stand being around him by myself for maybe an hour give or take.”
Margo takes a deep breath, “Okay, we need to make your debut in Hawthorne University tomorrow.” She says nervously as I smile thinly.
“Wonderful.” Grayson mutters under his breath. “Why are you complaining? This was your idea.”
He laughs, “Yes, but I shouldn’t have underestimated how difficult you would make it, can we just fake a date and move on?”
“No, are you dumb?” I address as his jaw clenches, “You said you want your ex jealous. You said you want to prove a point, and you also, might I add said that you can handle it.”
“I can handle it, Dove.” I smile, “Are you sure?”
He took a look at his friends, as I took a look at mine.
“Tomorrow morning, I’ll drive her to campus, make sure everyone is up at the front, especially August.” He looks back at me. “Make sure to look pretty.”
“Don’t I always?” I smirk.
He bends down, “You sure you want to ask me that?”
I think my hand twitched, my brain sending wild signals for me to take a heavy swing on the six foot five inches of muscle next to me.
Chris frowns, “You guys sure about this?”
Neil walks over to Chris with a playful smirk, “This is going to be fun.”
I pull Grayson back, “We have award ceremonies tomorrow, I get presented, I want you there.”
Grayson coolly nods.
“I’m serious, this is important to me, and even as my fake boyfriend, I want you there.”
Grayson smiles, “I’ll be there, Dove. I promise.”
He turns over to Margo, “I don’t think I need your help to figure out Cassian’s favorite things.” He says with a smirk.
I told my arms, “Oh yeah?”
The girls walk over to my side, as Grayson sits on the large sofa, next to his best friends, “Give me all you’ve got. I’ve spent my years studying up on my enemy.”
Juliette’s smile widens, “Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the
enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal—” “—If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be
defeated in every battle.” Neil interrupts. “Sun Tzu.” Neil finishes.
We all look at them with odd expressions.
Juliette’s eyes dawn on Neil’s, while tilting her head. “You read Sun Tzu?” She asks.
Grayson, Chris, and Liam looked about as stunned as the rest of the girls as he was quoting one of Juliette’s heavily praised books. Grayson looking lost kind of made me want to laugh.
Liam’s jaw had dropped, and I don’t even think he knew. “You read? ” He says exasperated.
Neil pushes his friend, “Not a lot.”
I look over to Juliette whose lips curved into a small smile, her dimples showing. She hadn’t smiled in a while since her mother’s passing.
Grayson coughs as I snap back into the current situation, which was the fact that he thinks he knows more about me than my friends could teach him.
All I have to say about that is… good luck. I smile, “What’s my favorite color?” Grayson yawns, “Beige.”
“It’s red.” Verina scowls.
“What’s my favorite book?” I fold my arms. Grayson smiles, “The Beautiful and Damned.” Margo flips up her middle finger, “Little Women.” “What’s my favorite flower?” I ask.
“Roses. Which girl doesn’t like roses?”
Juliette opens up her book, “White tulips.”
“Oh, so what?” He muttered, folding his hands together.
“That shit doesn’t matter. We just have to put on a show.” He said with an irritated face.
Grayson reaches into a bag that Neil held out, pulling out a necklace, “What’s that?” I lean over to look.
He smiles, his eyes narrowing at the necklace, “I bought it for you.” He throws it at me.
“To make this,” he motions to both of us, “more believable, I spoil my girlfriends.” He yawns as I walk toward him with a challenging smirk.
“I’m not your girlfriend , Prince.”
Grayson took a step forward in front of me.
Making me feel like I was helpless around him, “Oh but you are…my love.”
I frowned, defeated by his words because he was right. And I hated the fact he was right, nor the day that I would ever admit the fact that he was right.
He smiles, “Now, why don’t you flip that frown upside down and put it on.”
“Put it on her!” Verina smiled, pulling out her phone.
“Ew no. Don’t touch me.” I sneered at Grayson who pinched his lips. “I’ll take photos of you guys to make it look like this has been going on
for some time, and it makes it more believable. Why would someone want to take a photo if it wasn’t memorable?”
I look at Grayson and at the necklace that simply had the letter G
attached and dangling on it.
“Take it as a birthday present. I never wished you a happy birthday.” Grayson whispers as I felt goosebumps cover my whole body.
He made sure to say it quietly enough that the whole group didn’t hear, make it a moment just for us.
I smile, “G?” I question as he smirks.
“Of course, I want everyone to know you’re mine, Dove.” He admitted as I shut my mouth momentarily apparently losing all my ability to speak.
“No one owns me.” I finally say as he nods slowly. “We’ll see.”
I opened my mouth, kind of hoping I would get a word out again. But nothing left my tongue, no sarcastic comment, no bite-back response, nothing. Instead, I swallowed, handing him the necklace, and turning around for him to lift my hair.
His hand was rough and calloused, strong, and muscular arms. He was close to me, he had to bend down a bit, his breathing ragged and brushing the nape of my neck, causing goosebumps to emerge.
A shiver ran through my body, and I cursed myself for letting him get under my skin like that.
I felt strangely relaxed, even humming with the sensation, as I closed my eyes and let my lashes flutter. My gaze fell to the necklace, eyes scanning the gold. “How much did you spend on this?” I asked with a scowl.
He winked, “Too much.”
“You’ve got like seven million dollars around your neck right now,” Liam yawned, and my eyes widened.
Everyone’s jaws practically dropped, especially Chris, who looked like he wanted to dig a hole and disappear into it.
“My birthday was yesterday, and he didn’t even get me anything!” Liam complained as I laughed, glancing at Grayson, who rolled his eyes.
“Your friendship with me is your present every year,” he declared, walking over to Liam and messing up his hair.
“You did not spend that much on this,” I mused as Grayson walked back toward me.
Grayson looked completely unbothered. “Don’t you women like that kind of thing?” He turned to me. “Especially you?”
Suddenly, the goosebumps and relaxation in my veins were replaced with a rush of irritation. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t play dumb, Dove,” he shot back, shaking his head. “You’ve never worked a single day in your life.”
“And you have?” I retorted as he smirked, pulling out his phone just as it rang.
“Hey, Shauna, please book Mr. Peterson for tomorrow. I need to postpone this meeting; I’ve got plans tonight.”
Grayson’s eyes sparkled as he looked at me, turning off his phone. “Bossing people around isn’t work. It’s just being lazy and privileged.”
“Oh, so you’re admitting that you’re lazy and privileged?” I snapped, feeling my blood boil.
Why do I never get the last word with him? He always manages to one-up me. My face flushed with anger. “Careful, Dove…” He caressed my cheek, “We wouldn’t want people to think I could get under your skin, would we?”
I slapped his hand away. “You do get under my skin. But not in a good way. You make me fucking furious.” I sneered, grabbing my bag and signaling the girls to stand.
“Good luck playing with yourself,” I shot back with a wink as I walked out the door.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow!” I heard his voice faintly as I slammed the door shut, the bell drowning him out.
I took a deep breath and looked at Margo, Verina, and Juliette.
“I can’t believe you went through with this,” Verina said, shocked, as I walked away.
“I mean, it’s Grayson. Grayson, remember?” Juliette probed as I kept walking.
“The guy who put gum in your hair.”
“The guy who pushed you into the pool during gym class.”
“The guy who crashed into your car just because.”
“The guy who ruined your favorite Louboutins with a permanent marker.”
“ENOUGH!”
I stopped, turning to look at them as they froze in place.
“Margo?” I turned to her, and she smirked at the other two. “How long have you known me?”
“Well enough to know she’s got something planned for Mr. Prince,” Juliette said, looking frazzled. “Are you going to tell us?”
She stepped closer, and I smiled. “And ruin the surprise? Come on, Anna.” Margo rolled her eyes.
“I’m joking,” I laughed. Did my friends think I was a serial killer? Wow.
“Don’t you have any faith in me? I’m going to make sure his relationship with me is pure hell. I’ll keep doing my part to win the election, and that means forcing him into things he’ll hate.”
“Like what?” Verina asked.
I wasn’t entirely sure yet.
“I’ll get back to you on that.”
We all take a breath, “What’s the deal with you and Liam?” Juliette yawns, addressing Margo.
“What do you mean?”
“I never really knew that your one-time hook-up was serious, and you just look like you were way more hurt than if it were just any other guy.”
“I don’t care about what Liam is up to or doing, it’s none of my business. Frankly, he’s a douchebag and I should’ve seen it before I slept with him.
“You did know he was a douchebag before sleeping with him.” I mutter, “Or do you not remember the years of endless torment from not only
Grayson, but Liam too?”
“How is this even going to work?” Verina interrupts.
“What do you mean? We literally just had a meeting about this.” Juliette answers.
“I mean.” Verina says, “Do we have to… converse with them? And act like we like them and that we can stand them?”
I turn to her, “I’m not even going to answer that because I dread the words.”
“But come on, have a little fun with this.” I smile at them.
“Margo, this is the best time to start getting to know your new boyfriend that your dad set you up with, and you can compare how great he is compared to… Liam.”
Margo smiles.
“Juliette, this is your moment to help the boys with some of their hockey, since you’re obsessed with it and complain about their techniques.”
She scowls, “They wouldn’t listen!” She huffs out.
“Besides, my father would never let me interfere with that shit. That’s his hockey team and just because I’m his daughter doesn’t mean that I get to make calls.”
Verina smiles, “It should.”
I looked over at Verina who already had a smirk on her face the moment we left the cafe.
“I’ll stick with soccer.” She nods, “At least I know that’s my playing field.”
“V…” Margo says with caution as she pulls her phone away from, her face.
“You’re going for Chris, aren’t you?” I roll my eyes. Her eyes gleam, “How did you know?”
I sigh, “Chris is a hard one to crack.” “I like a challenge.”
Margo mumbled in disagreement, “I didn’t think he would be your type.”
Verina thinks to herself, “That’s just the problem… he’s not my type but yet I can feel myself pushing to get to know him.”
“Good luck,” Juliette laughs.
“You guys don’t think I can get him?”
We all looked at her, “No.” saying it plainly might have been harsh, but it was the truth.
Christopher Florence was known to be quiet in the group of boys. He might be hot, but he holds baggage. Don’t let their charm fool you. Chris was known to keep his relationship and home life private; everyone respected it, and no one pried. Because if they did, the boys would have his back.
“He’s good in bed, I’ve heard.” Verina’s eyes sparkle, “Even better.”
“Hey, but I’m serious. Chris is a really hard one to crack.”
“These boys are supposed to be players, he gets what he gets.” “I’m sure he knows about your player personality too, V.”
Verina rolls her eyes, “Agree to disagree.”
