Fake Dating My Ex's Hockey Star Brother (Maya Scott) novel Chapter 170

ALLISON’S POV

“Woohoo!” I scream, half-hanging out of the window with bundles of cash clutched to my chest. ”

Suck on it, Celeste!”

“Allison, put your head back inside the car,” Justin mutters.

I twist to look at him and his face is completely blank, like he’s emotionally buffering. “Are you seriously not even a little bit happy that we won?”

“I am,” he says calmly. “Just not happy enough to watch you get decapitated.”

My lips curl, and I mock-swing at him, but he doesn’t even flinch. “Boring… you’re so boring.”

I start stacking the cash neatly, grinning like a total maniac. What are the odds I didn’t have to parade around campus like some desperate salesman to sell every single ticket?

I was just lying in bed when I got a call to bring the remaining, and boom-everything sold. Every last one. Honestly, this feels like winning the lottery but only better because I beat Celeste.

Maybe Justin’s not that bad… I’ll grudgingly give him a few points back on the good guy scoreboard.

“Do you think I should call Aaron already?” I barely finish the question when my phone starts ringing on my lap. My grin spreads across my face as Aaron’s name flashes on the screen. Just in time.

“Hi Aaron. Let me guess, you’re calling to congratulate me?” I tease, biting my lip.

“Yeah, I heard,” he says, his tone dry. He’s not exactly jumping-for-joy level, but honestly, I didn’t expect him to cartwheel across campus either. “I’ve texted everyone so congrats, you’re keeping your part.”

“Yes!” I fist-pump the air, catching Justin smirking from the corner of my eye. Guess he does know how to be happy after pretending.

“Please don’t rub it all over Celeste’s face,” Aaron pleads. “She tried her best, no hard feelings.”

“I can’t promise that,” I whisper before hanging up.

I shake my head, a laugh bubbling out of me. Oh, Celeste is about to meet the most insufferable version of me during practice tomorrow. I’ll be cracking jokes at everything, laughing too hard, shaking my ass right in her line of sight, and just making sure she feels it.

Next time, maybe she won’t try to steal someone else’s role like a cockroach.

“Are you that happy?” Justin’s voice cuts into my thoughts.

I glance at him. “Of course I’m happy! This is, like, my first lead role.”

He nods, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Good thing we sold all the tickets, then.”

I tilt my head. “How did you even come up with such a brilliant plan?”

“You know… just thought of it.” He shrugs.

“And you roped your teammates in?” I lean a little closer. “Did you… tell…”

“They think I’m doing it for Katy,” he says quickly, as if reading my mind. “Relax. Nobody knows anything.”

I nod, even though the car suddenly feels hotter than before. All those carefully tucked-away memories of… us hooking up just rushed back the second he mentioned it. Honestly, I wouldn’t be this embarrassed if we hadn’t gone five….I can’t even bring myself to acknowledge that.

“So you’re gonna honor our deal, right?” Justin asks

“Of course, why won’t-” My words die mid-sentence, eyes widening. Wait. Our deal. Holy Colombus. How could I forget that?

“You forgot, didn’t you?”

I tug at the collar of my shirt. “No… I didn’t.”

“Then why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

I gulp. “Are you seriously gonna make me do anything you want for a whole month?”

“Terrified?” he asks, eyebrow quirking.

“Just so we’re clear,” I snap, crossing my arms, “I’m not agreeing to anything sexual, not even a kiss. I’m a woman of my word, so I’ll do anything else you say.”

His lips curl into a grin. “Come on, Allison. You really think I’d be that much of a jerk?”

I suddenly feel bad for even hinting at it. “That’s not what I meant.”

My dorm comes into view, and he eases into the parking lot.

I roll onto my side, staring at the pile of cash from the ticket sales. He sold all five hundred in just a few hours. I know he did it for the deal, so it’s not supposed to be cute. But… my mind refuses to agree.

With him, everything is so confusing. One moment, I’m convincing myself he’s never liked me, hasn’t liked me for years, and the next… I’m almost believing he might. Why do I let my brain play these games?

I sigh, shaking my head just as my phone starts ringing. I grab it from the bed.

“Hello? Who’s this?”

“You broke up with him already. Can’t you just let him move on?”

Excuse me? I glance at the screen but there’s no caller ID. Who the hell is this?

“Who is this?” I ask, my voice sharper.

“Look, just back off Sean, alright?” I can hear him clearly enough to recognize it’s Josh. “Leave him the fuck alone, or you’re gonna regret it.”

I sit up, my lips twitching with anger. “Josh, don’t ever call me again.”

“Get Justin off Sean’s back,” he snaps. “Or you’ll be hearing from me. He doesn’t deserve to stay in pain forever because of you.”

His words twist in my heart the way I don’t expect. Sean’s in pain?

So what about me? I’m still messed up. I’ve been hurting too. I barely sleep, and when I do, it’s the same nightmares over and over. And every single one of them has Sean’s face in it.

My fingers curl tight around my phone. “He deserves whatever Justin gives him. Don’t call me again.”

I end the call, my hand shaking as I block the number, and the phone hits the bed with a thud. I pull my knees up, wrapping my arms around myself, shivers crawling down my spine.

My thoughts start tripping over each other: Josh’s voice, Sean’s name, the way my stomach drops every time I hear it. I press my thumb into my thigh, grounding myself, harder and harder, until it almost hurts.

“Stop thinking about it.” I whisper over and over. “Stop.”

My room feels smaller and smaller. My shoulders tense, waiting for something I know isn’t coming but can’t shake the feeling anyway. That’s when the tears finally spill.

I lift my head and my gaze catches the mirror on the wall. The girl staring back at me looks like me, but she isn’t. Her eyes are dull, and distant like she knows things I’m trying desperately to forget. She feels like a version of me I don’t know, taunting the person I thought I was, and the one I’m still pretending to be.