The Boyfriend Deal(4)

"You know I wouldn't miss it." I smiled at him, leaning across the table  a bit. "You are going to win the game for me, aren't you?"

The laughter in his eyes was enough reward, but the steam coming out of  Becca's ears was way better. She didn't even bother saying bye. She just  stomped her foot like some irritated horse, made this weird huffing  sound, then stormed off in the opposite direction, apparently forgetting  the ice cream they'd come in for to begin with.

"That was pretty good, Red. I almost believed you."

"What makes you think I didn't mean it? Because if I have to sit on  those hard ass bleachers, you'd better win the game. I'm not sitting  there, letting my butt go numb, just to watch the team lose and hear the  fans boo and hiss you off the field."

"You come to the game, and I promise to do everything I can to win it for you."         

     



 

I eyed him over my ice cream as I took another lick. "Why do you want  this so badly? I mean, you could ask any girl in the high school to go  out with you. Why would you pick me? It isn't like we were childhood  playmates, or middle school sweethearts that went wrong. You've barely  spoken to me since our first day of school when we were four."

"Just because we never talked, doesn't mean I wasn't aware you were  there," he said softly. "Just give this a chance, Red. It's a win-win  situation. You get Hunter off your trail, and I get Mom off my back."

"Like you could be celibate for two weeks."

"I need you longer than that. Mom isn't going to believe I'm walking the straight and narrow after only two weeks."

My nose scrunched. "You really think we could pull something off longer than that?"

His fingers tightened on mine, reminding me that he was closer than was  healthy for me. I tugged on my hand, but he refused to let it go.

"Is this really so bad?" he asked. The smirk was back in place, as if he knew my answer already.

Bad? No, not exactly. I mean, it was bad for my heart, a heart I knew  was going to get smashed to bits when he no longer needed me, but I had  to admit the hand holding and pet names were nice. I'd missed being part  of a couple, even if Hunter wasn't ideal.

I stared at him as I ate my ice cream, watching as that sinful smile  flirted around the corners of his lips, and I knew I was in a world of  trouble. Because no matter how many times I told myself it was all an  act, the more he sent those heated looks my way, the more I wanted them  to be true. The moment I'd played along, acting like the girlfriend who  was going to cheer her boyfriend on, I had made my decision and sealed  my fate.

"So, when do I get to meet the parents?" he asked, humor glinting in his eyes. "Parents love me."

I couldn't hold back my snort. "Yeah, right. I'm sure they lock their  daughters away after hearing who's at the door. What parents in their  right mind would be okay with you dating their daughter?"

"Ouch! That hurt, Red."

"You can't deny your reputation, not when your Mom is even complaining about it. Face it, Tyler. You're a womanizer."

"Is that even a thing anymore?" he asked, but there was laughter in his voice. Fine, if he wanted to play, I could play.

"Skirt chaser? Libertine? Casanova? Oh! How about ladies' man? Any of those work for you?"

He schooled his features and acted as if he were seriously considering  the question. With a shrug and a shot straight to my heart, he asked,  "How about we just call me yours?"

And the score was Tyler  –  1, Hadley  –  0.

Finished with my ice cream, I pulled my hand away from his, wiped my  mouth, then stood to throw away my napkin. I felt Tyler's presence  behind me. Quite honestly, I wasn't sure what to do with him. He had a  point about meeting my parents. If Mom or Dad caught wind of my dating  someone they hadn't met, it would get ugly fast. They gave me plenty of  space to be my own person, but after the Hunter fiasco, they were a  little more selective about the boys I dated.

An arm curled around my waist and I was tugged against Tyler's side as  he caught up with me. Even when I'd had a real boyfriend, I hadn't had  this much attention. Hunter had stolen kisses here and there, but he  hadn't been big on touching or holding hands in public. For that matter,  I'd never seen Tyler act this way before either. If he wanted people to  think this was a real relationship, he was laying it on kind of thick.  I'm sure people were already questioning why he would pick someone like  me. We didn't need them digging any deeper, not if we wanted this to  work.

"You should at least let me take you home," Tyler said. "You shouldn't  walk from here, and you'll ruin my reputation if word gets out I made my  girl walk."

"You really want to take me home?"

"Wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." He squeezed my waist.  "Besides, it's an ideal time for me to meet your mom. That way she  doesn't freak when I show up in the morning to pick you up for school."

Pick me up?

"Since when do I ride to school with you? I've gone to school with my friends every day since school started last month."

"Look, Red. I know you don't really like me, probably can't stand being  near me, but can we at least try to pretend to be a happy couple?" he  asked softly so no one walking by would hear. "Is it really so horrible  pretending to be my girlfriend?"         

     



 

"Not so far. But then, Alicia hasn't tried to rearrange my face yet. By  the time word spreads through the school, I'm sure she'll pay me a  visit, and I doubt it will be a pleasant one."

He winced.

"You had to go out with a psycho, didn't you?" I asked. "Couldn't go for some nice, normal girl?"

The smile was back. "I'm trying the nice and normal thing now, aren't I?"

"Fine. You can give me a ride home, and if Mom agrees, then you can take  me to school in the morning. But I have to warn you, after Hunter,  she's leery of the boys I bring home. I had a friend over for a study  session, and I thought she was going to have a stroke."

"Noted. I promise to be on my best behavior."

"Then get me out of here before someone else notices us. I'm not the  best actress, and I'm not sure I can pull off two shows in one day."

Tyler winked at me, opened the passenger side door, and then walked  around the front of the car. As he slid behind the wheel, he reached  over and laced our fingers together again. I thought it was a little odd  since no one could see us, but I had to admit I liked it so much I  didn't really resist. Being alone with him should have been  uncomfortable, or at least a little bit weird, but it wasn't. It wasn't  like we were best friends or anything, but being with him was  …  nice. If  the charismatic boy I'd spent time with today was the real Tyler  Robbins, I was in so much more trouble than I'd thought. He wasn't just  sexy and funny. He was sweet, endearing, and judging by his class  schedule, he was pretty smart. Would the real Tyler Robbins please stand  up? Because if all of this was just for show, I didn't think I'd  survive the break-up.

I gave him my address, but he gave me one of those smirks of his and it  made me wonder if he already knew where I lived. He pulled into the  driveway a few minutes later, parking behind my mother's car, and we  walked hand-in-hand up to the front door. Before I could get my key in  the lock, the door swung open and my rather frantic mother pulled me  into the house.

"I've been worried sick about you!" Her hands coasted over my hair,  shoulders, and down my arms, stopping at the hand that was still linked  with Tyler's.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I should have called or something. We decided to grab some ice cream on the way home."

Mom was eyeing Tyler with narrowed eyes. "And just who are you?" she demanded, making me wince.

He held out the hand I wasn't gripping like a lifeline. "I'm Tyler. I'm  sorry if I had Hadley out too late. It's my fault. She said she needed  to get home, but I talked her into ice cream. Not as an official date or  anything, but just to spend some more time with her."

Mom looked from Tyler to me and back again. "And will you be asking her on an official date?"

"There's a party after the football game on Friday. I was hoping she'd agree to go with me."

Mom pursed her lips and I could tell she was going to say no. I'd seldom  attended parties with Hunter, and look how that had turned out. To say I  wanted to go was an understatement. Besides, a party with Tyler? Yeah,  that had to be fun. Well, assuming I could get past the girls trying to  steal him away, and the whispers as we passed. I hadn't really  experienced much of that, but when you dated the most popular guy at  school, it was bound to happen. If someone had stolen Hunter from me,  there was no doubt someone would try to steal Tyler.

"Please, Mom?" I asked. "I'd really like to go."

"I can bring her home, and I swear I won't drink anything stronger than soda or water."