Fake Dating My Ex's Hockey Star Brother (Maya Scott) novel Chapter 187

ALLISON’S POV

“Cheers to Allie!”

I can’t believe the club just toasted to me. I sink back on the bench, a can of Coke in hand, and a grin spreads across my face. For the first time in two years, I actually feel like I belong here. I’ve tried fitting in before, but it always felt…off, like I was forcing a piece into the wrong puzzle.

Tonight, though? Tonight I can finally stand here and say, without any hesitation, that I’m part of the drama club.

“You know,” Samantha says, grinning, “for a second then, I actually asked Aaron if something happened to you.” Laughter bubbles around the table. “You were crying like you lost your entire life or something.”

“Was it that real?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Not just real,” she laughs. “It was terrifying. You were…wow.”

I can’t help but smirk. Maybe I shouldn’t be mad at Celeste tonight. After all, her little sabotage is what made me cry on stage and apparently gave me my best performance ever. Silver linings, I guess.

I lean toward Justin, nudging him lightly. “Hey… can you take some photos of me?”

He nods and pulls his phone out of his pocket.

“Alright, guys, let’s take a pic,” I call, standing up. Almost everyone scrambles toward me, all smiles and energy….well, everyone except Celeste, who’s hunched over at the end of the table, picking at her food.

We finally wrangle ourselves into a decent formation with Justin holding the phone and snapping away.

“I shouldn’t have messed up my shirt,” Chioma whines, striking an awkward pose.

“Don’t blame the poor shirt,” Aaron shoots back, and suddenly we’re all erupting into laughter. Chioma lunges at him playfully, and chaos reigns for a few seconds.

Once the bickering dies down, we line up again, adjusting arms over shoulders and goofy grins, and Justin keeps clicking away, capturing all of us in our messy, happy glory.

I force my gaze to Celeste, who’s still planted at the end of the table. “Celeste, why are you sulking?

She jabs her fork into her food, lifting her face with a frosty smile. “I’m just… too exhausted for a photo. Maybe next time.”

“Exhausted?” I glance around, pretending to be shocked. “How are you tired when you only had five lines?”

The room goes quiet instantly. I catch a few nervous glances and Justin shoots me a look, one that says I’m seriously asking for trouble but honestly, I need to humble Celeste so she can back off.

I force a chuckle. “Don’t mind me, just joking.” I glance at Chioma and others, and they all laugh awkwardly, clearly trying to play along. Celeste, of course, stays frozen in her spot, her face tightening by the second, knuckles whitening around her fork.

Sliding back beside Justin, I reach for his phone but he pulls it just out of reach.

“What?” I frown, raising an eyebrow.

“That was… a hard watch,” he says. “You didn’t have to say that.”

“She started it,” I mutter, irritation prickling. “Why are you even taking her side?”

“I’m not,” he replies, shoving my plate toward me. “Just… eat.”

I roll my eyes at him and reach for his phone again. This time, he hands it over without a word. As I scroll through the photos, picking the keepers and the deletions, I barely register the chatter around me until someone calls my name.

I lift my gaze and pause. Everyone at our table and even a few from the next are staring at me and Justin like we’re on display.

“What?” I whisper.

Aaron scratches the back of his neck, looking awkward. “Uh… we were saying it’s the first time we’ve had… uh, an athlete, or someone from the hockey team, at our dinner. And…”

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