Faking Love (Complete)

Chapter 23 - Falling

Colton shrugged and said, "Yeah she asked, but I said no."

"You did? Why?" I asked with wide eyes, raising my eyebrows in surprise. It was hard to imagine any man turning down Caitlyn, even Colton.

"Because, us taking a break was her idea in the first place. She wanted a chance to date other guys to 'make sure I was the right one'," he said, doing air quotes around those words. "So that's what she needs to do."

He paused for a minute, looking down at the floor before saying, "And I told her I wanna do the same thing, date other people and figure out if she's really the right one for me. I mean, I used to be sure she was, but here lately I'm not so sure anymore. She's changed a lot, you know?"

"Yeah, tell me about it," I scoffed, laughing. "So, are you wanting to start dating somebody else now? Because if you want to stop this fake relationship and start looking for a real one, I'll understand you know. I promise I won't be mad. I don't want to hold you back."

He shook his head. "Nah, I wanna wait until after my month with you is over. I promised to help you get Takashi, and that's what I plan to do. I can worry about finding somebody for myself after. It's only right."

I gave him a weak smile and said, "Thank you. I appreciate that." I hesitated before adding, "So ummm, do you have any girls in mind when you do start looking? Another one of the cheerleaders maybe?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it." He looked at me for a minute, thinking. "You probably know me better than anybody else. Who do you think would be a good match for me?"

I stood there, thinking about it and finally shook my head. "Honestly, I don't know. It's kinda hard for me to picture you with anybody but Caitlyn cause you were with her for so long."

"You think I should get back with Caitlyn?" he asked in disbelief.

"NO! I'm not saying that!" I laughed, after seeing the repulsed look on his face. "I think you deserve WAY better than what she gave you. You should find somebody that appreciates you, and doesn't take all the things you do for them for granted, you know? Somebody loyal that doesn't even worry about what other guys she's missing out on because she's satisfied just having you. Somebody you can be yourself with and not feel like they're trying to change you into who they want you to be instead of who you really are."

"Yeah," he nodded. "All of that is exactly what I want. It's like you read my mind."

There was a long pause of awkward silence between us.

I let out an exhale and looked up at him. "Well I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding somebody like that. I mean, you're Colton Crawford, the hot, popular quarterback. You could get any girl at this school you want."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Wait a minute. Sydney Ryan, did you just call me hot?" he asked, with a playful smile on his face.

I laughed, rolling my eyes and shoving his chest.

"Shut up. Idiot."

He gasped and pointed at me. "You did! You think I'm hot! Admit it!"

I knew what he was doing. He was trying to get a rise out of me, but I wasn't gonna fall for it.

"Newsflash Colton. EVERY girl in this school thinks you're hot," I laughed, shaking my head.

"Does that include you?" he asked with a mischievous smirk.

I laughed and said, "Wow. I'm not saying a word. Your ego is already big enough. If your head gets any bigger, you're gonna be stuck in this closet forever because you won't be able to fit through the door."