Writing the Rules: A Fake Dating Standalone Mariah Dietz (best novels to read .txt) 📖

wraps around mine. “Sorry for meddling. You guys just surprised me is all.”

I shake my head. That kiss surprised me, too. “Let’s have fun.”

Inside, the house is surprisingly well-lit, which leads to several people turning as we step farther into the house.

“Have we been here?” I ask.

“I don’t think so.” We wander farther inside, our hands still joined.

“Hey, Poppy!” a guy I don’t know calls out.

I wave and test out a smile.

“Do you know him?” Rae asks.

“Not a clue.”

She grins. “I told you dating Pax is working.”

My phone vibrates in my palm, and when I see that it’s from Chloe, I nudge Rae so she can read the message with me.

Chloe: When you guys get here, we’re in the dining room.

 “Let’s go find them.”

“Twins!” a guy yells before making a lewd gesture with his mouth, informing us Chloe and Nessie are on the other side of him. The guy is still chuckling at his joke when he turns toward us. “A blonde and a redhead walk into a bar…”

“Wrong duo to flirt with,” the guy’s friend tells him. “That’s Lincoln Beckett’s chick, and that one is Paxton Lawson’s,” he points to each of us as he makes the introductions. “They’d probably kill you and eat your liver.”

The guy’s face turns ashen and then nods. “Moving on.” He turns away from us and marches forward with his friend following close behind.

“Do they… Are guys seriously afraid of the football team?” I ask, dumbfounded on a whole new level.

Rae shrugs. “I’m pretty sure they were on drugs... But, yeah. I mean, the team is like a pride of lions. They stick together, and they’re literally known for hitting people on the field.”

“So if guys assume I’m dating Paxton, then they’re…”

She shakes her head. “The guys who you’d want to date won’t come near you, but you’ll have assholes who try to flirt with you. And, of course, those who don’t know. I mean, Pax is popular, but only the football team assumes that everyone knows them.” She grins.

I’m overthinking everything. “Why didn’t I pack us water bottles with alcohol like last year?”

She bestows a patient smile on me that says she knows I’m starting to freak out. “Because you’re Pax’s sober buddy.” She gives a wide and cheesy smile and then clamps my arm tighter and continues to where Nessie, Chloe, and Olivia are gathered.

My phone vibrates with another text, and Paxton’s name flashes on my phone.

Pax: We’re parking. Is it crazy inside?

Me: No. It seems like it just started.

Pax: That’s because it did ;) Everyone was at the game.

Me: That’s an awfully big assumption.

Pax: Facts.

 “Is that Pax?” Olivia asks.

I glance up from my screen to see my friends peering at me with varying degrees of amusement except for Rae, whose brows lower with doubt. “They’re here,” I say.

A cheer breaks out in the living room, and I see a couple of guys from the defense come inside.

“This doesn’t help them stay grounded,” Raegan says, shaking her head.

“Seriously. Was it this bad last year?” I ask. “I don’t remember them getting this much attention.”

She nods. “At times, but I think it’s getting worse as their record continues.”

“I heard Hoyt’s slept with over two hundred women this year,” Olivia says.

“Gross,” Chloe says.

“That can’t be true. Can it?” I ask.

Olivia shrugs. “That’s what Hoyt told Arlo. I mean, after all of the rumors, I am so not going to shame this, but if that’s true, that would be like sleeping with three girls a day. So he has to be lying … I think…”

I hear Arlo cheer before I can see him, then he steps into view his gaze scanning over faces until he finds Olivia, and then his smile is automatic and his steps swift. It’s hard to watch and harder to look away.

Paxton is in front of me when I straighten, his gaze more focused and intense than I remember it being on the field, and I wonder if it’s from our shared kiss or from watching Arlo. “Hey.” He leans forward, brushing his lips against mine, and rather than pulling away, his mouth lingers, and then his hand slides against my lower back, making a shiver run down my spine. His kiss is light and unhurried and has questions firing off in my head and multiplying faster than they can form. He presses another kiss to my lips and then gently runs his nose along my cheek, taking a deep breath through his nose as he does.

It’s the high of the victory, I’m sure of it. Rae has alluded to how great sex is with Lincoln after games because he’s on top of the world and still feels the energy of adrenaline before they crash and hibernate every Sunday in her room.

“Someone recognized Poppy as your girlfriend, and it stopped a guy from hitting on her,” Rae tells Pax. “He told him you would kill him and eat his liver.”

Pax grins. “He’s not wrong.”

Several laugh, but humor is the last thing I feel as I try to decipher what has just changed.

Then, several feet deep into the party, I spot the difference—Candace is here.

Paxton

 

My current high beats any substance-driven high I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. I could feel the difference tonight, my looks were fast and sharp, my movements even faster. It was like I didn’t even have to think tonight, my body acted on instinct, and it paid off. Coach Baker made a point to shake my hand after the game and tell me he was glad to see me back and as much as I wanted to tell him I hadn’t gone anywhere, that I’d been there every day of this season, working my ass off in the gym and during every practice—I knew what he meant. There was a difference in my playing, and I felt it, and so did my teammates and coaches.

I rest my hand against Poppy’s waist. It’s an easy feeling, and for the first time in what feels like months—maybe years—it doesn’t