Kris

Raucous laughter floated in the kitchen from the living room and a smile formed on my lips. Putting the chicken in the oven, I turned around just in time to see Ashley gloat about her victory. She held her hands in the air and did a tiny wiggle as she teased Holden for losing to her three times in a row in the video game they'd been playing.

Ashley and I had planned an at-home date to curb any doubts her drunken confession about our relationship might have caused. And after the way I'd treated her a few days ago, I wanted to do something nice to redeem myself; to show that I cared for her and I really meant what I'd said. That I would be the best fake boyfriend ever.

So, here I was, cooking a delicious meal that was bound to earn me some brownie points. The only catch was that since we were having dinner at home, I had to cook a meal for all my teammates who ate like hogs.

"Kris your girlfriend is bullying me," Holden complained as he stomped inside the kitchen.

Ashley was right behind him. "No, I'm not. It's not my fault you couldn't last more than ten minutes."

Ethan snorted. "That's what she said." He stopped cutting the veggies and looked up, his dark eyes glinting with mischief. "I bet Holden has heard it before."

Ashley let out a loud cackle as she reached over to high-five Ethan. Watching Ashley laugh along with the guys made me realize how different her presence affected everyone in the house.

When Bethany used to come over, everyone used to kind of put their guards up. And this was even before she had cheated on me. It made me wonder if they had already sensed that something was off with Bethany that I was too blind to see back then.

With Ashley, everyone was their usual self. Even though they had met her only a month ago and also in the worst way possible, they had already accepted her as one of us, like they had known her for years. Hell, Ethan was the most introverted and reserved guy on the team and yet, he was joking with Ashley like they were best buds.

I had noticed the same thing with my siblings, Dawn and Jake. Although they had known Bethany for basically their whole life, they never took to her like they did with Ashley in just one meeting. Maybe this was a sign confirming that Bethany and I were never meant to be together.

"See? Bullying!" Holden exclaimed as he stalked back to the living room.

Ashley stuck her tongue out at him before wrapping her arms around my torso and looking up at me. "Smells delicious in here. Are you sure there's nothing I can help you with?"

"We are almost done." Turning in her arms, I placed my hands on her hips as I raised a brow at her. "I thought you said you can't cook."

"Not on my own. But I'm pretty great under supervision," she said. "Just don't let me anywhere near the stove. There's a 80% chance something will burn."

"Noted. I'll keep that in mind for our next date," I said and pecked her nose, making her giggle. "But for now you can just supervise."

Saying so, I picked her up and placed her on the kitchen counter. Ashley let out a surprised squeal before dissolving into more giggles.

"What did I tell you about picking me up?" she asked, squinting her eyes at me.

"Hmm, that I could pick you up whenever I felt like it?" I flashed her a grin.

She thwacked my arm and glared at me, but the smile on her face told me otherwise. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that."

Shane had said something to her about her physique that still made her nervous whenever I tried to pick her up. Like the coward that he was, instead of admitting whatever his reason was to not be able to pick her up, he had to make her feel insecure about herself.

Well, screw Shane. I was going to do everything in my power to make Ashley realize that there was nothing wrong with her. If that meant I'd have to bench press her every day at the gym, I would do it.

"The salad is ready," Ethan announced as he walked up to the kitchen island with the salad bowl in his hands. "Oh, and do you want me to sleep in the bunker tonight? I'll just quickly grab my stuff from our room then."

Ashley was supposed to stay the night to really drive our point home. The perfect ending for a perfect date.

"What's the bunker?" Ashley asked, looking amused at the term. "Do you guys have a safe-room or something?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but Ethan beat me to it. "It's a makeshift bedroom in the attic. I'll sleep there tonight so... you know, you guys can have the room to yourself."

"Oh," she said and a faint blush crept up her face.

However, it vanished just as fast as it came. Ashley looked up at me with the same mischievous smirk on her face that had started this entire act. Oh God, this couldn't be good.

"You know..." she started, her lips curved up in a smile that made my heart race. And not because it was a pretty smile, but because it made me nervous. "We should go sleep in the bunker and let Ethan have his bed."

"What?" The question came out louder than I'd expected, earning me funny looks from my roommate. Clearing my throat, I went to stand in front of her and cupped her face. "Are you sure? It has only one tiny mattress."

I was hoping that the single mattress would change her mind, but it didn't. Instead, it just made her smile wider. God, this woman was going to be the death of me.

She threw her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her. "Even better. We can snuggle. Sleeping in the attic would be so romantic."

She was joking right? She had to be joking.

I looked past her at Ethan who was waiting for my answer. If I denied, it'd look weird. Which boyfriend didn't want to cuddle with his girlfriend? Finding myself in a spot, I begrudgingly agreed.

"Fine. Whatever you want," I said smiling despite my true feelings about the situation.

Ashley pursed her lips when she saw my expression. She was enjoying this situation a little too much. Let's see how much she enjoys this when I tickle the reason for her actions out of her.

"Okay then," Ethan said, looking a tad surprised by the turn of events. "Do you want me to set the table?"

"Yes please," I said, ready to get Ashley alone so I could interrogate her.

But Ashley was quick to realize my intentions and hopped off the kitchen island. "I'll come help," she said and ran away from me.

I pointed at her and then swiped my thumb over my neck to which she just giggled and stuck her tongue out. Chuckling to myself, I shook my head as I got back to finishing my work.

At the dinner announcement, the boys rushed inside the kitchen like seagulls diving after anyone who had food in their hands. It was chaos and I had to swat multiple hands away before they could ruin my presentation.

Sure, we were having dinner together to amp up our act, but it was still my date night. And it had been a long time since I'd cooked to impress someone. I wasn't going to let these hungry goblins ruin that for me.

"This smells so nice," Holden said, rubbing his hands while eyeing the food. "If we could get such a meal every time Ashley visited, I might just ask her to move in."

"For real. This is like five star level cooking," Liam, our other freshman teammate agreed as he hovered around the table with his plate in hand.

I pulled out Ashley's chair for her before taking a seat beside her. As everyone dug in, I made a plate for her, selecting the biggest piece of chicken and cutting it for her into tiny, bite sized pieces.

She smiled at me and kissed my cheek when I placed the plate in front of her. "Thank you. This looks delicious."

My cheeks flamed despite being fully prepared for this act. I cleared my throat, filling my own plate. "You're welcome. I hope you like it."

While everyone praised the food, my gaze was stuck on Ashley. I held my breath as I watched her take the first bite. Her blue eyes widened and she turned to me, her mouth full and lips formed into a pout.

"Oh my God, this is the best thing ever," she said.

"You like it?"

She took another bite, nodding. "I love it!"

A smile formed on my lips when I noticed the sauce smeared on her top lip. Messy eater like always.

"I'm glad you do," I said and swiped my thumb over her lip, wiping the sauce off and sucking it. Her cheeks flushed a pinkish hue and she looked away from me, focusing on her meal.

"Aw look at you guys being so stinking cute," Dylan cooed from across the table. "Now I feel bad for doubting you."

"You doubted them? Why?" Holden asked, his mouth full and grains of rice sticking to his mouth. "What's there to doubt?"

"You know, the usual stuff," Dylan replied as he reached out to get more salad. "I'm sorry about cornering you the other day, Ashley."

"You did what?"

Dylan met my gaze for a brief second before raising a brow at Ashley. "You didn't tell him?"

"Tell me what?" I asked, turning to face Ashley. "What's he talking about?"

Ashley shook her head and mustered a smile. "Nothing. It's not—"

"I asked her if she was dating you just to piss off Shane," Dylan interjected.

I couldn't believe Dylan would do something like this. While I always had a feeling that he didn't fall for our act, I didn't know he would go and confront Ashley about it. Behind my back at that.

Dylan raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry. I was just a little suspicious after our dinner with Shane"

"Seriously Dylan?" I started, keeping my fork and spoon down. "Why would you even ask that? That's totally uncalled for. No matter what your reason was for it. Ashley's past relationships—"

"It's okay. I didn't think much of it," Ashley said, interrupting me. "I can see how the timing of it all can raise some questions. I was more than happy to clear any doubts."

"See? It's all good," Dylan said.

I shook my head at him. "Even if she says so, it's not okay for you to go poking around in other's business."

"I know and I'm sorry. I wouldn't have honestly if you weren't acting so strange," he said, crossing his arms.

"How am I acting strange?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. You're a very PDA kind of guy and seeing you not be the PDA guy around Ashley was confusing okay? I just wanted to make sure everything was fine with my best friend's relationship."

My shoulders tensed a tiny bit, but I managed to keep a poker face. He had a point.

I hadn't dated anyone seriously after Bethany. There were a few casual hookups in the months following my breakup, but that was about it. Still, I was more physically affectionate with them than I currently was with Ashley. And she was supposed to be my girlfriend.

I didn't think anyone would pick up on it. But of course, it had to be Dylan who did. As if he didn't already have a lot of suspicions about me dating Ashley, now he had one more reason to doubt us.

Thankfully, Atlas chose that moment to enter the kitchen, saving me. "Thank God we have food."

As he made a plate for himself, the conversation shifted to him and how his investors meeting had gone. Atlas didn't give much details, but he did say he'd almost punched a guy in the face. I made a mental note to go talk to him about it later.

"Ashley, you went to Oakwood High right?" Dylan asked after a while.

Ashley nodded. "I did. How did you know?"

"Got the name from Shane when he was talking about his hockey team," Dylan said, pushing around the scallions in his plate. "Do you know Jason?"

"No..." she trailed off, seemingly deep in thought. "I don't recall anyone of that name."

"I met him in my class a few days back. He went to Oakwood High as well. He knows you and Shane too. You guys must have been pretty popular huh?"

Ashley's spoon clattered on her plate loudly and a hush fell on the table as everyone's attention honed in on her. Her face lost its color as if she had seen a ghost.

Dylan, on the other hand, looked extremely pleased with himself. It irked me a little. He clearly knew something and was trying to put Ashley in a spot.

"Sorry," she mumbled when she noticed the others looking at her. "H-He does? I don't remember meeting someone named Jason."

Dylan hummed. "Maybe he was friends with Shane then."

She cleared her throat and picked up her spoon again, fixing her gaze on her plate. "Yeah. Maybe."

"But weren't you guys dating? You must know his friends then. Maybe you should meet him once. He had a lot to say about you."

Ashley's head snapped up, a troubled look on her face. She was scared. I didn't know why, but it just made me that much more mad.

Why was Dylan doing this to her? Anyone could tell she was clearly uncomfortable and Dylan seemed to be enjoying making her anxious.

"I-I don't—"

I clasped her hand under the table as I inserted myself in the conversation. Dylan might be one of my best friends but he needed to know his boundaries. And right now he was crossing quite a few of them.

"What's this about?" I asked aloud. "Is there a reason why you are bringing up this topic?"

Dylan met my gaze, mildly surprised by my intervention. "No reason. I just wanted to let her know that one more of her peers went to Wellsfield. He seemed to know her so I thought—"

"But she has already said that she doesn't know him so what's the point in asking her again. Why won't you just leave her alone?"

Ever since we'd sat down for dinner, he had been constantly making her uncomfortable one way or another. And I didn't understand why. She hadn't done anything to him and yet, he just wouldn't let her be.

"I just—"

"Dylan stop being an ass," Atlas interrupted.

"But I—" Atlas shot him a pointed look, shutting him up. Dylan nodded and stared down at his plate. "Sorry."

The atmosphere around the table turned somber as everyone focused on finishing their food and retiring to their room as soon as possible. Ashley remained quiet through the rest of the dinner, keeping her head low and not meeting anyone's gaze. I hated that Dylan's pushiness had ruined such a great evening.

"You okay?" I asked as soon as we were alone in my room.

She gave me a small nod. "Yeah. I'm fine."

I wasn't convinced, but decided to not push it. I lent her the same t-shirt and shorts she'd worn the last time she was over and she wordlessly changed into them. Once we had both changed for the night, we headed up to the attic.

The bunker as we called it consisted of nothing more than a twin sized mattress, a pillow, a duvet, battery powered fan, and two night lights. It wasn't anything fancy, but allowed a single person to sleep comfortably for the night.

I'd spent quite a few nights here and usually slept like a baby. But I wasn't sure if it would be as comfortable for two people.

"Careful with your head," I said as I let Ashley walk ahead of me. The attic's ceiling was pretty low and since both Ashley and I were on the taller side, we could easily bump into the overhead beams.

"Cute lamps." Ashley settled on the edge of the mattress and picked up the unicorn shaped lamp.

"Those are Ethan's," I replied. "He would never admit it, but he likes cute stuff."

She hummed and gently stroked the unicorn's head. We sat in silence for a while as I contemplated the best way we both could sleep comfortably. Because the mattress was so small, touching was inevitable. I could sleep on the floor and let Ashley have the mattress. But it would be super uncomfortable.

Ashley kept the lamp aside and lay down on the mattress, her golden hair splayed on the mattress. She scooted to the side as much as she could and patted the space beside her. With no other viable option available, I lied down as well.

"Aren't you going to ask me what Dylan was talking about?" she asked after a while, her voice a tiny whisper.

"No," I replied immediately. "I know you'll tell me if I need to know it and when you feel comfortable sharing."

"Dylan doesn't trust me," she said, turning on her side. "But you do. Why?"

I shrugged and turned on my side as well, facing her. "I have no reason to not trust you."

She pursed her lips, her eyes searching my face as if trying to detect a lie. "But you told me about your past. And I haven't told you anything."

"Like I said, I know you will tell me when you feel comfortable."

A small smile formed on her lips as she shook her head. "You're too trusting of people for your own good. You know that right?"

"Maybe I am. Gives me peace of mind," I said. "It's better than constantly doubting everyone and living in fear."

"Hmm, true."

We lapsed into silence once again, just staring at each other. In the warm glow of the night lamp, Ashley's eyes looked darker than usual, a deep blue that reminded me of the ocean.

Not the shallow water at the beach, but the deep waters that held many secrets. However, the mole above her upper lip always managed to grab my attention. I didn't know why, but somehow it made her look ten times prettier.

"How are we going to get Dylan to believe us?" she asked and I heaved a sigh. It was something that had been troubling me as well ever since he mentioned the PDA thing.

"I don't know," I confessed. "He's very observant. I didn't even realize I was acting differently with you."

"Different how?"

I shrugged again. "I'm a PDA kind of guy. That's what Dylan called me. I guess even if I'm casually involved with anyone, there's still a lot of physical affection from my side. Lots of hugs and kisses. With you, it's different because we already have rules set and I guess it shows."

She was quiet again as she thought over it. Although, I wasn't sure we could do anything more to make this believable. We were already acting like a couple so there was nothing left to do.

"Maybe... Maybe if we change the rules a little bit," she said. I wasn't sure if it was my mind playing tricks, but it felt like she leaned in just a tiny bit closer to me. "Do something...more."

My throat ran dry as her words conjured a million scenarios in my head. "What more?"

Her gaze jumped from my eyes to my lips and back to my eyes, her voice a sultry whisper. "More PDA I guess. More hugs and...kisses."

I gulped, my eyes honing in on her plump lips despite the warning bells going on in my head. "But the rules..."

At that moment, I realized that I didn't really care about the rules. In fact, they seemed like the worst thing to ever exist in this world. Fuck rules!

Clearing my throat, I forced myself to look away from her lips and focus on her eyes. "It won't look natural in front of others even if we did...you know. We both will react differently."

She hummed. "True. But not if we try it before we do it in front of others. Like practice."

"Like practice," I repeated as my gaze shifted to her inviting lips again and that damn mole.

I wasn't sure if she moved first or I did, but in the next second our lips touched and my whole world flipped on its axis.