Since their parents were getting married, she would have to interact with him for the rest of her life. She couldn’t have these feelings for him. At some point, he would figure out she was attracted to him. Then she would die of embarrassment and every time they saw each other it would be awkward. She needed to get these feelings under control.
Eventually, Greer could hear the noise and movement in the hall indicating lunch was over. She got up, wet a paper towel, fixed her tear-streaked face, stepped into the hall, and froze.
Beckett was waiting for her. Their eyes connected and for a split second she thought she saw concern, but then it was gone. Greer waited for the traffic to clear and crossed the hall to stand in front of Beckett.
Raising her eyes to his, she hoped he could read her determination. “I’m not going to talk about it.”
His eyes searched hers. Greer held her breath and let him probe. Beckett’s eyebrows drew together as she prayed he wouldn’t challenge her. Finally, he jerked his head in a nod. Greer turned and started walking to her next class, with Beckett’s warmth by her side the whole time.
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Chapter 23
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For the rest of the week, she succeeded in never being alone with Beckett, except driving to school. She could feel his searching intensity when they were in the truck, but she pretended to be oblivious and held her breath praying the ride would pass in peace.
It was finally Friday and since the homecoming game was tonight Greer breathed a little easier. With all the festivities and preparations for the game, she knew Beckett would be busy. Too busy to have his contemplative gaze on her.
The knock on her door made her glance at her phone on the bathroom counter. It was only 6:15 am. Greer made her way to the door found Beckett standing there.
He pushed his jersey toward her. “You need to wear this today.”
“Why?”
“All of the girlfriends wear jerseys. If you don’t then it will cause people to talk.”
She definitely didn’t want to give anyone anything to talk about, but it seemed very intimate.
“Are you sure?” The unspoken ‘we aren’t a real couple’ was between them.
“It’s just a jersey, Greer. Wear it.”
His flat, hard voice made her stomach crinkle. She took it without another word and closed the door. She took off her white polo and slipped his jersey over her head, immediately enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by Beckett.
She tucked the front into her skirt and stood in front of the mirror. Seeing the number four spread across her chest created chaos in her stomach. If she looked closely enough, she could probably see her heart hammering against his number. She spun and saw Dawson across her back. Not allowing herself to think, Greer grabbed her phone and took a selfie in the mirror.
Without pause, she swung away from the mirror, grabbed her backpack and walked to the truck. As soon as she stepped outside, she felt his eyes and she slowed her step to give herself some time to calm her racing heart.
She stepped up on the runner and swung into the passenger seat. She told herself to not look over at Beckett, but she couldn’t resist his compelling stare. Slowly, she raised her head and found his gaze focused on the number four spread across her chest.
Greer held her breath waiting for his eyes to meet hers. When he finally raised his head and met her gaze the heat and desire radiating from him made her heart stop beating.
“You look good, Greer.” The low growl made the hairs on her arms stand up and pay attention.
She sucked in a breath and tore her gaze from his and realized he was wearing the home, white jersey, instead of the black jersey she had on. Her eyes wandered to the bulging, tense arm muscles gripping the steering wheel. Her eyes drifted back to his when the deep, grizzly tone reached her ears.
“All eyes are going to be on us today. I will be kissing you.”
Greer wasn’t sure what to say as they stared at each other. She felt her nipples harden and the pulsing between her legs quicken. Her lips started tingling in anticipation. She wanted him to kiss her now and the thickening air between had her wondering if he was thinking the same thing.
Finally, Beckett turned to the wheel and started the truck up. Greer sucked in some air and laid her head back. Without looking at him she worked up the courage to say what had been nagging at her to say the past week.
The softly spoken statement was like a pin dropping in the middle of a library. “You don’t have to do this.”
His head was quick to turn. “Do what?”
“Pretend to be my boyfriend. Go to the dance with me.”
“We agreed it was the best way for your bully to understand we are together. No one will dare mess with you if they know you are mine.”
Greer took a second to savor the words, even if she knew they weren’t real. She wanted them to be. As soon as his jersey slid onto her body this morning, she forgot that this was all pretend.
She closed her eyes to block out her wishful thinking and think logically. All eyes would be on him today, as quarterback and star of the football team. This was not the time to push the issue, but she wanted to put it out there. Recruiters would be at the game and she didn’t want to do anything to distract Beckett from the game. But she knew she couldn’t be Beckett’s pretend girlfriend for much longer and not end up a total mess when the charade ended.
Hiding behind her closed her eyes, she murmured, “Nothing has happened for several weeks, Beckett. If we have a public break up after homecoming then no one will care about me.”
The truck came to a jerking stop and the engine was turned off. Greer kept her eyes closed and waited.
“No.”
She kept waiting to hear more, but nothing came. Her eyes slid open and her head raised.
“That’s it? No?”
“The reason you haven’t been thrown against any more walls is our plan is working. So, no, we are not breaking up.”
“But, what about”
“No. No buts. Get out of this truck and let’s get to practice.”
Her irritation started rising and she watched him walk around the truck to her side. He opened the door and held out his hand. He seemed to think this conversation was over. He was wrong. She swatted his hand away and with more fervor said.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do. My argument is valid. You can’t stop me from breaking up with you in the hall.”
“The doubt will still be there because we will still ride together every morning. We will still be seen together. If you start to break up with me, I will back you into a locker and kiss you until you can’t think straight. So, go ahead and try it.”
Her mouth dropped open with the menacing promise. How was she supposed to respond to that? Her body perked up at his threat and she gave in before he decided to prove his point. Greer hopped down, without his help, and said with a snotty tone, “Fine.”
Greer swept around Beckett and kept a brisk, steady pace to the practice field. She could feel Beckett looming behind her, but not another word was spoken between them before they split ways.
Just as she sat down, on her usual seat at the fifty-yard line, and took a deep breath, she heard giggling at the far end of the field. Apprehension ran down her spine at the sight of the cheerleaders and dance team huddled in various groups, in the end zone.
Several immaculately styled girls raised their hands and called some players names, as they came out of the locker room. Who could be that made up and perky at 6:30 in the morning? Apparently, all the girls at Oak High, except her.
She had made more of an effort this morning. Instead of pulling her hair up into some sort of bun she had taken the time to straighten it and put some makeup on. For her, that meant tinted moisturizer, mascara, and lip gloss. She had long ago given up on Jenn’s makeup techniques. They simply took too much time.
These girls
were ready for a photo shoot. Greer silently slid a little further down in her chair and hoped no one would see her. The last thing she wanted was to be singled out and talked about.
Even as she huddled in her seat, she felt eyes on her. Scanning, she saw Brittany’s steady gaze on her. Greer couldn’t see Kiana. The cheerleader with the freezing cold, blue eyes, that made her apprehension rise, but she could feel them. Pepper had finally given her the low down on the cheerleader/mean girl squad. Kiana was the silent, cold sidekick to Brittany.
Brittany was the head football cheerleader. She took every opportunity to make a passive-aggressive comment when she knew Beckett wasn’t around. Even when Beckett was near, she could hear her derisive snort as they passed and she had no doubt it was directed at her. She had been on the receiving end of Brittany’s glare too many times to count, but it was always Kiana’s icy stare that made her uncomfortable.
Kiana strode up to stand beside Brittany, where she usually was. When Kiana noticed Brittany’s stare, she followed it to Greer. Kiana’s mouth tightened when she saw Greer and her eyes narrowed when she saw her jersey. Greer refused to look intimidated, even though her entire body was tense waiting to see what they would do.
The coaches for the teams blew their whistles to call everyone to the middle of the field. Greer felt her body sag when Brittany whipped her straight, blonde ponytail away from her and swung her hips to the middle of the field, taking Kiana with her.
With no attention on her, Greer gathered all of her things and snuck down the stadium stairs. A knot of dread had formed and tightened with each tick closer to 8:00 a.m. Wearing Beckett’s jersey would put her in an even bigger spotlight. This day was going to suck.
She hid in a dark corner by the front door of the school and waited for the doors to open. When it was finally 7:30, she lowered her head, kept her ears on alert, and practically ran to the sanctuary of the library.
At 7:55 she knew she needed to head to her first class and the time for hiding had come to an end. Halfway down the hall, after stepping out of the library, she felt the eyes. She steeled up her nerves and walked like she didn’t know everyone was watching her. She didn’t see Beckett until he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side. He bent down and casually swiped her lips, before lifting his head slightly and asking.
“Why did you go?”
Her back was to the lockers and Beckett’s shoulder was on the wall beside her and blanketed the world out.
“It got too noisy.”
Beckett’s eyebrows rose. A heartbeat later he turned and tucked her hand in his and led them to her first class. When they got there, he leaned down and swept his lips across her forehead. “Wait for me after class.”
When he turned to go, she found herself lingering in the doorway watching him. The whole day repeated the same pattern. He was there after every class, lightly holding her hand, brushing kisses over her lips, forehead, cheek, even on her open palm. By the end of the day, her body was buzzing and eagerly anticipating his touch. She was actually disappointed when the last bell rang.
The day had been amazingly good and that was bad. It wasn’t real, but she couldn’t seem to work up the will to distance herself. Beckett had sucked all of her resistance away and she decided to enjoy this feeling through the dance. Then she would have to find a way to put some distance between her and Beckett.
The emotional high she was on continued through the game. Oak High won as easily as everyone expected. What wasn’t expected was how invested she became in the game. The entire time her eyes were on Beckett and she cringed every time he got hit. She screamed whenever he made a completion. Even when he was on the sideline, she tracked his movements.
After the game, they waited in the parking lot for their guys, and the energy was still flowing. They were talking over each other retelling the plays of the game. Of course, the plays rehashed involved their boyfriends.
The players started trickling out in small groups. Bouncing up on her toes, Greer kept looking for Beckett. When she saw him come out with Mark and Jason, she felt her body light up and she left in the middle of Pepper’s story.
She threw her arms around Beckett. “You threw three touchdowns and ran one in!”
Beckett laughed put one arm around her, lifted, and twirled her around. “I’m always amazing, Greer. I take it you had fun?”
He set her down and she realized their little group was chuckling at her exuberance and she put her hands in her back pockets and tried to tone down her excitement.
“It was a good game.”
“Greer, it wasn’t a good game. We won 37-0.” Jason sardonically informed her.
“I think she meant her boyfriend was good.” Pepper put in dryly.
Greer’s eyes bugged out of her head. “Pepper!”
Thankfully, no one pursued the discussion, after they got done laughing at her expense. She snuck a peek at Beckett and he had a smug smile. Time to change the subject.
“Let’s all go to Beckett’s.” She announced, which only made the guys laugh and shake their heads at her.
“No Greer, now it is time to party!” Mark hollered.
That took her energy down to zero in no time flat. “You guys go ahead, I’m going to head out.”
“No, you’re not Greer. You are going to the party with us,” Beckett informed her.
Nothing got her hackles up like Beckett telling her what she was going to do. “No. I’m not Beckett.”
Lexi’s soft request broke the standoff between her and Beckett.
“Come on, Greer. I want to go, but I don’t want to go without you.”
Greer smiled softly. “Lexi, Jason will be there with you.”
The guy in question hugged her closer. “That I will, babe.”
Lexi looked up at Jason with a small smile and then back to her. “Come on, Lexi, he’ll be off celebrating with everyone, please go so I’ll know someone.”
Mark and Pepper both interjected. “Hey!”
Lexi stepped forward and took Greer’s hands. “Come on, Greer. I know they will both be there, but they are ‘natives’ to the school. I won’t know anyone else. Please? Be my best friend and come with us.”
Greer relented, reluctantly. “Okay, but you better stay with me and protect me from the she-wolves.”
Lexi hugged her. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Girls in one car and we’ll meet you guys there,” Pepper declared.
“Don’t go in until we get there,” Beckett warned.
Pepper nodded. “Okay.”
The whole drive over Greer felt like she was setting herself up for disaster. She was walking into her enemies’ territory. There would be drinking teenagers and no adults. At least at school, there was veiled security with teachers everywhere. The crowd at the party would be the Oak High elite and she was not on that list.
Greer sat in the back and noticed Lexi in the front seat, not saying much either. Pepper was talking away while she kept changing the Sirius station. When Pepper found a station and started singing, Greer asked, “You sure you want to go, Lexi?”
Please say no, please say no. Even as she chanted this to herself, she saw the determination on Lexi’s face as she turned to look at her.
“I’m nervous, but I want to be with Jason. He deserves to party and be with his friends, so I’m going for him.”
“I hope Jason appreciates you, Lex.”
A brilliant smile lit up her face. “He does.”
They pulled through wrought iron gates and Greer brought her attention to the cars already lining the quarter-mile drive leading to the house. The cobblestone driveway was lined with an adobe half wall with indirect lights attached to it. There were hidden lights somewhere in the ground accenting the plush trees and landscaping behind the wall.
“Isn’t this amazing?” Greer gushed out.
Lexi was practically pressing her face against the window and nodding in agreement. Pepper nodded absently as she drove past the wide
stairs leading to the front doors, concentrating on finding on a parking spot.
“Aha!” Pepper pulled to the side of the road and was instantly on her phone.
Greer assumed she was texting the guys and turned to Lexi. “You ready for this Lexi?”
Lexi tore her gaze away from the imposing white adobe house and turned back to Greer. “Can you believe we live in the same city as this?”
Lexi wore the same apprehension she was feeling and they silently commiserated together. It was an understanding that you didn’t belong here. You weren’t sure how to act, where to sit, and where you could wander to.
Pepper looked up from her phone and rolled her eyes. “Yes, it is a nice house. Everyone at Oak High has an amazing house. You included, Greer. It doesn’t make them any better than you guys.”
Greer agreed with Pepper, except she didn’t have an amazing house. The Dawson house was temporary, and not hers. Knowing ahead of time the people in the house were rich, bitchy, snobs didn’t stop the intimidation from happening. Because she knew from personal experience some of them were also cruel bullies. She was relieved Beckett would be at her side. Greer refused to think about what would happen when they would inevitably be separated.
“Did you text the guys?” she asked Pepper.
“Yeah, they are inside waiting for us.”
Pepper led the way and she followed with Lexi, walking side by side, bolstering each other’s confidence. Pepper bypassed Guardian Lions sitting on pedestals and walked through the imposing double doors.
As soon as they were through the door the music blasted her eardrums and she understood why Pepper didn’t knock. Lexi was snatched from her side when Jason grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. The next thing she knew they were disappearing through the crowd. Well, so much for Lexi needing her.
And then Beckett was there. He was maneuvering through the crowd with a broad smile on his face. Mark was beside him, with the same expression.
“Greer! You’re here!” Beckett bent down and his hands went behind her knees and to the small of her back. He started carrying her back toward the crowd. “We’re in the gazebo.”
Battling Beckett Page 16
