She said it was one of the best nights of her life. And I know I didn’t imagine the heat in her eyes when she caught me staring at her. Jesus… I couldn’t not stare at her.
It was one thing to see her bare, sexy legs all night long in a short skirt, but seeing her so comfortable, relaxed, and at home made me want to curl up with her on a couch, watch a movie, and see if she’d let me slip my hand under the warmth of her tee to cop a feel.
“Stop pouting. I successfully got rid of another crazy redhead for you.”
Quickly grabbing onto the seat handle and bracing my feet, I don’t budge when Bodhi slams on the brakes while Tyler flies forward, his face smacking against the back of Bodhi’s seat and his cell phone clattering to the floor of the cart.
“Oops, sorry!” Bodhi quips, clearly not sorry at all, going by the smile I can see in his profile as he slams his foot on the gas and starts moving again, forcing Tyler to fly back onto our seat in an annoyed heap.
“What the fuck?!” he screeches as he swipes his cell phone up from the floor and glares at Bodhi’s reflection in the rearview mirror. “You are literally the worst driver I’ve ever had.”
“Endangered crocodile crossing the road.” Bodhi shrugs. “Didn’t want to hit it. He probably smelled your shoes, man. You want to stop at the grocery store for flip-flops?”
“No! Just take us to the fucking ferry dock and stop dicking around!”
“Got it. No dicking around,” Bodhi replies with a salute, making me smile and wish I could hang out with this guy longer.
He catches my eye in the rearview mirror, turning the volume down a little bit on the sound system.
“She’s not crazy, bro. Far from it. She’s pretty fucking badass. We’re just a bunch of idiots who tried to be helpful, and we drove her over the edge,” Bodhi tells me before turning the music back up, pumping his fist in the air, and singing along like he didn’t just make me feel a thousand times worse about what happened.
I didn’t even ask her if she was okay. I’m used to the publicity and people saying shitty things about me on the internet. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for her. Sure, as a professional cheerleader, she’s been in the public eye and under scrutiny, but never to this magnitude. I know how to shut it off and remember who I am at the end of the day and that a stranger’s opinion of me doesn’t matter. And I just let her walk away from me, hurt and confused, making her think I’m a complete asshole.
“You’re just lucky we avoided any kind of messy confrontation with the boyfriend.”
“Ex-boyfriend,” I remind Tyler while he finally gets smart and holds onto his side handle with one hand, glancing up from typing on his phone with the other hand to scoff at me.
“Wipe that smug grin off your face and stop being happy that she doesn’t have a boyfriend.”
But I really, really am happy about that.
Honestly, when Tyler told me about the infidelity gossip and how she had some long-term, childhood boyfriend, I was horrified that I might have ruined a relationship, even though the hours we spent together were completely innocent.
It’s just what was in my head that was in no way innocent at all.
“Maybe he’ll teach me how to bowl,” I mutter, remembering how one of the articles online said he was the high school bowling coach, and he was wearing a coach’s shirt tonight.
“Who, your fake girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend?” Tyler laughs, shaking his head at me as he types away on his phone. “Yeah, that sounds totally normal. Will you fucking listen to the words coming out of your mouth? You are not friends with these people, she is not your girlfriend, and I will hire you ten fucking bowling coaches if you want to learn how to bowl. Now, can we talk about the statement you’re finally going to release to the press? We were thinking keep it simple, say it was all a misunderstanding, and leave it at that. Then, remind everyone you’re still very much single, with a little wink to the camera to make sure all your female fans remain on your side.”
That sick feeling is back in the pit of my stomach, and Bodhi’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror again with a raise of one eyebrow, almost as if he’s asking permission to find another pothole.
“This isn’t a battle to see who likes who better,” I remind Tyler. “They really have been shitting all over her in the media.”
She could have screamed at me just as much as she was yelling at her friends when I walked into the office behind her. Which was actually pretty damn hilarious, and it took a lot of effort not to laugh out loud. But she didn’t. She just gave me attitude and stood her ground, and fuck, if that doesn’t just turn me on and make me want to have Bodhi turn this golf cart around.