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

  I soothe my palm over hers, hoping it gives her reassurance.

  A loud whistle spreads through the clearing and we turn around just in time to see one of my teammates falling down from a keg stand. He sways a little on his feet, but manages to find his balance without anybody’s help. The group of people around him cheers and catcalls, patting him on the shoulder and raising glasses to celebrate.

  “That’s Chad. His family owns the land,” I tell Jessy, tipping my chin in the direction of the group.

  It doesn’t take her long to see them. “Now I’m even less sure that somebody won’t call the cops on us.”

  “What?” I stop and look down at her. “You gonna tell me that you’re afraid of spending a night locked up, Sunshine?”

  “It’s definitely not high on my list of priorities, Mr. Dark and Dangerous,” she mocks back. “Besides, this skirt is too pretty for a jail cell.”

  I look down at her, since she just gave me the perfect excuse. Those lean, toned legs are still tanned from the summer. Yup, definitely too pretty. Some other girl would probably wear heels even knowing this is a field party. Not Jessy, though. She’s too practical for that. It makes me wish she weren’t because then I might have gotten a chance to carry her and feel those toned thighs of hers wrapped around me.

  And now it’s really time to stop thinking about her legs wrapped around me. My hands sliding over her smooth skin. Her warm body pressed against mine. Just like when I helped her put up those banners yesterday.

  This is a fucking bad idea, Russell.

  “Yo, Russell!”

  My best friend’s voice breaks me out of my thoughts and saves me from embarrassing myself. Turning around, I find Elliott leaning against his truck, a girl tucked underneath his arm. Two more guys from my offensive line are standing by his side.

  I pull Jessica toward them. “C’mon. We don’t have to stay long, just say hi.”

  “Right.” She nods, but I can still see that she’s on edge. However, I don’t get a chance to say anything else, because Elliott pulls me into a one-armed hug.

  “You finally showed your ass here.” He steps back and looks down at Jessy, giving her an appreciative once-over. “I thought for sure you’d ditch us to spend some alone time with your girl. You know, like you’ve been doing for over a week. Not that anybody could blame you.”

  The jackass stares at her legs way too long for my liking and I want to punch him in the face.

  What the hell?

  I’m not sure where that even came from, but it’s here. The weight of it wrapping around my throat and suffocating me. I try to shake it off.

  She’s my fake girlfriend, for fuck’s sake.

  “Nah, we couldn’t miss it. Right, Sunshine?” I give her a small nudge in the side. “You know this asshole, and these are Jeremiah and Dean. Guys, Jessy.”

  “His girlfriend,” Elliott supplies in an exaggerated tone like they don’t know it. They all chuckle and say hi before returning to their dates and drinks. Well, all except Elliott. “I know that you girls are all over quarterbacks, for whatever reason really, but let’s be real here for a moment, I’m the one who makes him look good. You know, in case you decide to ditch his ass and all that.”

  Jessy laughs too, a genuine smile curling her lips. “Well that’s good to know. I’ll definitely keep…”

  “You’ll nothing.” I move behind her, wrap my arms around her and pull her to me. Then I give a pointed glare to my soon-to-be ex-best friend. “Go and find your own girl, Elliott.”

  His smile turns even more smug than it was before. “Oh, no way. I leave that to you, my friend. More ladies for me.”

  The girl that was tucked underneath his arm now turns to look at him, and judging by the look on her face she isn’t the least bit happy.

  This should get interesting.

  “Hey, what about your offer then?” Jessy protests.

  “For you, honey?” He lets his eyes slide slowly over her body. Does he really have a death wish or what? “I’d make an exception.”

  Elliott winks at her.

  I glare at him over her shoulder.

  And then he finally gets what’s coming for him. The girl—May, Mary, Mae? I’m not even sure what her name is—finally has enough of him. She smacks him over the head before moving out of his arms.

  “You, Elliott, are a pig!” she screeches loudly enough for people to turn their heads in our direction.

  Elliot scratches at his neck, a confused look on his face as he watches her storm off. He turns to us. “What did I do?”

  We all burst into laughter.

  “Oh, Elliott, you were right.” Jessica moves closer, pulling me after her because I’m not letting go, and pats him on the shoulder. “You’re definitely not ready for a girlfriend.”

  “But…” He squints at Jessica, and then back in the direction in which the other girl disappeared. He lifts his hands in surrender and then lets them fall by his side. “Whatever, I give up!”

  I shake my head at him, still laughing. “Dude, you’re hopeless. Why don’t you go and use those charming abilities of yours to find us something to drink?”

  His eyes narrow. “You see what I mean? He makes me do all the hard work. Asshat.”

  “He is something else,” Jessy says as we watch him climb into the back of his truck. I should have known that he’d bring something else, since we all know the only thing you can find here is beer.

  “Are you guys coming or what?” Elliot asks over his shoulder.

  I help Jessy get in the back of the truck, where there is a blanket tossed over the bed. Elliot is already sitting in the corner with a bottle of tequila in his hand.

  “Please tell me you cleaned that,” I say, looking at the blanket and contemplating what we might be sitting on.

  Jessy looks between the two of us warily. “Is there something I need to know?”

  “Fuck off, Russell. It’s clean.”

  “I don’t think you should risk it,” I tell Jessy, and sit down, pulling her in my lap.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she asks me quietly, her eyes wide.

  “Acting like a nice boyfriend would,” I whisper back, wrapping my arms around her middle and pulling her closer to me.

  “You guys are making me want to puke,” Elliot comments, opening the bottle and pouring the liquid into plastic cups. “At least wait with all the mushy stuff until after I’m drunk.”

  “You’re just jealous, asshole.”

  Jeremiah and Dean join us with their dates in the back of the truck. Elliot gives us each a cup.

  We talk about everything and nothing, talking shit and drinking. Tequila helps too, and in no time, Jessica relaxes enough not to be self-conscious and starts talking with the guys like she’s one of them while at the same time lying against my chest.

  “So he was working on his spiral, you know? We’ve been at it for hours, but no matter what, the coach wasn’t happy. He wanted more. I could see that Noah was pissed at him, but what can we do, right? So he starts running backward and just as he gets ready to throw the damn ball, he trips over his own feet and falls down on his ass.”

  I shake my head at Elliot, but don’t say anything, not willing to ruin their fun. Even Jessica is laughing with the rest of them.

  “Did he at least manage to throw the ball?” Jessica asks when she gets her laughter under control.

  “Not a chance. It fell not even a foot away from him.”

  More laughter. Jessica’s shoulder brushes against mine as her whole body shakes with the movement, her sleek hair tickling me as she moves and laughs.

  It’s intoxicating seeing her like this. Happy and carefree. Her smile wide, cheeks flushed, golden dots dancing in her dark eyes.

  She is intoxicating, and I can’t seem to get enough of her. It’s like she’s filling every hollow part of my soul, and I want more.

  More of her body against mine.

  More of her laughter.

  More o
f her.

  Jessy looks over her shoulder at me, that wide smile directed right at me leaving me breathless for a moment. Her mouth moves, but I can’t hear a word she says.

  “What?” I finally ask when I see that she’s waiting for an answer.

  Her teeth are grazing against her lower lip, drawing my attention to her mouth.

  “What are you doing?” she whispers instead of asking whatever she asked in the first place.

  I lick my lips, my eyes still zeroing in on her mouth.

  “Trying to figure out how much it would take to wipe that lipstick off your lips.”

  She gulps loudly, her delicate throat moving as she swallows. My hand reaches forward, pushing her hair back, fingers sliding over the sensitive skin of her neck and collarbone.

  “Noah?”

  “Yeah?” I ask, but it sounds low and raspy.

  “You can’t look at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you want to kiss me.” Her voice is barely audible, so nobody but me can hear it. “No kissing, remember?”

  I lift my hand, sliding my thumb over her mouth. “I remember no such thing. Besides, we already broke that rule.”

  “Noah…”

  Is it just my imagination, or does my name on her lips sound breathier than it did just moments before?

  Closing the distance between us, we’re so close our lips brush if only slightly. “You can pull away,” I say, needing her to know she has a choice. Needing her to choose this. Choose me. “All you have to do is pull back and this will be it.”

  But she doesn’t pull away. Her hands land on my chest and slide to my back, fingers threading through the hair at the nape of my neck as my mouth captures hers in a kiss.

  Her eyes fall shut as a breathy sigh parts her lips. A sight that sounds almost like relief. I cup her cheeks, tilting her head just slightly. My fingers tangle in her hair as I deepen the kiss. She tastes like chocolate, tequila and sunshine, unlike anything I tried before and everything my body seems to need.

  Her tongue tangles with mine, fingers digging into my scalp. She shifts on my lap to get into a better position, but the only thing it does is make me more turned on than I already was.

  I let go of her face, grabbing her hips and stopping her from wiggling any more.

  We break the kiss, both of us panting hard. Her eyelids flutter, and she looks at me, confused.

  “Noah?”

  That breathy rasp of hers will be my undoing. I press my forehead into hers, giving myself a moment to catch my breath and steady my rapidly beating heart.

  “If you don’t stop wiggling so much, you can’t hold me responsible for what I do next, Sunshine.”

  It takes a second for the words to sink in but when they do her mouth opens in a surprised O.

  I chuckle humorlessly. “I figured as much.”

  The tension is back, but not for long thanks to Elliott. “Are you two done making out, or do I need to bring the fire extinguisher?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  JESSICA

  “So what did you and Liam end up doing the other night? I didn’t see you,” I ask, as I pour a packet of sugar into my chai latte, stirring the contents of the cup.

  Instead of meeting at one of our houses and risking somebody overhearing us, we decided to meet in the local coffee shop instead.

  “Oh, we were there, but you didn’t see us because you were otherwise,” she coughs exaggeratedly, “occupied.”

  I glance at my best friend, but then quickly turn my gaze back to my cup. There is a gleam in her eyes that matches the smug smile tipping her lips.

  A very big, very knowing smile.

  “Oh, yeah?” Uncomfortable, I push a strand of hair behind my ear. I have a feeling I know exactly how I was occupied and it’s not something I want to think, much less talk, about.

  Especially not with Evie.

  “Most definitely. Seriously, if I didn’t know better,” she looks around to assure herself that nobody is listening, but still leans closer, “I’d think there is more between you two than you’re letting on.”

  “You’re delusional,” I say, more for my own benefit than hers and roll my eyes at her for good measure.

  I can’t forget that all this is fake, just an illusion Noah and I created. But it’s getting harder and harder to divide truth from lie, what is real and what is not, especially when Noah is near. Because when he kisses me, all of the lies and pretense fade away. In that moment, it’s just the two of us. He’s just a boy, and I’m just a girl and nothing else matters. With his arms wrapped around me, and his lips pressed against mine, we can get lost in one another, lost in this moment and just… be us.

  “And you’re stubborn.” Evie pokes me in the chest.

  “I’m not stubborn, I’m just stating the truth.”

  “You can’t say there isn’t something more. I saw how you guys look at each other. It’s like you’re resisting the pull, but it’s just too strong.”

  “What you’re seeing is me trying to resist the pull to strangle him.” I wave her off, although a part of me can’t help but wonder, is she right?

  Nope, you’re not going there, Jessy. It’s fake. Remember that.

  “Can you believe he got pissed off yesterday because I wore Jack’s jacket to school?”

  “Did he now?” Evie lifts her brow.

  “You’d think I tattooed his name on my forehead. It’s just a stupid jacket.” I take a sip of my tea, burning my tongue in the process.

  Shit.

  “Mm-hmm…”

  I narrow my eyes at her. “What does that mean?”

  “That you’re ignoring what’s right in front of you, stubborn girl.” She shakes her head like I’m hopeless. “You’re lucky I love you regardless.”

  “Gaah! You are too infuriating. Seriously, between you and Noah, it’s strange I haven’t gone insane.”

  “I just want you to think about it. You looked happy yesterday, is that so bad?”

  She’s right, I did have fun with Noah and his friends. They’re an amusing bunch, not all that different from hockey players. Being with them reminded me a little of happier times, something I’ve forgotten with all the bad things happening lately.

  “I—”

  “Have you seen them? She was sprawled all over him, I thought she’d suffocate the poor guy!” a snarky voice says.

  “Right? We get it, you’ve switched from hockey to football players, no need to stick your skanky ass in our faces.”

  I swallow hard, feeling the bile rise in my throat.

  “Jessy…” Evie’s hand grips mine on the table, her compassionate eyes searching mine. But right now, I can’t take her compassion.

  I push the chair back, getting on my feet. “I need to get out of here.”

  With that I run outside, not once looking back. I start jogging as soon as I’m on the street, not caring that I’m wearing my ballet flats and jeans which are definitely not appropriate for jogging, but I need to get out of here.

  I’m so sick of people talking about me behind my back like they know shit about me when in reality they know nothing at all. Who are they to judge me? What gives them the right to?

  I’m so sick of it all…

  My leg slides on the pavement, making me almost lose my balance. Thankfully I only stumble, but quickly regain my stance. My breathing is heavy, my heart thumping rapidly in my chest from exertion.

  Bracing my hands against my knees, I take a few big gulps of air.

  Tears prickle my eyes, but I push them back.

  I’m not going to cry. Not over them. I won’t give them that power.

  “Jessica?” A hand touches my back, making me jolt in surprise. “It is you. Are you okay?”

  “Noah.” I turn to him, recognizing him instantly. “I’m fine.”

  He doesn’t say anything as he takes me in, assessing whatever he sees on my face. “You were crying.”

  It’s not a question, but I still
have a need to defend myself. “Was not. It’s just dust and sweat. I was running.”

  He looks at my clothes with clear doubt. “In that?”

  “It was impromptu running.”

  “Mm-hmm…”

  “What’s with that today? Mm-hmm…” I lift my arms in the air and then let them fall back down, slapping against my sides. “What does that even mean?”

  Noah takes a step back and lifts his arms in surrender. “Whoa, what’s that all about?”

  Sighing, I rub at my temples, feeling a headache looming. “It’s nothing, sorry, it’s not your fault somebody pissed me off.”

  Instead of being angry at my attitude, Noah relaxes, letting his hands fall by his side. “What happened?” he asks softly.

  “It’s nothing.” I try to look away, but Noah’s fingers tip my chin back to look at him.

  “It’s clearly something.”

  Seeing on his face that he won’t let it go until I confess, I sigh. “Some girls were talking shit, that’s all.”

  Noah’s eyes narrow, that silent intensity of his coming out in full force. “What girls?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  The last thing I want is for him to go storming back and do God only knows what, drawing attention back to me.

  “You’re upset so it clearly matters.” He lets his hand fall down and grabs mine. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”

  In silence we walk through the streets of our little town, my fingers safely clasped in Noah’s hand. I should probably pull them out of his grasp, but I don’t want to. Having him hold my hand feels… nice. It’s so easy to lean into him, letting him offer security and comfort.

  We don’t stop until we reach the park and sit on the first available bench.

  “Wanna tell me now what happened?” Noah asks once again.

  I lean against the bench, tilting my head back to look at the clear sky. Although September just started, you can already feel the slight drop in temperature. Very soon the sun will be hidden behind rainy clouds and the green leaves will be colored in yellows and reds.