The Stand-In Boyfriend (Greyford High Book 5) Read online

  Noah shrugs and takes a seat next to me. He hands me my lunch bag, which I unpack quickly, pulling out my turkey club and taking a bite.

  “This is so good,” I moan happily, covering my mouth with a hand.

  He chuckles, unpacking his own lunch. “Hungry?”

  “More like hangry.”

  “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

  For a while we eat in silence. I give him a curious glance every now and then, still not sure what to make of this whole situation. What to make of him.

  I have to admit I don’t know much about Noah. Not really. We’re in the same class. He’s a football player and a decent student. He mostly sticks to his crowd, and he had a thing for Evie for quite a while.

  Remember how well that turned out, the little voice reminds me.

  So, why is he really doing this? What does he get out of this sham? It can’t be just out of the kindness of his heart. Nobody is good like that.

  I must be quiet for a while, lost in my thoughts, because Noah nudges me with his elbow. “So, let’s hear those rules of yours. Are you going to write them down, and we’ll sign the pact with blood?”

  “Don’t be silly.” I roll my eyes, but a smile tugs at my lips, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to prevent it from spreading.

  He isn’t funny. Get a grip, Jessy.

  “Those things only happen in movies.”

  “So no blood pact?” Noah almost sounds disappointed.

  “Afraid not.” I watch as Noah takes a huge bite out of his burger. “Shouldn’t you be eating healthier? You know, since you’re a jock and all that?”

  He chews carefully, observing me all the time. “Already nagging me about my eating habits? I think you skipped the girlfriend phase and went straight to acting like a wife.”

  My mouth falls open.

  “I did not!” I protest in defense. “It was just a question.”

  Noah grins widely. “You just keep telling yourself that, Sunshine.”

  “Don’t call me that,” I snap at him, irritated that he threw me off balance.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t like it.”

  His eyes twinkle in amusement. Sitting like this in the open, they look even lighter than before. Translucent almost. “And that’s exactly why I’ll keep calling you Sunshine, Sunshine. Now, are you done stalling?”

  It’s unsettling knowing that Noah can read me so well.

  “I wasn’t stalling, I was just thinking.”

  “About what?”

  “About the rules.”

  Rules. That’s what I should be concentrating on. Not the way the sunlight strikes his hair and makes his eyes seem lighter. And definitely not the way his smile is so sweet it could give me cavities.

  Noah puts his elbows on his knees, leaning forward. “If you need to think about the rules, why are we even setting them up?”

  He’s so close I can see faint freckles covering the bridge of his nose.

  I swallow, trying to move back, to put some distance between us, but there is nowhere to go. “So that we know the boundaries. Something you’re clearly unfamiliar with.”

  “Oh, boundaries. I didn’t take you for a kinky one, but I guess it’s true what they say. Lady in the streets, beast between the sheets.”

  “What is wrong with you? Are you insane?” I shove him away, my cheeks heating in embarrassment.

  “Oh look, she’s blushing,” he laughs, that deep, almost raspy sound getting under my skin and making me shiver. “Cute, Sunshine. Really cute.”

  For some reason, my cheeks grow even redder. “Stop it.”

  Noah shakes his head, laughing even harder. “Oh no, this is too much fun.”

  “I mean it, Noah. Get serious.”

  “Fine.” He tries to—unsuccessfully, I might add—school his features. “I can do serious. So, rules…”

  I give him a warning glare. “Yes, rules. No telling anybody about our little…” I search for the right word, and settle for, “Arrangement.”

  That has him stopping mid-bite. “You’re going to tell me you won’t tell anybody, not even Evie?” He lifts his brows in challenge.

  “I’ll tell Evie, after she swears to me she won’t tell anybody. Liam included. I can’t lie to her, not after everything that happened earlier.”

  He stops to think it through, then finally nods. “Fair enough. What else?”

  “No messing with other people while we’re doing this.” My heart squeezes, but I force the words out. “I mean it, Noah, I won’t be made…”

  His free hand covers mine, stopping my fingers from fidgeting and effectively shushing me. I look away, embarrassed that what happened with Jack still has such an effect on me, but unable to control it. Noah must understand it because his tone is gentle. “No messing around with anybody.”

  I nod, but my need to give him some kind of logical explanation prevails. “Want it or not, people will question it, so we’ll have to act like a real couple to sell it.”

  “And what does that include?”

  Is he for real? Wasn’t he the one to suggest this sham?

  “Dates, parties, the occasional drive to school,” I say, ticking them off on the tips of my fingers. “They have to believe it’s true.”

  “What about kissing?” His eyes zero in on my lips. “Couples kiss, hell, they do far more than that.” He raises his hand, sliding a strand of my hair behind my ear. Suddenly, I can’t breathe. I’m sitting still as the tips of his fingers brush against the side of my face. “How far do you think we should go to convince them it’s true?”

  Is it suddenly hot in here? Because it sure as hell seems so to me.

  “I—”

  My tongue darts out to wet my suddenly dry lips.

  “Or was it so bad the first time you wouldn’t be willing to risk it?”

  He’s so close I can feel the scent of his shampoo. He seems like a guy who would wear some kind of overly expensive and obnoxiously strong cologne, but nope. Plain shampoo, fresh and woodsy.

  “What would happen if I kissed you right now, Sunshine?” His lips are hovering over my earlobe, practically touching me as he speaks, his voice low and husky. His warm breath touches my skin, making me shiver.

  “W-what are you doing?”

  He chuckles, and I can feel the vibration all the way to my toes. “Figuring out how far I can push your boundaries. Since you seem to love them so much.”

  Then he slowly pulls away, that smug smile still plastered all over his face. He looks cool as a cucumber while I’m a hot, panting mess.

  “So, is that a yes to kissing?”

  Chapter Nine

  NOAH

  “Jessy Bryant, huh?”

  “What about her?” I turn my attention to Elliott. Apart from being my best friend, Elliott is also my teammate and a royal pain in my ass. I should have figured it wouldn’t take him long to start asking questions. He is one annoying fucker most of the time, but he’s one annoying fucker who has my back, so there’s that.

  He lifts his hands in surrender, chuckling. “Just askin’, dude. No need to get all prissy like that.”

  I frown, taking off my shirt and throwing it in the locker with more force than necessary. “I’m not being prissy.”

  In reality, he’s probably right. Not like I’d ever admit it. I’m not even sure why it’s bothering me so much. I knew people would be nosy and get all up my ass. Hell, this whole thing started just because of that. Still, I don’t like it.

  “So is it true?”

  “Is what true?”

  “Are you dating her?”

  I narrow my eyes at him, trying to figure out where he stands with all of this. “So what if I am?”

  Elliott lifts his hands in the air. “Nothing, man. Just wanna know what my best friend is doing.” He smirks knowingly. “That was quite a show you two put on today. I didn’t think she’d be so… territorial.”

  Jessica? Territorial? Over me? Yeah, right
.

  “She wasn’t territorial, she was just…”

  “Oh, yeah, she was.” Elliott’s laughter draws the attention of a few more of our teammates. “She all but pissed on you, man.”

  I rub my hand over my face, already feeling the looming headache. “Whatever you say. She got rid of Lisa for me, so I don’t mind it one bit.”

  “Oh yeah, Lisa.” He cringes at the mention of her name and I sympathize.

  Lisa is one of those girls. The ones who’ll do anything and everything to get to where they want to be, which is the top of the food chain in the school hierarchy. And since the top spot suddenly emptied with the graduation of last year’s senior class, she’s all in to get what she wants. Nobody particularly likes her, but we all have to put up with her because she’s on the cheer team, and the coach expects us to be on good terms with the girls.

  “Yes, Lisa.” I grab my pads and start putting them on. “Can you believe she came to me with the story that we should be together since she’s the new head cheerleader and I’m the quarterback?” I shudder at the thought. “Seriously dude, that girl’s insane.”

  “Seriously insane at sucking dick,” one of the defense players adds and the locker room fills with chuckles and snickers of agreement. “You should give it a try.”

  I shake my head at them. “I’m not in the mood to have my brains sucked out, and then have her stuck to my side like a tick.”

  “Didn’t you hear?” Bruno, our linebacker, pipes in. “Cap has a girlfriend now.”

  This earns me more whistles and catcalls.

  “Who’s the lucky lady?”

  “Jessica Bryant.”

  “Stick-up-her-ass Jessica?”

  More laughter.

  What the fuck?

  “Hey.” I turn toward and face one of the kickers, who’s still smirking like he’s the shit. “That’s my girlfriend you’re talking about.” I shut my locker, wishing it was his head, the loud smack echoing through the now quiet locker room as I stare the guy down. “You should remember that before you start talking shit about her.” I let my gaze scan the room. “That goes for everybody.”

  Thankfully, the coach enters the room. His bushy brows lift when he finds us in complete silence and half-dressed.

  “I’m not even going to ask. Get your asses in gear and I better see you on the field in two minutes. If you come late you’ll be running drills on the bleachers.”

  Everybody, me included, does just as Coach said. There isn’t anything worse than running drills on the bleachers. They’re grueling, and most people end up puking before it’s all done.

  Without another word, I pull my red practice jersey on and take one last chug of Gatorade before I exit the locker room.

  Elliott follows after me, thankfully quiet this time.

  The late afternoon sun is shining brightly, blinding me temporarily. I squint, my eyes instantly going to the smaller field next to ours.

  The girls are already out there running around the field. My eyes zero in on the brown ponytail swinging from side to side with her every stride.

  “Somebody’s got it bad,” Elliott sing-songs, elbowing me in the gut.

  I shove him away, which only makes him laugh harder. “Shut up.”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, dude.”

  JESSICA

  “So this year, I think we should step up our game,” Lisa says animatedly. She would be so much more likable if it weren’t for the fake-ass smile plastered on her lips. Oh, and stealing other people’s fake boyfriends. Can’t forget about that one.

  Lisa asked us to stay after practice so we could discuss what our plans are for the upcoming year.

  “Since some of us only have one year left—” like her—she’s so obvious “—it would be amazing to go out with a bang. To do something different and unique. Diamond was amazing, but she liked things to be…” She stops for a moment, like she’s choosing her words carefully. “A certain way. Nothing wrong with that, but I seriously think we can do better than just dancing and waving our pom-poms.”

  “What do you suggest?” somebody from the back asks.

  Her smile grows wider. “I think we should try working on more stunts. Flips and throws, stuff like that.”

  “Are you for real?”

  “Isn’t that dangerous?”

  More questions and murmurs come from all sides, but I stay quiet. For all Lisa’s faults, this actually does sound like fun.

  I like dancing, which is part of the reason I joined the team, but Diamond was always trying to over-sexualize everything. It’s one of the reasons why I didn’t get selected the first time I tried out for the team. In Diamond’s words, I didn’t match the look she was going for. I didn’t let it discourage me though. I picked up running, spent more time dancing and even worked on some flips and tumbling of my own.

  Last year, the principal got involved because she thought the skirts were too short. Since they showed half my butt cheeks, I don’t think he was wrong. Diamond went ballistic, but the principal was determined so we got skirts that cover our whole butts. Gotta love small miracles.

  “Quiet!” Lisa shouts and people actually listen. “I just watched this documentary about a college cheer team on Netflix. I loved the stuff they do, and I figured we should give it a try. We have seven weeks to get ready for the homecoming game. It’ll be more work, but I’m sure we can pull it off. Plus, it would definitely look good on your college applications. I’m sure at least some of you would like to continue cheering at the college level, right?”

  Girls around me start discussing it. I watch my teammates, their faces varying from excited to worried, until my gaze lands on Tammy. My lips press in a tight line as her bright eyes catch mine, her face falling as she sees me looking at her. She pleads with me silently from a distance but I avert my gaze, shutting her out. I haven’t seen her or talked to her since that day, and I’m not planning to change that anytime soon.

  Try ever.

  A loud clapping makes everybody settle down. We all turn to look at Miss Lopez, our music teacher and cheer coach. “Lisa came to me with this idea even before school started. I really think we could give it a try—of course, only if you girls want it. Why don’t you sleep on it, maybe try to see what the Navarro cheer team does, and we’ll talk about it at our next practice?”

  We nod our agreement, and soon after that Miss Lopez dismisses us. I get on my feet, dust off my butt and go straight for the locker room.

  Today we didn’t do much except our usual warm-up routine, and then went through our standard cheer and dance setup.

  Since school is long over, I don’t bother with changing, just start pushing my things into my duffle bag.

  I hear steps and voices behind me, and I want to get out of here as quickly as possible. But I’m not fast enough.

  “Jessy.”

  My back goes rigid when I hear her breathless voice call out my name.

  Did she really have to do it? Tammy tried reaching out a few times, just after I caught her and Jack at that party, but I didn’t want to have anything to do with her, and I made it clear to my mom that she isn’t welcome anymore.

  “I think I was clear,” I force out. The words feel bitter on my tongue.

  “Can’t we talk at least?”

  “I don’t have anything to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything, just listen.” She puts her hand on my shoulder, but I shake her off.

  Pushing the last of my things into the duffle bag, I pull the zipper and throw it over my shoulder. “That’s the thing. I don’t want to listen.”

  More girls come inside, pushing Tammy out of my way. I wait for them to enter before leaving.

  It’s just my luck to crash into Lisa in the hallway where she’s talking to Miss Lopez.

  “Jessy.” She plasters on her fake smile as she takes me in. “Already done?”

  “Yup, gotta run.”

  Her brow quirks up. “Hot date?”

  I
can see she’s irritated at the idea, which gives me some kind of sick satisfaction. “What if I do?”

  I don’t, but I’m not about to tell her that. I just want to get home and take a bubble bath so I can relax. School has barely started, and I’m already stressing with everything that’s been going on.

  She tilts her head to the side, thinking. “When did you and Noah start dating?”

  “A while ago,” I say vaguely and shrug. “I’m not one to remember dates.”

  “Every girl remembers when she started dating somebody.”

  “Not me.” I shrug, trying to play aloof.

  I was that girl once.

  The girl who believed in love at first sight and happily ever afters.

  Not anymore.

  Lisa gives me a curious look. “How did you guys meet even? You don’t run in the same circles. Weren’t you with that hockey player last year? The one who, well…”

  I know exactly what she wants to say. The one who cheated on you in front of half the school with one of your close friends. For some reason it’s even worse that she didn’t finish the sentence. It feels condescending.

  “As you pointed out,” I say super sweetly, moving closer to her. “He’s the quarterback of Greyford’s football team, and I’m on the cheer team. If that’s not running in the same circles, I don’t know what is.” I stop when we’re toe to toe. “And Lisa? If I were you, I’d keep your jealousy under wraps. Green isn’t your color.”

  Not bothering to give her another glance, I walk past her and out of the school. There are some cars in the parking lot since the football team was still on the field when we left. I get to my car pretty quickly, but before I slip inside, something tucked under my windshield wipers grabs my attention.

  A note.

  I look around, but there is nobody in sight so I pick it up carefully.

  The paper is just regular notebook paper. Nothing special about it. Holding my breath, I open the note to find a few lines written in a scrawly handwriting.