Matchplay A New Adult Romance - By Dakota Madison Page 0,32

fast enough, maybe I would disappear. I felt like such a fool. Even if Aaron did have feelings for me (and I now felt that was a big if), they weren’t strong enough for him to stand up to his friends and defend me. Saving face with his friends was obviously more important than any feelings he had for me. He made it seem as though I was nothing but a score he was trying to attain. I was done. I

had enough of Aaron and his games. Of course, I still had to see him in class and we still had to work together but I vowed to be as neutral as possible and only talk about our project.

I didn’t stop running until I was at the front door to my dorm. I was glad to see no one had followed me. If anyone had tried, they probably couldn’t have kept up with me anyway.

When I got inside my room, I finally felt like I was able to breathe again. I inhaled deeply several times before I completely broke down into uncontrollable sobbing.

About ten minutes later, I was still crying when Olivia and Lucas stormed into our room.

“I knew this was going to happen,” Olivia said as she sat down next to me. “Didn’t I tell you if you got emotionally involved with that guy it would be nothing but trouble. And here I am having to deal with your sobbing ass and a mountain of filthy tissues.”

Olivia’s sheer audacity always made me smile. “Thanks. I needed that.”

Lucas sat down on the other side of me. “Are you okay?” he asked. He was such a sweet heart. Why couldn’t I fall for him instead of Aaron?

“Thank you both for being here. I didn’t mean to ruin your fun.”

“What are friends for?” Olivia shrugged.

“Where’s Marney?” I asked.

“She has a Calculus exam tomorrow, so she had to hit the books. With all the cotton candy she ate, she’ll be on a sugar high all night.”

“That guy is such an asshole,” Lucas muttered.

“Asshole is too nice for what he is,” Olivia added.

Olivia and Lucas both stared at me. “Please don’t tell me you still have feelings for the prick.” Olivia seemed incredulous.

“Okay. I won’t tell you.”

“You’re absolutely hopeless,” Olivia said. “But if you want to know if he really has feelings for you, you need to give him a taste of his own medicine.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Flaunt a guy in his face the way he flaunted that blonde in yours.”

“And where do I get this guy?” I asked.

Olivia turned and stared at her brother and he went wide-eyed.

“It’s perfect.” Olivia grinned. “Lucas can pretend that the two of you are going out and you can fawn all over each other for Aaron’s benefit.”

I looked at Lucas. His face was red with embarrassment. “I couldn’t do that to Lucas.”

“I don’t mind,” Lucas piped up. “I’d like to do it.”

“But why?” I asked.

Lucas picked at some imaginary lint on his shirt. “I guess because having a fake girlfriend, even for a little while, is better than having no girlfriend at all.”

I felt like crying again but this time because Lucas was breaking my heart. “You’d do that for me?” I

asked.

“I would do anything for you,” Lucas said and he looked at me with such sincerity my heart skipped a few beats.

“Then let’s plan Operation Fake Boyfriend,” I agreed.

***

I made sure to get to class early the next day for Part One of Operation Fake Boyfriend (OFB). I

removed the sunshine sticker that Aaron had given me from my test book and placed it on the table where he normally sat. Then I waited. Every week, when he strolled down the aisle past me, we always made eye contact and he winked at me. This week, things were going to be a little different. I removed a Mary Cassatt biography from my backpack and started reading. From the top of my book, I caught a glimpse of the other students walking in. When I saw Aaron enter, I made sure my nose was completely in my book so there was no chance of even an accidental glace at him on my part. I heard him walk past me and take the seat behind me. Then I heard a loud sigh. I assumed he had seen the sticker I had given back to him.

Good, I thought, Part One of the plan was now complete.

As soon as class ended, I turned to face Aaron, who was getting