Kissing the Player - Maggie Dallen Page 0,43

that made heat flood my cheeks.

“You’re gross.”

“I’m human,” he said, that smirk widening to a grin as he mimicked my tone.

Embarrassment and amusement had me shaking my head with a reluctant laugh. “You’re such a boy.”

“And you’re such a player.” He sounded in awe as he shook his head slowly. “All this time I thought you were just…”

It was kind of funny to watch him struggle to find a word that wouldn’t insult me. It would have been funnier if I hadn’t heard him say such nasty things about me less than twenty minutes ago.

But I had, and so my voice held a tinge of bitterness as I filled in the blanks for him. “You thought I was a flake?” I suggested. “Or maybe you just thought I was super shallow.”

I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. I’d hit the nail on the head, all right. I wondered if he felt guilty.

I wondered if he still thought that to be true.

I wished I didn’t care one way or the other.

I sighed as I turned away from him. The silence that followed was filled with a song from his band. It was good. Catchy. And the lyrics were surprisingly sweet. “You guys should play this one at the fundraiser.”

“Yeah?” He glanced over. “You like it?”

I nodded. Being nice felt weird right now. I wasn’t sure how to be around him, to be honest. I was tired of being angry—but I was still angry. I was exhausted from acting all night long—but I didn’t know how to be around him without pretending.

I rested my head back against the seat with another long exhale. Maybe it was time to just stop thinking. Stop trying. The guy had already made up his mind about me anyway, so what did it matter?

“I wrote it.” His voice was weird. He sounded almost as stilted and awkward as I had. That was something of a comfort.

He didn’t know how to be around me, either.

We were like diplomats at a peace treaty signing. But this peace treaty wouldn’t last for long. It couldn’t. He still had an agenda and I wasn’t one to forgive and forget. But for right now…

“It’s really good,” I said.

He shifted. “Thanks.”

Silence fell.

“So…” He shifted again like he couldn’t quite find a comfortable position behind the wheel. “You’re helping to raise money for the theater department. That’s…nice.”

I glanced over, suspicion flaring at the awkward attempt to start a conversation that didn’t revolve around him. I felt my lips twitching with amusement even as I told myself that he was doing this on purpose.

I knew that.

He was only trying to make nice so he’d have a shot of winning a bet. Do not fall for it, you idiot. Do not let him win.

“It’s not really all that selfless,” I said. “I have my reasons.”

He nodded. “So you can do the shows you want to do this year?”

“That,” I said slowly. “And I’m also hoping to have a shot at a scholarship that rewards community service in the arts.”

“Ah,” he said.

I smirked. “Yeah. Ah. So, you know…just in case you thought I was doing something selfless, think again.”

He shot me a look. “You gotta do what you gotta do to get money, right?”

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from saying the first thing that came to mind. Like dating a girl you despise? I swallowed and tried for tact. “I guess. I have my limits though. I mean, I wouldn’t hook up with someone just to get some cash.” I snuck a sidelong look in his direction. “That would just be…” I gave a little shudder. “Well, that’s just gross.”

His hands opened and closed on the wheel and he said nothing.

“But then again,” I said with a sigh. “There’s not much I wouldn’t do for a career doing what I love, so…who am I to judge?”

“You’re that into acting, huh?”

I shrugged. “It’s the only thing I know how to do.”

He scoffed. “I doubt that.”

“No, it’s true.” With no streetlights and no other cars on the road, the interior of the car was dark. The music was soothing. The atmosphere was…intimate. Aside from that, I was with a guy who didn’t like me. Who wouldn’t like me no matter what I said, and who couldn’t possibly dislike me any more than he already did.

There was something freeing in knowing that. Maybe that was why I suddenly felt myself relax, my tongue loosening along with the rest of me. “I’m not