Out of My League - Sarah Sutton Page 0,24

that had something to do with Scott. Scott always hated him, rolled his eyes at the mere mention of Walsh’s name—it must’ve rubbed off on me at some point.

But here we were, mere days later, doing our first outing as a couple.

Fake couple.

Gosh, have to remember that fake part.

“I was just thinking of your article, you know.” Walsh took a step away from me to pull Tina back, reaching down to scratch her head. “You’re going to write about the baseball team, like you said, so I’m trying to rack my brain for any amazing tidbits of information.”

“Uh-huh.” I didn’t tell him that my article was actually going pretty well without his tidbits. But he was right—sooner or later, I was going to need him to spill his juicy little secrets.

Before I had a chance to say anything else, Walsh reached over and took my sweaty hand in his—am I destined to constantly be sweaty around him for the rest of our time together? The gesture casual but determined. He tugged me closer, nearly causing me to trip over Dina.

Nearly causing my heart to skip a beat. “Uh, what are you doing?”

“That girl over there. Redhead, with the Pekingese.” He looked ahead, expression calm and collected. It was annoying. “She was at the party. We want to show her we’re a real couple.” Walsh raised our joined hands slightly, as if saying this is us bonding. We must show off.

I kept my voice casual, though my insides were chittering with nerves. “A real couple, huh? I could jump you if that makes us a bit more believable.”

Walsh’s head snapped toward me, eyebrows high. “Uh—”

“I’m kidding.”

“Gosh. How am I supposed to know when you’re being serious?”

“I roll my eyes when I’m serious.”

He gave my hand a squeeze. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Fancy seeing you two here,” a voice interjected, one that was immediately familiar.

Okay, how the heck did we keep running into him?

Scott stood a few feet away with his arms folded over his chest, basketball shorts pulled up high on his waist. I gripped Walsh’s hand tighter in response, practically grinding his bones together.

“Hey,” Walsh greeted with the perfect dose of nonchalance, so much smoother than I would’ve been. He looked ahead, expression calm and collected. It was annoying—no way I could even fake that amount of indifference. “What a surprise, Scottie. Enjoying a stroll too?”

“Playing basketball.” Scott jerked his thumb over his shoulder. A basketball court was several feet behind him, and a few guys bounced a ball back and forth. “I come here a lot to play with some guys from the basketball team.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Walsh said, nodding.

I glanced between them, the tension thick in the air. Yeah, we were fake dating, but I never entertained the idea of having to show it off. Holding hands in front of strangers was one thing, but faking in front of people we knew? In front of Scott for the second time? Beyond weird.

I couldn’t get myself to speak, even though I knew I should’ve said something. Dina and Tina pranced around in the grass, completely oblivious to everything going on.

“How was meeting Sophia’s parents, Walsh? Were they at each other’s throats or overly mushy gushy? They can never really decide.”

Even with the summer breeze, heat crawled over my skin, up my neck and making me feel like I was burning. That knotted sensation in my stomach returned with a potent twist. The words felt wrong in the air, especially with Walsh being right in earshot. Fake dating was one thing—he didn’t have to know all my secrets.

Scott’s lips curled into a mean smile, and the fact that the curve looked familiar shocked me.

“They were happy as could be after breakfast this morning,” Walsh told Scott easily, not missing a beat. “We had to eat early so they could go to work, but it was nice.”

Jeez, Walsh hadn’t been lying. He was a great actor. “Yeah, they’re doing great, Scott,” I said. “Thanks for asking.”

Dina tugged on the end of the leash as she strained to walk on, Tina coming to gnaw at her heels. “We should get going,” Walsh told him. “These puppies can’t walk themselves.”

“You two coming tonight?” Scott asked just as he’d begun to turn.

Walsh nodded, slow, eyes darting to mine for a brief second. “Maybe just for a minute or two.”

I wanted to ask where he was going, and now where I was going, but I didn’t know if that would mess with our game. Wouldn’t a fake girlfriend