Faking It

Chapter 25: Welcome to Phase Two

I'd restrained myself from texting Theo five times that night, but he still haunted me even when I was supposed to be resting up for the big game. Now that I knew that he'd lied, it felt like I was only just noticing the chasm between us. Where we'd once been a team, now it seemed like he was his own team of one, and I was just a pawn in some bigger game. I felt like a fool for not forcing him to tell me what he wanted out of our arrangement, and now I couldn't stop wondering whether it was Madeleine or something else.

With what Gyeong-Ja had revealed, him wanting Madeleine would make sense. And with William out of town, putting the moves on her at a party made sense, too. Especially if Theo was trying to stop her from going to that black-tie gala with William. If that was the case, I should be thanking him, not worrying that he was working some other angle that wasn't in my best interest. But I was having more trouble unquestioningly trusting him now that he'd lied.

That was why, later that morning while Audra and I laced up our cleats for the game, I asked, "Is there anything I should know about Theo and Madeleine?"

Audra paused, then blew out a sigh. "I thought you'd decided to ignore the wanker?"

"I just want to know."

Audra leaned on her knees. "If I answer, will you put that meddlesome prick out of your head so you don't lose your starter spot again?"

I extended my hand to her. "Pinkie swear."

She made a face, but knotted her little finger with mine anyway. "All I know is that William only fancied Madeleine when it looked like Theo was about to date her. Will's taking her to that gala, though, so that's a guarantee that their date will be splashed all over the high society blogs. If you're looking for answers, she's not the reason you two are through. This is just how Theo Ellerby works, which is precisely why I tried to warn you off him. Now, shake him off and put your game face on."

That wasn't hard, especially when Audra hadn't told me anything I didn't already know. Thankfully, none of Ridgefield Academy's strikers were as fast as the Harcourt one, and Coach Patel even had me take some of our goal kicks to give Audra's leg a break. I still let a few too many solid crosses through, though, and I caught myself making a mental note to ask Theo to help me learn how to better defend against them.

When we paused for half time, I looked for him in the bleachers. The boys' varsity team was watching us, alongside a smattering of students and faculty decked out school colors. Madeleine was there, sitting with a group of seniors cheering for one of our strikers. Theo wasn't. My jaw set.

"Oy." Audra nudged me with her shoulder. "Focus."

That, admittedly, was harder. Mostly because Theo's absence raised more questions without answers. It was a school-wide policy to always cheer on your fellow varsity team, and he was skipping even though Madeleine was here. William was still away, so why wasn't Theo taking another opportunity to cozy up to her? Had something else happened last night, after Emma's tattle-tale picture? Or maybe all of this wasn't about Madeleine at all. Maybe it was just some awful sibling rivalry thing that I'd played right into.

I booted a goal kick away with force, earning a low whistle from Audra and setting up an excellent chip and run to one of our strikers. Her shot pinged off the crossbar, though, and came rocketing back when one of the opposing defenders sent a wild clearing shot my way. But rather than panic and send it away, I practiced some of the ball control that Theo had insisted I focus on during our last early morning drill session. It had gotten a lot easier and less stressful than it had been before, and my ball handling bought the midfielders enough time to get into formation for a set play that ended in a goal.

By the time the final whistle blew, we were up 3-0 and Audra was so bored that she and Deanna were chatting about their restaurant picks for the next away game. Our strikers were a lot more enthusiastic about the win, though, and they sprinted back towards Audra in a shrieking mass of high fives and cheers before we shook hands with the opposing team. Thanks to my lack of sleep, I was ready for a shower and my bed and more Riverdale with Gyeong-Ja, but fate apparently had other plans.

Because standing right behind our bench with a bouquet of a bajillion red roses was Theo Ellerby.

My feet ground to a halt. Audra called out, "Ellerby, you shouldn't have! I told you, love, I'm already spoken for."

The rest of the team giggled, and it just got worse when Theo said, "Audra, darling, I hate to break your heart, but these are for Ellie."

And suddenly, he was cutting through the throng of sweaty soccer players and sauntering towards me. I darted a look over his shoulder, to where Madeleine and the seniors still lingered while the rest of the bleachers emptied out.

"Now would be when you play along." Theo extended the flowers to me.

I forced on my brightest, biggest smile, and said through my teeth, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Winning you back, obviously." He looked pointedly at the flowers. "Because I can't get you out of my head. And I think about you all the time. Or whatever other lovesick declaration you need to hear so you'll forgive me for ignoring you."

Even though the logical part of me that knew that he was being sarcastic, something fluttered in my chest. No one had ever said something like that to me before and...I kind of liked it?

Doing my best to ignore my ridiculous reaction, I seized the bouquet. "You do realize that Madeleine is watching, right?"

His eyes snapped to mine, and his smile didn't quite reach them. "Half the school is watching, Emdubs. That's the point."

"So why—"

"William's side chick or his girlfriend," Theo interrupted. "Which one do you want to be?"

"Maybe if you told me how this—"

"If you want to be his girlfriend, you need to trust me. So brighten up that smile and, if you're up for it, go ahead and give me a very public first kiss. Because this is already going to be the talk of the town, and we might as well make it a home run."

I did not like that the thought of kissing him had something bubbling in my stomach. Not butterflies. I refused to let it be butterflies. But...something. Something that shouldn't be there, not when Theo had lied to me and was now asking me to trust him again. I shook off the giddy, ridiculous shiver prickling my neck and studied him, debating my options. I wasn't going to get any answers out of him here, and Madeleine was already standing up to leave with the rest of the seniors.

At my hesitation, he raised his eyebrows and took a step closer towards me. In the few heartbeats that it had taken me to build up a scoff to cover the heat rising in my cheeks, Theo's expression had changed. For the first time since he'd sauntered over to me, the hard edges of his usual arrogance had smoothed into something else—an eager openness that had the something in my stomach swirling up into my throat.

Before I could think too hard on what that meant, before he could take another step into the charged space between us, I panicked and threw my arms around him, nearly clubbing him over the head with the bouquet. I pressed my face to his chest, keeping as far away from his mouth—and thoughts of his mouth—as I could get.

And then, for some reason, I blurted, "I'm not kissing you while I'm this sweaty."

Theo's laugh rumbled through his chest. "Does that mean you'd kiss me if you weren't that sweaty?"

I cringed. Hard. When I tried to shove him away so I could properly smack him with the bouquet, he tightened his hold, still laughing.

"You know, as long as we're confessing our deepest, darkest secrets, I'll admit that I missed teasing you, Emdubs," he said, "Welcome to phase two of the plan."

**All I want to do is just wiggle my eyebrows and/or smirk at this chapter. Because let's be honest, who wouldn't want a grand gesture like that?! 😍

Also, is that a ship I spy? 🧐 🚢

As always, if you enjoyed it, please take a moment to vote and comment!**