Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
My phone dinged again as I headed into the bathroom to brush my teeth.
Cullen: Have a safe flight tomorrow. Don’t want to have to put on a whole dog and pony show of wailing and beating my chest if the plane goes down with my beloved boyfriend on it.
Me: You should be so lucky. Think of all the sympathy you’d get. Your rep would be restored instantly.
Cullen: Good point. In that case, sit near the front, I hear that’s the most dangerous spot on a plane.
My laughter rang through my hotel room, almost jarring in the silence.
Cullen: I’ll pick you up at the airport. Good PR. Makes me look like a supportive BF and all. I’ll tuck a handkerchief in my pocket in case I need to start weeping. If you can time the crash so it happens on the runway, even better.
Me: Anyone ever tell you you have a dark sense of humor?
Cullen: Yeah, you. It’s one of the things you like about me.
Me: Liked.
Cullen: Yeah, yeah. See you soon, McRae.
I took a deep breath, the kind the therapist I’d seen after my injury had called “cleansing,” but no matter how many times I repeated it, my feelings about Cullen Atwood still weren’t something I could just exhale into the air and let go.
11
CULLEN
“This is your first event out as a fake couple. That’s big, Cull,” my sister said while we were on the phone. She was right, but there was no way I was admitting that.
“Eh. It’s not a thing. Just another charity event, only this one I won’t be trying to find someone to go home with, so I guess that’s different.” I had a habit of trying to ignore things I didn’t want to think about, and this was no different.
“Ha-ha. You’re the strangest mixture of conceited but also self-deprecating.”
“What’s self-deprecating about what I just said?” I asked.
“Nothing to people who don’t know you, but for me, it’s you playing up to the persona the media gave you.”
“Which was given to me based on my actions, so it’s pretty on the head.” She sighed and didn’t continue. “How’s Mom and Caleb?” I asked.
“She thinks you have a boyfriend, and she’s trying to come to terms with that—which is ridiculous. I told her. I hate that she’s like this. I’m sorry, big brother.”
I ignored the discomfort in my chest and stamped it down until nothing was there, just the way I liked it. “It is what it is. I should get ready for tonight.”
“Tell me you’re not having sex with him,” she said. Ugh. My sister was the worst. Why did she have to be my best friend?
“It’s weird how interested in my sex life you are.”
“That’s gross. I’m being serious, Cullen.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
“Cull…”
I heard the front door open and knew Houston must have gotten home from wherever he’d gone early this morning. He’d been back from LA for a few days. I’d peppered him with a hundred questions about the interview. He’d told me about it, but as far as I knew, he hadn’t received a call yet, so I was letting it lie.
He was probably on edge about the event tonight. It would be our first public appearance as boyfriends, again something we would have dreamed about when we were in college. Now we had it, only it was fake. I still couldn’t get over that shit. I also needed to chill the fuck out because if Houston thought I was stressing, his anxiety level would shoot up. “It’s fine, sis. I gotta go. Talk soon.”
I ended the call and stepped into the hallway just as Houston headed down it. He was in athletic clothes, hair wet with sweat and a dusting of stubble along his jaw. “Want me to lick you clean?” I waggled my brows. He gave me the finger in return. “I feel like you don’t appreciate me, McRae. All I want is to be a good boyfriend and treat my man the way he deserves to be treated, but all you do is shut me down. It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.”
I feigned a cry, and he gave me that familiar look that said Houston didn’t know what to do with me. “You’re an idiot.”
“One of us has got to be. I’m willing to take one for the team.”
He sighed and leaned against the wall, wearing his serious face. “This is going to be weird.”
I shrugged because he wasn’t wrong. “Want me to go alone? I can say you’re sick.”
“I don’t think we’re gonna sell this very well if I don’t go. It’s already being talked about online—the two queer couples from the Rush and seeing Cullen Atwood with the man who tamed the beast—direct quote.”
We both laughed. The media was ridiculous sometimes. I wasn’t surprised they were making a big deal about seeing me and Houston together. The ex-golden boy of the Rush and the fuckup of the league. It made for a good story. Also, I didn’t deny I was a beast in the best ways. “Thank you for doing this for me. I know you don’t want to, and now it might cause issues with you getting a job.” If that happened, I’d never forgive myself.