Page 31 of The Backup Plan
She fired, and a blue light lit up between his shoulder blades as she ran up the entrance to the catwalk. “I’m asking if we can just be cozy again another time or two.”
“If you like him, why do you want him to think you and I are a couple?” His footsteps receded.
“Because then I’m still one of the good guys while he gets to know me a little and sees how amazing I am.”
“That sounds a little dishonest.” He leapt from a room out of nowhere and grabbed her arm, then aimed his pistol at her heart. “Gotcha.”
She pointed her gun at his stomach. “Yeah, but it gets you out of having to talk to people you don’t know at parties. You get to hang with your friends, and no girl is going to try and get cozy with you if I don’t leave my seat.”
He startled, but didn’t relax his grip on her arm. “We agreed you were my protection, anyway.”
“So, maybe we let people make their assumptions.”
She met his eyes in the neon green light, and he nudged her with the barrel of the gun. “You want him to be jealous?”
“No. I want him to keep talking to me.”
“Where’s Justin in all this?”
“Justin will have to know we’re faking it, or he’d start picking out my wedding dress. Look, I haven’t lied to Cam. I don’t want to. I just won’t correct him thinking we’re together, and then at some point in the very near future, I’ll tell him we aren’t.”
“And never were?”
“Do I have to say that part?”
The neon light shifted to purple, and he dropped her arm. “He’s my friend.”
“Then don’t you think it’s good for the guy who’s been so miserable since training camp to snap out of it to talk to someone? There is something between us waiting to happen. I can’t let that slip away. I think he just needs a little cushion to be sure I’m not just more trouble.”
He smiled. “I might argue that last point.”
“My motives are entirely pure.”
“Crushes are never entirely pure.”
She aimed at his ribs. “You know what I mean. Look, if I was going to be your cozy buddy at parties anyway, can we still just do that? Then if anyone asks point-blank if we’re together, we’ll say no. But if that happens, I’ll expedite my personal timeline, flirt with him like a normal girl, and leave you to your own devices.”
“No,” he whined. “You’re the one who told me how good it was for me to get out and conquer a little anxiety by meeting people in a safe environment. You’re my safe environment. Why is Cam the only one who gets a safe space with you?”
She drew back from him and raised her pistol. “Good sir, we are at an impasse.”
He raised his in return with a theatrical laugh. “All right. I propose we’ll stay cozy for four weeks and let people think what they think, but we won’t lie about it.”
“Did you just propose to me? Isaac. I didn’t mean that cozy.”
“Do not make me fire this gun. One more hit, and you’re toast.”
“So are you. What happens at the end of four weeks?”
“We stage a breakup and declare our undying friendship. Then you seduce Cam, but I get to hang with both of you if we are at the same parties, and I reserve the right to be a little clingy about it.”
“I appreciate your faith in my powers of speedy seduction.”
“I’m immune, though.” He lowered his gun.
She waited to speak until he met her eyes. “You’re immune because you’ll find the one, and that will be it for you. Toast. And when that happens, you can tell the future Mrs. Isaac Fields you’ve never been attracted to your dear, cozy friend who brings popsicles to every holiday.”
“I appreciate things like this about you, Avery. A lot of girls would have taken that statement as a challenge.”